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:

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  My 3rd Acura and the last one - 2007 Acura TL
  By inunez - March 10 - 9:49 am

  Is my third Acura and i never going to buy another one. I purschase the Tl 2007 new. 1. Dash crack. 2. Power steering leak. 3. Transmission problem. 4. Electrical problem.

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  A step down - 2013 Acura RDX
  By newro - February 19 - 12:12 pm

  I have had 6 Acuras and have come to expect a certain level of quality from them. My last one before the RDX was a 10 TL. Although I was not crazy about the styling, the car flew, handled well and the interior had a style to it. I have had the RDX for about 2 weeks now and the over riding feeling that I get is that it looks and feels cheap inside. Plastic all the way through, even the sun visors feel thin. The blue tooth is a giant step backwards from what I had in the TL, it makes zero sense. I got this car for my wife to negotiate the snow in the NE because the TL was not very good. I looked at the Murano and honestly, it is a nicer car inside.

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  I really love this car - 1997 Acura CL
  By allien88 - February 18 - 9:09 pm

  Bought this car a few months ago with over 120,000 miles on it. The previous owner made some modifications (adjusted shifting, 18 in. rims, huge air intake, ) and it made the car so much livelier. the best part is starting the car... actually driving it is a dream the engine is a bit sluggish in the lower speeds but the car puts the driver in total control around 60 mph. The car is very powerful and graceful, its kinda ugly but its all that much more endearing. `

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  My Last Acura - 2003 Acura TL
  By tcross - February 14 - 1:10 pm

  I bought this car new in 2003 and have had it serviced at the dealer religiously. I kept it washed, waxed and cleaned inside and out. The car is a lot of fun to drive. Its a little noisy on the inside, though. The transmission went out (second gear recall defect) at 70k miles. The dealer replaced it for free. I spent about 5k to replace motor mounts, timing belt and other major maintenance at 100k. At 101k the clearcoat began failing. At 110, the drive train started wobbling and/or slipping at certain speeds and power settings. At 150k, the car looks awful and isnt worth further repairs. Im done with Acura.

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  Meets my expectations - 2013 Acura RDX
  By spottedone - February 13 - 4:27 pm

  I have close to 11k miles on my RDX. I wanted an SUV that was fun to drive and yet got better gas mileage than my 2011 Highlander. I know I did not need the size of the MDX. I call my RDX my high performance sports car. The gas mileage has met my expectations. I mainly drive in the city and am averaging 23-24mpg. The only complaint I have is the tires losing traction while turning from a stop. This makes me wish I had opted for the AWD. I believe that the naviagtion system is too cumbersome having to press too many buttons. Further the car designers could have opted for more flair. The RDX is rather bland.

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  Nice but nothing special. - 2000 Acura RL
  By albee213 - February 3 - 10:19 am

  I purchased it with 174k and everythign works and over all car is in good shape. Leather has greyed from tan color from sun bleaching but really for a car that is 14 years old its a looker. I really only have thee complaints about this car. Its the "TOP of the Line" Acura from 2000 and it lacks real power from its engine dos not have any cool gadgets that most cars in its class has, My Deville has mileage computer and many other options this car does not and it gets TERRIBLE GAS MILEAGE. My wife drives it 10 miles per day and it averages about 13 miles per gallon driving back streets. I get 17 in Cadi with a much larger and powerful engine.

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  I love this car - 1998 Acura CL
  By nrajoppe - February 2 - 8:47 am

  This is my first car, drove it on my permit since the day I got it and now driving it on my license for 2 months. This car is pretty fun to drive as my first car with a 5 speed manual. Reliability? This car wrote the book on it. Which is what every Honda/Acura has come to know and love. It has 267k miles and runs like new, no major repairs on it ever. Every one of my friends says it runs like new as well. Its pretty quick, Ive beaten a few v6 mustangs, older maxima, and mitsubishi eclipse, so its not slow. Overall an amazing car for the value and an amazing first car. Its very luxurious, not like driving in a super light hatchback Civic.

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  Purchased RDX with Tech 2 weeks ago - 2013 Acura RDX
  By endoellen - January 25 - 4:53 pm

  Has great pick up and shifts smooth as I would have expected. My previous car was an Acura TL 2006 which I really liked. Voice commands for phone, navigation, audio, etc. is not real user friendly. Too many commands to be used. It was easier to use voice commands with the bluetooth in the TL without navigation. Disappointed in gas mileage. Sticker states estimated 20 city and 28 hwy. My first tank of premium fuel with combined 60 miles of hwy driving and the rest city only got 17.5 mpg. On my 2nd fill up I traveled to the dealer & back today approx. 120 miles hwy & it shows average of 23mpg. Not what I expected. My 2006 TL got 20 city & 28-30 Hwy consistently.

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  It just broke down, but Im not mad - Great Car - 1997 Acura RL
  By hab2 - January 16 - 8:47 am

  LOL, seriously just had it towed and I was contemplating a new purchase so I jumped on Edmunds to get a trade in value. The car has over 234K miles. You can belive this or not, but the transmission is still smooth, the engine strong, the ride comfortable and get this, no knocks, pings, or things shaking. I drive it and I dont believe it - I said 234K miles. Given the age, and miles its not perfect, dash lights, power windows, nav back light, washer pump, etc. Little things that need reapir. But I tell you - Great Car and it will be a great car for the next person. Hope this helps!

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  Potentially great car - if only Acura would add ... - 2013 Acura RDX
  By rgf99 - January 14 - 2:14 pm

  I have had my RDX (AWD, Base) for 6 months. It is fun to drive and very comfortable. Previously I had a 2001 Toyota Highlander Ltd. I looked at the MDX (too large) and the X3 (too costly) and finally decided on the Base/AWD RDX. Wanted some of the features of the Tech Package but decide not worth $4K for the. I almost did not buy the car because it was missing some key features I expected in Luxury/near luxury-brand SUV