Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

• 

  Poor Customer Service - I will NEVER buy another! - 2014 Acura MDX
  By David C. Laredo - September 1 - 1:22 pm

  As an owner of an Acura MDX I must express my sincere disappointment with the companys customer service (or lack thereof). The dealer from whom I bought my car lost its contract with Acura. (This can happen.) Acura has never contacted me to advise as to where I should take the vehicle for warranty work. The nearest Acura dealer is a 2 hour (one way) drive for me, but an certified Honda dealer is only 10 minutes away. Acura now sends me a recall notice informing me a bolt needs to be replaced. The Honda dealer tells me they can do the work, but it will be covered by Acura only with prior authorization. Acura denies authorization and will require me to undertake a 4 hour trip to effect this recall. Oh... and it took Acura 4 weeks and multiple calls on my part to decide my request to deal with the Honda dealer would be denied. Never once did Acura return my call. Oh. Acura did send me a letter to wish me a "Happy Anniversary" in recognition of my Acura Ownership. Based upon their lack of caring, and lack of responsiveness, I WOULD NEVER PURCHASE ANOTHER ACURA!

• 

  Great Car if you like 65,000 mile transmissions - 2002 Acura TL
  By P. Gerald - August 31 - 9:08 pm

  Just dont buy one unless you like buying a transmission from Honda for $2500 every 65, 000 miles. No kidding. Honda set up a plant and sell you one for $2500 when the transmission goes out every 65,000 miles instead of fixing the design problems. Otherwise its a great drivers car.

• 

  New owner of acura - 2012 Acura TSX
  By Ann - August 29 - 12:26 am

  this is my first Acura. Always drove Honda Accord. Bought the Tsx Special Edition. Like the kool wheels. This car is nice. Except it needs a keyless entry and ignition. Acura really dropped the ball here. Most luxury cars in year 2012 have this feature. Also, arm rest for driver could reach forward a bit further. Leather feels so thin, it appears to be vinyl. Ive been assured it is indeed genuine leather, but gee, not like the leather they used to put on cars! Glad i got the 6 sp standard transmission, fun to drive. Trunk space seems small, compared to Honda accord. Also, no pass thru from trunk, into rear seats. Other features are ok. But for the price, Acura dropped the ball on a few key items. Also, im NOT USING PREMIUM GAS, despite the recommendation by Acura to do so. After 3 years and 30,000 mi., it seems to be doing fine on regular gas. ANY OPINIONS ON THIS? Let me hear your thoughts. Thank you , Ann

• 

  I want a new Acura TL just like my 2002 - 2002 Acura TL
  By DGF - August 28 - 11:00 pm

  Best car Ive ever had. It never left me stranded. Ive had it for 12 yrs.

• 

  7 months into MDX AWD w/ tech - Using everything - 2015 Acura MDX
  By Christopher - August 26 - 4:25 pm

  My first MDX. Owned a TL and a TSX so familiar with the Acura style. Overall - great SUV. The most striking thing you will notice 1st is the ride. Here in N. Texas, very bumpy riding on hard concrete roads that heat crack and leave you wishing for quite & smooth blacktop. The MDX performs extremely well taking a lot of the smashing right out of the ride. The leather on the seats is the softest Ive ever encountered. Handling is great with the AWD. Engine power is throaty and responsive. For improvements, the NAV is crazy. Found the best way is to just type in the address (good display for such). Trying to use the voice recognition for NAV is just stupid. You say, "Dallas, TX" and it says "Ft. Lauderdale, FL." Whatever. Also stupid is that the NAV system locks (most features) while driving. Come on! Hey Acura, there is a passenger who can NAV while driving! Any new car with a lot of features will eventually make you reach to understand the system instead of being intuitive. The NAV takes time. Once you have the address in, the NAV works great. Storage is good so long as the 3rd seats are not used. Using the seats leaves you with a small space left. Also, these 3rd-row seats are kid seats as grown ups will have a difficult time getting to them and being comfortable. Ive had luck with the quality- no issues. Got a recall notice for the bolt on the compressor for AC. Easy fix they say. Dealership experience is great. Give you a free Acura loaner if your request. This is my wifes car and she loves it for herself and our daughter. In fact, my daughter always wants to take the MDX over my car.

