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:

• 

  2013 Acura TL SH-AWD Advance - 2013 Acura TL
  By jason60051 - June 3 - 2:43 pm

  I traded in my 2011 BMW 535i for this vehicle. My 535i lacked x-drive and was a manual transmission so I was looking for something with awd, automatic, great resale value, and reliability and this Acura fit the bill. Having driven the BMW a couple years I was pleasantly surprised by how this Acura handles and the acceleration. The only gripe I would have is that it rides a little stiff with the 19s. But it isnt an uncomfortable ride. The build quality is very good and the gas mileage so far isnt bad...21 mpgs combined city and highway.

• 

  BASE RDX IS EXCELLENT - 2013 Acura RDX
  By plmrdx - May 24 - 4:19 pm

  The RDX is worth the $35-40K price compared to other luxury SUVs. The ride and performance of the 2013 model is excellent--see Consumer Reports. However, the Navigation Sys. is not worth the price. Unless you are an audiophile, the Tech Pkg. is not worth $4K. Buy it without, then get a good Garmin GPS of $100+. You will like it better.

• 

  Great car to drive - 2002 Acura TL
  By luvtypes - May 22 - 8:45 am

  Bought my TL about 4 years ago, and didnt have any major issues. All acura and Honda buyers have ideas about the bad transmission problem but still does not maintain it the way it should be taken care of, i changed transmission oil every 10K and now its just over 300KM on my car and still running strong...Love the car

• 

  Acura does not belong - 2013 Acura RDX
  By mgtu273 - May 15 - 12:44 am

  I am the owner of RDX for six month and I am quite disappointed. Reading other reviews seems like I am driving a different car and Id like to share my view to help future buyers understand what they are buying. In one sentence: Acura does not belong to the club of Audi, BMW, Lexus or Mercedes, do not compare RDX to Q5, X3 and do not read reviews that attempt to do so. Main complain: whoever designed this car never drove in it. Ive bought top of the line model and it is missing basic features that come free in Toyota.

• 

  Switched from a Volvo xc60 for the sake of comfort - 2012 Acura MDX
  By nelsoncm - April 23 - 5:46 pm

  I had an awesome 2012 XC60 T6 R type that was a thing of precision and style. Sadly it was also wretchedly uncomfortable.....rock hard seats, rock hard suspsension. Im a mom with a bad hip and back who loves to drive fast but I just couldnt take it. So I went for my gently used MDX. My husband has a TL that is still running great at 70K, so now were a two Acura family. I agree that build quality is certainly not up to some of the European standards. But this should be fine for a suburban mommy mobile that might see light off road duty on easy dirt roads on scout campout weekends.

• 

  Sharp car! - 2013 Acura TSX
  By zoomzoomn - March 28 - 7:30 am

  I got the TSX SE primarily because of an agressive lease deal. Overall its s a really fun car in search of being a really great car. While the chassis is willing and the interior is very attractive (in SE trim), the four cylinder drivetrain and lack of the technology package (on the SE) leaves me wanting. Its been awhile since I had driven an Acura. The recent "beak" phase in their styling department is thankfully and slowly becoming a travesty best left as a faded memory. The TSXs styling is crisp and attractive from pretty much every angle. The SE trim only adds to this, especially on the interior. From the red accents to the anthracite headliner, it is a very attractive package.

• 

  Very good initial impressions - 2013 Acura RDX
  By aidano2 - March 26 - 11:37 am

  Its comfortable, fast, and has a good amount of room in the front and rear. Also has nice simple, but solid, cabin features. Its very good in pretty much every area -- which almost makes it feel a little boring to talk about.

• 

  Awesome SUV, But Missing Luxury Brand Minimum Features - 2013 Acura RDX
  By even_further - March 20 - 7:01 pm

  This is a great SUV and a winner in the market place. But being an Acura its missing minimum luxury features mid/upper vents for rear passengers, LED tail lights, blind spot monitoring. The guts are a smash hit motor, size, AWD, cargo space, 6 speed trans.

• 

  Smooth as butter - 2004 Acura TL
  By gerardoesq - March 18 - 12:50 pm

  What a car. This is my second Acura actually. My first was a 2002 Acura RL fully loaded which I got with 100k and drove from VA to FL several times. NEVER gave me one dang issue. After going through several other different brands, I came back to Acura. I never really understood why I went anywhere else. This car is simply brilliantly built. Transmission shifts smoothly, suspension is rigid but comfortable, all electronics work harmoniously, leather holds up great unlike BMW and Audi. The car is simply the most reliable machine you can get for your buck while still driving something that is luxurious, fun (I got the six speed) and great on gas.

• 

  RDX - Get what you expect - 2013 Acura RDX
  By cerebus1 - March 15 - 7:14 am

  Ive owned my 2013 RDX for about 6 months now. Youre going to get what you expect from an Acura ... good performance and reliability. Im getting about 18mpg, less then I expected ... but no highway driving. Last month my wife spent more and got herself a 2013 Volvo XC60. Im jealous ... wish Id spent a little more and got the Volvo also.