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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  Scratch Scratch Scratch - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Robert Small - September 15 - 6:33 am

  I drove a Volvo for 12 years and needed a change. The Acura attracted me because it was small. I also owned a Honda in the past. The car handles well and dazzles but there is absolutely no body protection. Its a joke. Everytime we park, the car boasts a new ding or dent. They should think about some body trim.

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  Love the car for the money - 2004 Acura RSX
  By AEGuy683 - September 15 - 2:00 am

  After all the positive reviews and my old car dying, I purchased one. I am almost 100% satisfied with it. 200hp is a lot for a 4 cylinder but more companies are coming close to that and there are many v6 and v8s out there that will outrun even the Type S. Insurance is sky high on this car, a little fact I wish I had known prior to buying. Its very fun to drive, the cockpit is designed well, all buttons in reach and easy to use. Love the 6- disc in dash cd player. I have yet to get the factory suggested mpg though.

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  Best in class - 2003 Acura MDX
  By mikeo - September 12 - 10:00 am

  The MDX is a great well rounded rig and an excellent value. As with any vehicle, there are always some criticisms that are of varying importance to other drivers. Mine include the following; the drive by wire feature is very touchy and uneven , the backseat door side seatbelts dont retract to their original position and knock on the side of the cabin until straightened. Acceleration is fantastic, cornering is not without body roll though, ride is smooth and firm. Cabin layout, instruments, features and functions are perfect. Just enough gizmos a good balance between function and form. Bose sytem is good, but not "bright" enough for my taste.

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  look out for the brakes - 2004 Acura MDX
  By nema - September 11 - 2:00 am

  The brakes in this car have been a constant problem, thay all make grinding noise after a rain they build up rust if the car is not used in 12 hours (they say this is normal)I have a friend in PA with the same car and the same problem. Brakes have been worked on 3 times, after 2 years the car shows its age in other areas as well. This is my 2nd Acura and will be the last.

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  Great for the $ - 1996 Acura TL
  By V-6 3.2TL P - September 6 - 2:00 am

  This car is great! Fun to drive, good performance for size and type of car. There are some minor issues but nothing major. Cant beat the performance, comfort, and value.

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  beautiful car - 2004 Acura MDX
  By planet plumbing - September 3 - 2:00 am

  beautiful car, but thought it would be better on gas mileage, sticker stated 17/ 23 and that is not the case it is more like 14.7/18. also the car is very sleak on the outside but would be better with some door gaurds so when others hit your door you dont end up with a very expensive dent. also navi gets stuck sometimes and you have to restart the car to even use the ac properly. and window locks are dumb because you cant let the passenger control the window without enableling your kids to do so to.

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  I should of held to the 2005 RSX-S model - 2004 Acura RSX
  By marksviper - August 28 - 2:00 am

  I really love the car. Its Fast, sterring is unbleiveable when turning tight corners going about 70 and then downshifting in to the corner very smooth. No problems at this time.

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  Great Car - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Sal - August 26 - 2:02 am

  Cant beat the value

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  should have known... - 2002 Acura RSX
  By not2impressed - August 18 - 10:00 am

  I test drove the RSX last week expecting to fall in love with it. It didnt happen. I thought the handling was above average even at higher speeds. It looks great inside and out. The 4cyl. performance was quite decent. Overall I have to say that its a nice toy. On the other hand the visibility is horrible, the seats are uncomfortable as the lumbar support is too prominent and the seat itself (not the back) is too short for taller people. I also didnt care for the layout of the controls.

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  Mildly Disappointed - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Randall Hazzard - August 11 - 10:43 pm

  Performance and fun to drive. Love to hear it rev. My gas mileage is poor at 16.2 MPG. That is a mix of 60% highway and 40% city. Reliability and quality is less then expected. Slow leak in tire that dealer wanted to charge me $380.00 dollars to replace because they cant find the link but acknowledge the leak is there. Needed to jump start 3 times. Twice because little dome light was left on by kids. Once because of a draw off battery that has been difficult to trace. Mirrors dont adjust with change of driver in preprogram settings. Dealer says this is normal but if you can change my XM stations with different drivers, you can certainly adjust mirrors.