• 

  Tech package does not work in Arizona heat - 2014 Acura MDX
  By Sam Masri - August 25 - 1:58 pm

  Brakes disks get damaged from heat, car vibrates when you brake, radiator leak after 30000 miles and Acura refused to fix under warranty saying it was damaged by a small stone hit from the road. I have news for you, Acura, Arizona is hot, cars radiator should be protected by design, and brake disks should not heat up and bend from normal driving.

• 

  Stay far far away from the V6 models - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Kenneth - August 25 - 2:29 am

  It was my mistake that I didnt look thoroughly online before purchasing my SH-AWD in July. The 2-3 gear shift is truly awful, Ive brought it in twice to the dealer to try and fix and they say it is normal and there is no fix. It is so unpleasant that it removes any and all fun from driving the car. Im still coming to terms that I might be stuck with this car for the near future. Acura, how can you sleep at night? The V6 models are a disaster. They clearly hand picked a non-defective one to lend to car review sites and now that weve bought them Acura doesnt care at all. Surprised there isnt a class action lawsuit for the V6 models yet. Going to try to take it in a couple more times to get it fixed and then see if it can qualify for the lemon law. Youve been warned, stay far far away from the V6 models. I dont even care if this hurts my own resale value, no more people should be tricked into buying this $40k lemon. Buying a luxury car shouldnt be a gamble that you get a good transmission. Shame on you Acura.

• 

  Great car-bad trans. - 2002 Acura TL
  By Jeff - August 24 - 7:44 pm

  Factor 2,500 into the cost of a major transmission rebuild at an independent shop if the car is past the warranty (5,000 at the dealer). Its a matter of when not if this will be needed. My original transmission failed at 30,000 (covered by warranty at no cost) and the replacement failed after 73,000 and American Honda would not help with the cost at all. Hope their new cars are better, Im not going to take the chance. Time to try another manufacturer.

• 

  these cars are junk - 2006 Acura TL
  By pissed owner - August 23 - 8:18 pm

  Blue tooth stopped working. Water would leak by drivers feet. Transmission failed at only 75,000 miles with a cost of repair of $6,000. Acura would not pay anything for repair.

• 

  235,000 miles - 2009 Acura MDX
  By Shandu - August 23 - 12:10 pm

  There is a common electrical issue. From the first 3000 miles there was a short in the radio meaning, when it get hot the sound would skip like a turn table skipping. The XM radio, CD player, AM/FM and DVD player sound would skip. Took it to several dealership from Long Island, Manhattan, and Westchester Acura. No one could find the reason, each saying to return the car at the time that the sound is skipping. Replace the first battery within one year. Twice the battery was dead within six months. Second time, dealer replace under warranty. Third time, the discharge of the battery even though the vehicle was off cause my a/c compressor to blow. The dealer said that the unit was drawing power even though it was off. The pressure build to the point where it cause the unit to blow. Dealer replace the battery and the A/C relay. Also the constant drain on the battery which maybe linked to the HLF/blue tooth system. I had to disconnect the HLF/blue took system. Gas mileage is very weak. Average about 15 miles per gallon on high way, due to heavy foot. Keep in mind I travel at least 160 miles per day. Yes, gas prices are high but I love my MDX. It corners like a dream at 65-70 mph on a curvy two lane country road. I am 61" and sit very well In my captain seat. The second row is hard to move forward for rear entry into the third row. Michelin Tires are the best so far in terms of gas saving and road noise. Have changed the following, tire road, oil plan, a/c relay switch, 3 battery on my fourth. Wanted to be the owner who reaches over 500,000 miles but it will be expensive.