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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  Three transmissions! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Ken - February 15 - 5:28 pm

  My wife really liked the Acuras size and features. When we first got it, it certainly was smooth and quiet much more refined than the 1996 Grand Cherokee we had before. It was a good size and she loved the touchscreen navigation. It was a little disappointing that the MDX didnt have some luxury features that the six-year old Jeep did, like automatic headlights and day/night outside mirrors. Overall she and I liked the car. The trouble started at 37000 miles when the first transmission went out. It was replaced. It broke again and was replaced at 87000 miles and we discovered this is a well-known and chronic problem with Acuras transmissions. I cannot recommend early decade MDXs.

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  Great car but needs more quality control - 2005 Acura RL
  By Fritz - February 15 - 9:34 am

  The SH-AWD is very fun to use around turns, but I doubt most people will ever push this car hard enough to experience it. When you go into turns you really just have to push it and let the computers take over which is a bit unnerving at first, but you can really feel it pivot as the car overdrives the outside wheels. The dash is controls are very easy to use and pretty intuitive and I love that everything can be done through the Navigation screen which is large, easy to read and sits high in the dashboard. My biggest complaint with this car are the rattles and creaks. That is a deal breaker for me, but fortunately it doesnt bother my wife who drives it.

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  Immaculate car. - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Dominik - February 15 - 3:45 am

  Awesome car in general. Very well built, extremely reliable, fun to drive. Perfect designed ex- and interior. Good MPG, very comfortable. Ive own 10 cars so far and this one is my best friend. No wonder parts are kinda pricey - last very long. Take a good care of it (maintenance) and it will last for ever.

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  Mostly excellent, but GPS maps stink - 2010 Acura TL
  By Chrysoberyl - February 15 - 12:11 am

  I thought my 6-cylinder AWD Subaru, and 35RL were capable cornering machines until I drove the TL SH-AWD. The TL can corner a whale of a lot faster, and the seat bolsters make even the passengers comfortable while you do that. The instant mpg readout almost turns me into a mega-miler with paddle upshifts. I get 22mpg on 2-lane, curvy, hilly, Ozark roads on 30-mile round trips to town with 40 to 55 mph speeds. Acura GPS maps are so bad, I have to use a portable Garmin GPS to find addresses in this area. Garmins MapTech maps find locations here and give decent directions. The Acura GPS just shows a dotted line for most roads and directs by compass heading, useless around our very large lake.

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  Nice looking SUV - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Sleepysam22 - February 14 - 11:17 am

  I have owned several MDXS and the 2010 Advance package is by far the best. The 6 speed trans is smooth and responsive. The navigation with hdd is the best I have seen from any manufacture and I have looked at them all as I am a big time nav/tech guy. The seats are more comfortable than the previous MDX that I have owned. The led interior lights are really cool along with the blind spot detection. Collision breaking system and the adaptive cruise control. Very nice car

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  Walking could not be cheaper! - 1994 Acura Legend
  By David Dahbura - February 14 - 9:59 am

  I bought this car after leaving my business card on the windsheild in a parking lot. The car was perfect despite the miles which did not scare me. It has been FLAWLESS, it has had the usual preventative maintenance done but otherwise NOTHING has ever needed repairing. My only gripes are the LOW (very low) front bumper which seems to catch on everything and has now been repaired countless times and the too low driving position, but in defense of the later, I think my age and bum knee are more to blame than the car. I have calculated my costs for this car which I paid $3,000 for, and I assure you, I could not have walked the same distance cheaper than this car has cost. I want another one ASAP

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  Overall, a great vehicle - 2009 Acura MDX
  By Yoshodeep - February 14 - 9:58 am

  Having driven the car around town as well as some long trips, I am satisfied with the vehicle. 3rd row seating works fine, albeit not for tall people by any means. Nice pick up. More spacious than I thought from the outside. SH-AWD works great in slick snowy condition. I bought the base pkg, and the sound quality is plenty good. Leather seats are not at par with BMW standards. Bluetooth is somewhat cumbersome (voice recognition only). Cant say enough about the leg and shoulder rooms enough. It is fun to drive, from the SUV perspective. At this price, expected scheduled free maintenance though. Overall one of the best buys in the segment.

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  Great used value - 2004 Acura RL
  By Former MB Owner - February 14 - 7:16 am

  Love the car. I have a fairly long commute and am quite pleased with the low-mileage 04 RL that I bought this fall. Some say the Acura has "no soul." Nonsense. If "no soul" means "car stays out of the shop" then Ill take it. Steady 21 MPG in mixed driving. Reliable as the day is long. Not the most exciting car Ive owned but quiet, comfortable and a great value. Build quality is exceptional - tight, and all seams and panel gaps are very well done. Car mags hated this car new, suppose it wasnt such a great value at $40K+ brand new, but in the used market its a great value.

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  Happy so far! - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Repeat MDX Owner - February 13 - 12:22 am

  Bought 2010 MDX w/Tech Pack 3 weeks ago. Happy so far. Have 2002 MDX that has been good vehicle. Got new one for $41,903 - way below the TMV. Really happy about that. Thats only about $5K more than we paid 8 years ago for the 2002 Base model that cant compare with the new technology. Love the interior and wonderful stereo/NAV/HDD system., but all the buttons & various owner manuals are a little intimidating. The ride is similar to the 2002 in terms of feel and ride quality, so not a real cushy ride, has some road noise, but also a sporty feel like all Acuras. The best blend of space, performance, MPG, maneuverability, luxury and resale value on the market today.

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  Ultimately regretful - 2001 Acura MDX
  By AJ - February 12 - 10:03 pm

  I did a lot of research on various models before deciding to buy my MDX. I was fortunate enough to find a one owner trade in with very low miles, with regular service. I thought despite a couple of annoying short comings of the first model year, that Id have it for years to come, but no longer. AC hose replacement at 60K miles/ $1K. Power steering 83K mi/ $600. Transmission 84K mi/ $6000. Nav system & CD multi disc changer both broken. People still think it looks like a new car. I got several good years out of it, but for a Honda, this last years reliability has been horrible. It should have lasted longer before the cost to repair was higher than the value. I may never go back.