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:

• 

  The AcuraTaxiCab - 2005 Acura RL
  By Captain Truth - August 2 - 12:19 pm

  Just keep 5 words in mind..HONDA ACCORD WITH BIG PRICETAG - thats what it is. Ive given this vehicle about a year. Initial quality seemed okay. Since then its a horror show. Rattles, squeeks, noises from windows, dashboard, back panels, seatbelts ...everywhere.. make it sound like a NYC taxi. I heard this before buying but didnt believe it. Now I do. Customer care is NON EXISTANT. Dealer is clueless and cant fix anything, even after bringing in new service mgr...car not fixed when returned, not ready when promised, etc. etc. Headquarters also seems unconcearned and is not responsive. Overall a major waste of money and miserable ownership experience compared to my prev. 2 Lincolns.

• 

  Trade in - 1997 Acura CL
  By Tay - August 1 - 5:21 pm

  I loved the ride when i first got it and would love to own another one.

• 

  Buy another brand - 2006 Acura MDX
  By The Foxer - July 13 - 6:56 pm

  We have owned a 2001, and 2003 MDX. Both have the same problem. The steering wheel vibrates at any speed above 65. Tires replaced, wheel bearings replaced, rotors replaced and turned several times, tires ground force balanced and nothing fixes the problem. AC quit and multiple other problems.

• 

  Transmission negates the V6 - 2016 Acura TLX
  By indio82 - July 5 - 10:33 pm

  I currently have an 06 TSX. It is still in great shape and handles great, but it is 10 years old and Im looking for something with a little more power. So Ive been eager for the TLX to come out. So I was severely disappointed when I test drove the V6 AWD version. The transmission completely neuters to V6 - seriously, it feels like a really under powered 4 cylinder. It has no power when you put the pedal down. It shifts just just when you think you are going to get in the power curve. My 4 cyl TSX feels more powerful than this V6. There is NO WAY I would want this driving in rush hour traffic, when you need the car to quickly react when trying pass or merge into highway traffic. The steering was...weird. Ive test driven the Lexus IS 350 (V6) and the Volvo S60 (5 Cylinder turbo). They both had better throttle response and steering. The Volvo has less HP than the TLX per the numbers, but you wouldnt know it due to the TLX transmission. The cabin controls are overly complicated. Just because you can put everything on a touch screen, doesnt mean you should. I shouldnt have to sit with the "IT specialist" to learn how to adjust the cabin temp. The push button shifter was...odd. I guess you get used to it, but it would take a while - and I shouldnt have to put up with that learning curve. In summary: the transmission ruins the car, but the button shifter, steering, and overly complicated cabin/nav/radio controls dont lend itself to liking the car either. I rejected this car from my list.

• 

  Accuras problems - 2004 Acura TL
  By steve.ledbetter - June 13 - 3:50 pm

  This car is unstable in rain and snow due to poor quality tires. Further, the dealership ignores, or does not acknowledge problems with this automobile. At 15,000 miles the tires are severely worn, as acknowledged by at least one accura mechanic. Alignment is a constant issue, with consequent uneven tread wear, however the dealership refuses to acknowledge this problem

• 

  So disapponited in my MDX and Quality - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Chris D - May 11 - 11:35 am

  I bought my 2003 Acura MDX Brand new and currently it has 40k miles and in that time I have the Rotors and Brakes replaced under warr at least 4 times and all miles are highway and pampered. I have also had the truck at Acura on 4 ocassions for the Steering Wheel control because everytime I raise the volume the station changes and everytime the dealer says it was a bad ground and still cant fix it. I have opened up a complaint with Acura Corporate and bringing my truck again tonight to be fixed. All I can tell you is that I have 8 months left of my lease and I WILL NOT buy another Acura again it has been a big disappointment to spend $40000 on an SUV and deal with these constant problems

• 

  Terrible Transmission - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Terry - April 25 - 6:59 pm

  I have had the car for 7,000 miles now. The transmission is very jerky. There are times when making a right turn going from high to low speed and trying to get the car back up to speed is a pain. I have to push the accelerator much harder around turns and the car struggles to find a gear. For a luxury car, this is not acceptable. The drive is not fun at all and the service department at Weir Canyon Acura said this is the way the car drives. I have called Acura directly to log a complaint. Contact them directly so they can fix this issue. I dont think I would buy another Acura again.

• 

  DO NOT BUY THIS CAR!!! Read Reviews - 2004 Acura TL
  By Omadinc - April 16 - 10:00 am

  Prob the worst rattling cars I have ever owned. Very poor interior quality. Steering wheel rattles,headliner falls down, glove box fell out twice. The car is basically held together with double sided tape. Even the dealer admits to all of the build issues. Very dissappointed in a 35$k car. Needless to say my car is for sale with 4000 miles on it. If you are looking to buy a new TL, wait till 05 if at all.

• 

  Terrible transmission - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Cole - March 20 - 5:17 am

• 

  Nightmare - 2002 Acura RL
  By David Bishop - March 19 - 10:07 am

  This car has been in the shop no less than 10 times since I bought it less than 1 year ago. They cant fix it. After being in the shop for 49 the block is being replaced. I knew I wanted the 03 that they had just sold. O well.