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:

• 

  Trouble with transmission - 2005 Acura MDX
  By driddle - February 5 - 2:48 pm

  Great car, but have had trouble with transmission. Has been replaced once already at 50000 miles, still makes hard shifts when shifting down.

• 

  Not pleased - 2010 Acura TSX
  By JoeS - February 5 - 12:12 pm

  I purchased this vehicle primarily based on Acuras much vaunted and advertised reliability. Since purchasing the car 6 months ago it has been back for service more often than my previous vehicle, a Saab 9-3, was in four years of use! All kinds of issues needed fixing: the rear suspension clunking noise and defect a faulty Navi screen replaced non functioning trunk release poor highway steering. If this is the best Acura can do they have lost their way!

• 

  CANT WAIT TO GET RID OF - 2009 Acura RDX
  By Double L - February 5 - 11:12 am

  The dealer would NOT allow us to take on highway now I know why. The ride is so bumpy that you feel sick to your stomach. We cant get the sports suspension changed because it will cause the warranty to be invalid. I should have walked away after being jacked around by the dealership with agreeing to match printed price of others and then hemm & ha for 5 hours trying to figure out how to get out of that one. I should of, could of, and didnt so now Im stuck with a vehicle that makes me throw up on bumpy highways or gets us dizzy.

• 

  Lots of fun - 2010 Acura MDX
  By PalmettoSol - February 5 - 10:16 am

  My first MDX was an 08 Tech/Entertainment, and my wife and I enjoyed it very much. I wanted a Sport/Entertainment at the time, but they were very hard to find. The first 10 MDX my dealer had was an Advance/Ent. and after driving it I had to have it. The 08 was great, but the 10 is even better. It looks more aggressive, the LED lighting is much nicer, and the extra gear is a nice upgrade.

• 

  Sweet ride - 2010 Acura MDX
  By rhodymdx - February 5 - 8:55 am

  I got this vehicle mainly for comfort. I am a long-distance commuter and needed something more comfortable and luxurious than my Honda CRV, but with equal reliability. I am not disappointed. The seat is so comfortable and roomy the ride is incredibly smooth and handling is great. Great on the highway---watch that you dont go too fast---you may never notice before that flashing light is in your mirror! A great luxury vehicle, especially for 40K...

• 

  13 Years & Still Going Strong - 1997 Acura CL
  By AJohnson - February 4 - 9:10 pm

  I brought this car brand new in March of 1997 and it has proven to be the best purchase I have ever made. Talk about reliable! And even close to 13 years old the pick-up on this car is great and still just as fun to drive. Even after purchasing a new car last Fall still hanging on to it. Many offers to buy so that wont be an issue when I am finally ready to let go. GREAT car!

• 

  Former TL and RL owner. - 2009 Acura TSX
  By RLewis - February 4 - 6:03 pm

  Ok I have to admit, IM FINE WITH THIS CAR! I forgot just how fun a car was to drive. Though i think 40 or 50 more horses wouldve been prefect for a car this size. Still, youre talking to a person that traded his bigger 06 Acura RL in when gas jumped up so high. This car is great on fuel, comfort and style! Ive gotten up to 34mpg hwy. Hey we all gas is going back one day. So if you just happen to have this fine car, YOU MAKE GOOD SENSE just like this car. And i really would like to see the follow up to the TSX in the years to come!!

• 

  No more acuras/hondas for me - 2006 Acura RSX
  By dan - February 4 - 11:48 am

  I bought this car used only to have problems with it since the day i bought it. First when i got my first tire rotation the stud broke it wasnt a big deal then water kept getting into my tail light and the dealer said it had a bad seal. After that the struts went bad. Then finally around 40,000 miles the motor had a catastrophic failure. A rod bent causing two 3" holes in the block and basically they said it needed a new motor which would cost 10,000 dollars to install. And since the dealer could not find what caused it they said the warranty would not cover it. So i just simply let them have the car back bc i wasnt paying for a piece of junk car.

• 

  Still a wonderful Car Get One if you can - 1994 Acura Legend
  By jonatbaylor - February 4 - 5:34 am

  This car is superb in almost every way. It has almost every convenience and then some on cars that are only 2-3 years old! The only 2nd generation Legend to get is the 1993-1995 years, since you get the upgraded 230HP motor. The City Mileage is pretty bad at 15-17mpg on average, but if Im just cruising on the highway I get 25.3mpg. (Properly tuned, PSI in tires and 67mph) Ive added some more recent features to it, bringing it a bit more up-to-date. Most people think my Legend is a 2004 model year! The coupes are truly beautiful. If you can score one with low miles and that has been maintained well, you will basically step into a 45k dollar luxury car for no more than 6-7k tops.

• 

  4-cyl. is. fast & smooth--dont need V6 - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Pianist - February 4 - 3:10 am

  I used to own a Lexus GS 300. I love that car but the new model is so expensive that I had to seek out other alternatives. After checking out the small sedans of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus,and the larger Acura TL, the TSX offered the most for the money. The standard features on this base model can cost thousands of dollars if you want them on a BMW 3 series! The TSX has EXTREMELY comfortable seats and high quality leather (both superior to the more expensive TL base model). I love that this car looks like NO OTHER on the road. I have the Vortex blue, which for some reason is very rare. It is an "electric" blue, which goes very well with the all-black leather interior. Dont buy the V6!