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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  Electrical problems galore - 1991 Acura Integra
  By hienz1 - November 2 - 10:05 am

  The Integrated Control Unit (not the car computer) behind the fuse panel shorted out. I had to replace the starter, battery, batt. cables, distributor, fuel injectors, the capacitors inside the ICU, starter switch, fuel pump relay, every single relay & fuse, blower motor & resistors. I built my own resistors because the stock ones kept breaking. The mounting tang for the blower motor fuse broke off, so I had to splice into one of the starter switch wires and connect it to the fuse. I had to jumper 2 of the terminals on the fuse panel with a blade-fuse holder to restore power to the stereo. I also changed the drive shafts & all struts, and I do my own brakes. Time 2 sell.

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  Good used car to buy - 1997 Acura RL
  By Good car to buy used - October 28 - 4:18 pm

  I bought this car with 70,000 miles. It is a highway car made to go 70 mph. There is a lot of wind noise at higher speed and it shakes a lot going past 85 mph. Pickup is awful. Leather in seats is average (not worth $44,000 new). Back seats are cramped, other car I own (1998 toyota avalon) has roomy rear seats, even with front seats all the way back.

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  Not what I was expecting from Acura - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Mike B - October 23 - 5:58 pm

  Chose the MDX for a few reasons - reliability, versatility, build quality, value. Been very surprised that car does not deliver well on at least two of those traits. Had a transmission issue the first day I drive the car. Transmission got stuck in low gear. Was solved with a software upgrade and been ok so far. I did a lot of research on the transmission issues and was under the impression that the ills of 2015 were fixed in 2016. Not sure of that. Next issue was a rattle from the rear of the car since day 1. Turns out that a bolt was dropped into the chassis during assembly which required taking out part of the interior to find. How did that ever pass the quality check before delivery I dont know. On a positive note, I am actually getting great mileage - averaging 25 mpg on the freeways, far better than my last Lexus. But the car feels cheap and as if corners were cut. Lots of plastic and poor damping on the different cubbies in the car. My Lexus was far superior for only about $3k more. Still 2 1/2 years on my lease but this is my last Acura. I grew up on Hondas and Acuras but feel Acura, at least, has lost its way. Back to Lexus for me.

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  Never Again - 2009 Acura RDX
  By Mark from Sacramento - October 21 - 10:22 pm

  My wife got the car and she seems happy with it, but I think the lack of visibility out the back is dangerous. The rear window is very small and then further blocked by the drivers headrest. Visibility out the drivers side is also bad because of the frame between driver and passenger windows. The real problem is the delay in acceleration which is maddening. Delay is usually 1 second but if you really need to pull in front of a car to make an exit you need to know it may the sequence which is engine revs, wait a second, wait a second, and then car accelerates, but not quickly. I cant believe this is supposed to be a premium car. Also high hood blocks forward view a little.

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  Overrated - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mike Ryan - October 15 - 8:42 am

  We have owned 3 Acuras all purchased new. We will not be purchasing a fourth. Tires on TL wore out after 24,000 miles. Rust on brakes had to be scraped after less than 18,000 miles, not covered by warranty. Passenger side window opens but will not always close. Acura Service tells us it will be $545 to fix. Window service is outside warranty period. There has been no damage to the vehicle that would cause the window malfunction. This is not what you would expect from a company that prides itself in building quality products.

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  Extended warranty - 2005 Acura MDX
  By MDX man - September 21 - 9:17 am

  I have this truck for over 4years, I took to dealer at least 5 times for various problem.... Nice design, need to improve quality... Starter, Valve, Transmission, shock-- etc some of the few problems that have with this truck....

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  Do Not Buy!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By Disappointed - September 11 - 10:21 am

  I purchased my 2003 Acura TL Type S used with 49,000 miles in January of 2008. It WAS a great vehicle until the odometer hit 66,000 miles thats when the transmission failed and had to be replaced. The cost of the replacement was $3,500. I purchased this vehicle based off of Acuras claim of producing quality and reliable products. My Acura has not exhibited any of these claims. I should have listened to the consumer reviews I read while researching this vehicle. There was an alarming number of reviews warning of transmission replacements. Will not buy another Acura again.

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  Not worth the money - 2010 Acura RDX
  By momof2 - September 6 - 3:43 pm

  I bought this car due to cash for clunkers. I think I would have like this car better had I not driven or knew about the Tiguan (no inventory available). No rear air vents, back seats dont move, sunroof is weak and virtually no power outlets (1). Luxury is a far reach for this car. All the thought was put into technology rather than make the vehicle functional. The dual air zone is for the front seats...I guess they dont think anyone will sit in the back as if the back seat is just decoration. The vehicle does drive smooth and has great control but cabin noise is another "non luxurious" characteristic.

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  Nice ride, poor quality components - 2003 Acura MDX
  By CalJuls - September 4 - 3:44 pm

  Purchased our MDX with 41K on it and performance was good for about a year. The room inside is great except the third row - tight fit - the ride is nice. Serious quality issues with interior components and auto seats. Driver regulator bolt snapped in half - cost to repl 1,500 - the finger controls for air vents snapped off - 275.00 ea to repl the vent modules - cant just repl the finger control pieces that snap off. I went to Acura based on their reputation and being a past loyal Honda driver - I am disappointed - hv 97K miles now and getting 18 mpg - all sched main service has been followed. Being told to consider trade in by my dealer cause my next regular sched main will be costly - 2K.

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  shake,rattle and roll - 2004 Acura TL
  By eh20man - September 1 - 8:26 pm

  Have owned my TL for about a year, and this car has more quality issues than any new car Ive owned. I am shocked that Acura would release a car to the public without proper testing and quality control. This thing rattles like a box of bolts, and has numerous cosmetic issues with the paint, dash and interior parts. The seats and door locks have a mind of their own. I have accumulated a list of 14 items that the dealer will be asked to fix. This is ridiculous, I will not be purchasing another Acura.