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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  Needs improvements to get me back! - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Nancy - April 8 - 6:39 pm

  Vehicle receives side door dents even with the lightest of touch from other vehicles. Misc. accessories (cap cover for wheel, various interior lights,always needing to be replaced. Material used in interior does not wear well. Spring is trying to protrude through seat back. Poor transmission (been replaced once and may need another). As much as this car costs, interior should hold up better. This is my second Acura--may be my last.

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  Very disappointed... - 2004 Acura RSX
  By prettyboon - April 6 - 5:13 pm

  I am very disappointed in this car. I used to be a big Honda fan, but I think ive changed my mind. The transmission sucks, which is a common complaint. Fuel economy is bad. The interior is missing alot of luxuries for the price. Heated leather seats should be standard, along with lighted vanity mirrors. The interior is very plain looking. The stock tires are bordering on dangerous for being on the car. After less than a year of having the car there were already rattles in the dash. Im trading this car in very soon. This car is no Integra. I dont know what Honda was thinking.

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  OK but nothing special - 1998 Acura TL
  By djm - March 11 - 8:30 pm

  Not that much power, Handles well, rides smooth and quitely but not very big inside. The windows have not top seal which adds some noise. Mileage not even close to rated numbers. A lot of problems for a so called premium car. Replaced starter and exahust plus a broken power seat at 68K. I should have bought a new Accord. OK at best, I am not overwhelmed. When I pay for a premium product that is what I expect, this is a partial premium, nicer than the Accord but not a great car.

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  The Money Trap - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Karen - February 23 - 1:28 am

  I looked for a new car for months and decided on this nice MDX, only to be left on the side of the road when the transmission broke. We waited 3 hours for a tow truck to come. My 2016 MDX had just 3800 miles on it. I asked for a new transmission, but they said all it needed was a gasket. I ghad a BMW which I loved, but it had 190,000 miles on it and I wanted dependable transportation for traveling now this is what I am stuck with. I will say the people at the Acura dealer were very nice, but I did not get great end results. When you spend that kind of money and this happens they should make it right.

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  DONT BUY THIS RATTLE BOX - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Wayne Schlegel - December 19 - 1:33 am

  I cannot tell you how many times this vehicle has been back to the dealership for service! Noises, rattles, loose parts, defective sedt bracket 2x. The door trim noises, creeks and vibrations/rattles indicate a design defect in this TSX deign. Seven times and they still cannot correct the problems! Seats wearing prematurely as well. Japanese quality is truly SLIPPING. Not sure its worth the money. Shame on Honda/Acura for such poor quality.

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  2016 and the transmission is still bad! - 2016 Acura TLX
  By John Cross - November 2 - 11:47 am

  Reading some of these reviews, I wonder who writes them. Honda Motor Company no doubt. I have been very disappointed in this car which I got 3 months ago. It has been in the shop 3 times to fix the rough shifting. In stop and go traffic it is a nightmare. The mechanic acknowledged they still have many complaints. It is a software problem.... With eight gears it cant always decide which gear to go to. So far no software to fix it. Ive asked for out of my lease but they say no. I feel stuck with a $400 a month annoying experience. If they ever fix the problem it will be a pretty good car but the transmission on the 2016 4 cylinder is not ready for prime time yet.

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  Stay Away! - 2005 Acura TL
  By John Baker - October 16 - 4:33 pm

  Acura should be called "DAEWOO" as this car has performed so badly Acura is buying the lemon back! Electrical system was just the start....you would have better luck with HYUNDAI...at least they still know how to build reliable cars...maybe throwaways...but they got reliability down now!

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  Is this really a Honda - 2017 Acura MDX
  By Joe - October 16 - 3:31 pm

  Before you buy this car, try the electronic system with the caveats below I have been a loyal buyer of Honda cars for years. However this will be my last purchase from them. I have an 2017 MDX. The GPS and entertainment system is unusable. Dont take my word for it try it before you think about a purchase. GPS does not work- If you try take a different turn then directed on the route, most GPS is will recalculate and redirect you. Not this system. They have made a design change where the GPS will actually direct you off the road. Apparently my dealer tells me that they know about the problem for a long time and hoping for a fix. The car does not allow you to cancel the route as you are driving. The voice activated commands absent do not work. Dealer says they know about this. They tell you not to use the voice activated system. The dealer tells me that the MDX system is not entertainment compatible with iPhone (somewhat odd given their popularity).

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  Not worth the money - 2004 Acura RL
  By Al Greco - September 7 - 2:00 am

  Actually my lease is a 2002. This car simply is not worth the dollars for the lease. The ride is just OK, the handling is poor compared to the Toyota Avalon which was my previous auto. The performance again, not as good. The interior back seat is too small for the average size man. No leg room. The reliability I have no complaints about.

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  Good Vehicle But Not a Luxury Ride - 2018 Acura RDX
  By N1128Q - August 18 - 1:37 am

  The 2018 RDX is good but basically a Honda with some nice touches and a different grill. Ive leased Audi vehicles for several years but decided to go with the Acura because the 2018 Audi Q5s lease quote was about $100/month higher for a similarly equipped vehicle. After driving the RDX for a couple of months, I can see why. The difference in interior materials, engineering, and overall luxury show that the Audi is far better. In particular, Im disappointed in the assembly quality. Exterior panels have uneven gaps, bolts and screws are visible, and there are other areas that show that Honda took assembly and materials shortcuts which a "luxury" brand should not do. In addition, the dealership experience left a lot to be desired as the RDX was not prepped correctly, tires were over-inflated, the front license plate bracket was not attached, and (not to sound petty but this goes to the "experience" factor) I did not receive a full tank of gas. When I said something to the salesman, he brushed it off. Since then, I have not heard from the dealer or from Acura - even to see if Im enjoying the vehicle. Overall, Ill keep the RDX but think Ill go back to Audi for my next vehicle. This is an update of the review I posted in October. Since then, my RDX developed squeaks, rattles, and buzzing that demonstrated the indifferent quality of assembly and the poor choice of materials. The voice recognition system got even worse and trying to work with it in traffic almost resulted in accidents on two occasions. While the navigation system could ultimately find the desired destination, it never chose the best or even safest route. The seats became more uncomfortable over time, to such an extent that my wife had to use a seat cushion to even sit in the vehicle for a drive longer than 30 minutes. Finally, at 7800 miles on the odometer I gave up, "bit the financial bullet", and got out of my lease. Acura may aspire to premium status but I know Ill never get another one. The materials, assembly, fit and finish, and technology are, at best, equal to Honda but at Lexus prices. My wifes Hyundai Elantra is a better vehicle than the Acura RDX.