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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  Artfully Subtle Luxury and Performance - 2008 Acura RL
  By Paul J - March 27 - 6:50 pm

  Does everything well instead of compromising one performance area to excel in another. For example, corners as if on rails but preserves quiet, comfortable ride. The engine is smooth and quiet around town but makes operatic noises at the top of the rev range. This is the perfect luxury car for with enough confidence to eschew driving a visible status symbol. I drove Audis before they went upscale to compete directly with Mercedes and BMW. This Acura now fills that niche of artful, understated luxury that makes one look smart, not status conscious.

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  Integra LS - 2001 Acura Integra
  By Nematoad - March 27 - 5:23 pm

  I have had my Integra for over 139000 miles. It is incredibly reliable, spacious and roomy. Can carry 8 foot 2x4 lumbers, and lots of big boxes. As well as be a really cool sports car. Has not been in repair shop for anything too major. Appears to have very strong body design, after being rear ended, by stupid drunk driver, body shop replaced all bumpers and repainted and is like new again.

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  so nice - 2006 Acura MDX
  By toomanypetz - March 27 - 10:07 am

  We replaced our Honda Pilot with this car. I really liked my Pilot but to get all these features it would cost so much more. The Acura has a smooth quiet ride and plenty of room. I feel very luxurious with all the leather and comfort. It makes me feel less like a "soccer mom". We love it!

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  Excellent SUV - 2008 Acura MDX
  By fort99 - March 25 - 5:26 am

  We bought ours a week ago. So far so good. Excellent handling especially compared to 4Runner. It would be perfect with less tire noise.

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  A new MDX - 2017 Acura MDX
  By Minnesota MDX owner - March 24 - 2:31 am

  We just acquired a new MDX from Bloomington Acura and Edward Kaspustin. A truly great buying experience. Edward spent a great deal of time before and after the purchase going over the MDX and its features and followed up after the purchase to see how it was performing and how we liked the vehicle. Outstanding

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  Stayed with the Honda family of cars - 2008 Acura TL
  By Mike - March 23 - 7:21 pm

  It came down to this car or a BMW 3-Series and Im glad I chose the Acura. It has excellent performance and handles well. Interior features are great and the body style is sleek. Previously owned a Civic so I know this car is dependable.

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  Dream Car - 2009 Acura TL
  By Chasboy - March 23 - 5:56 pm

  Its way too early, but we love our new TL, and I dont expect that to change. The ride is firm, but I disagree with others that its too firm. We are coming from a 325, so maybe we are used to it. It corners/handles as well, rides better and quieter, and is so roomy. The seats are amazing.

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  195K and still going strong - 2001 Acura MDX
  By alabamafamily - March 23 - 11:24 am

  This is the best car Ive ever owned. Ill roll 200,000 miles sometime this summer, yet this car has NEVER let me down. The only time its ever been in the shop was for air conditioning problems. Even then it was a minor fix. I highly recommend this vehicle to anyone considering it!

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  First Acura - 2005 Acura RL
  By Jim Dobrzynski - March 21 - 12:43 pm

  The RL is a fun car to drive. The handling of the car is fantastic. The ride is very smooth and the acceleration is very responsive.

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  Great car, bad experience - 2006 Acura TL
  By Ash - March 20 - 5:17 pm

  I recently bought my 06 TL and love it!! I will stick with Acura from here out! I gladly traded in my 06 Mercedes CLK( it broke down two weeks into purchase!) for the TL and am happier then ever... Even though these are very diff cars ( luxury vs sport) the clk just does not compare at all!!! TL has all the power and looks comp to clk plus a whole lot more! And most are standard. Beautiful car, beautiful performance and it will definitely outlast a Mercedes! Love love love my TL!