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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  quality without being overboard - 2001 Acura TL
  By sylvesr - February 7 - 2:00 am

  Vehicle is sound, comfortable, pleasant to drive, not too sporty. Great sound and navigation system. Had to replace rear wheel bearing at 20,000 miles! All repairs under excellent warranty. Some discoloration in airbag cover NOT handled well by dealership.

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  Acura Vigor, sporty sedan - 1994 Acura Vigor
  By RezzasVTEC - February 6 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Vigor because it was an Acura (Ive dealt with 4 honda/acuras in the past, and know that they are very reliable), it was a stylish design, and it was lady-owned with many reciepts. The g25a inline 5 cylinder is great! Its a little more of a high reving car (peak HP is at 6500 rpms), but the engine is soooo smooth. I added a RActive filter and I can feel more bottom end torque, better top speed, and the best part, a mean, deep throttle growl. DONT DOUBT THE I5, GET A VIGOR, IT WONT DO YOU WRONG!

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  Dissapointed in Acura - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Randall69 - February 4 - 2:00 am

  I must have a lemon. The transmission had to be completely replaced after six months. The brakes are extremely noisy and make a consistant clunking sound every time you shift. Acura claims this isnt a safety issue and I agree. It is,however, annoying and loud and makes the vehicle sound cheap, which at $40,000 dollars,itis not. These experiences have provided a very disappointing experience, especially since this is an Acura. I got more reliability from an Explorer.

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  My 2004 RL - 2004 Acura RL
  By kcmokid - February 1 - 2:00 am

  Great value compared to Mercedes, BMW, or Lexus. Looks similar to big Benz. Lots of luxury. Definitely not a sports-sedan. Luxo-cruiser at best. Ride can be jittery over challenging pavement as mentioned by another reviewer. Wont disappoint as luxury cruiser. Not the head-turner that 5 serious or GS is. Want a combo of fun, luxury, superior customer service? Go with Lexus!

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  Roof Rack Stink - 2003 Acura MDX
  By FG - January 31 - 10:00 am

  Even though I love my MDX the only thing bad is the Roof Racks. First of all they are too close to each other to put any soft storage carriers. If you want to get a hard cargo top its not compatible to 99% of non-dealer companies. The Acuras cargo carries is priced twice as much and half the space of THULEs brand. So if your going to buy the MDX, save some money and dont include them in the package.

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  A great value - 2002 Acura RL
  By Browniebeach - January 27 - 2:00 am

  With 45,000 miles on my 2002, I am trading in for a 2004. I have been very pleased with this car. The Honda quality in Acura products shows through in the fit and finish and the engine is superb. Could use about 15 more HP but otherwise it is the best car I have owned. Would recommend the RL to any one. I disagree with some critics the body style is outdated I think it has classy lines and Acura would be foolish to "dress it up" too much in the 2005 model.

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  Tires are a Problem - 2005 Acura TL
  By Disappointed - January 26 - 9:50 pm

  The Turanza EL42 tires are significantly sub-standard in my experience. At 15k, tires were bald. Dealership kindly replaced tires. However, subsequently the vehicle had vibrations. The Service Department indicated the vibrations were caused by the new tires. Others on Tirerack.com have indicated the tires have flat spots (causes vibrations), poor handling in snow or rain and premature tread wear. Dealership and Customer Service have not offered any solutions other than for me to accept the vibrations as a character of the car. I am still in disbelief that Honda/Acura finds this acceptable.

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  Love it!! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Tami - January 23 - 1:33 pm

  Just bought the RDX a few weeks ago and I love it!! This is my first SUV I test drove others but when I drove this I was sold. However, my gas mileage is really bad. Ive been getting 12.5 mpg. Not good. I do not drive crazy or accelerate fast so I dont know whats up but not too happy about the gas mileage.

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  Great value - 2000 Acura TL
  By Little Rock - January 22 - 2:00 am

  This car is a dependable, comfortable, good looking car. The only work done on the car was replacing the windshield washer hoses and wipers, because they left a smeary film on the windshield after using windshield washer fluid. Engine is smooth, and the speed shift feature is fun when driving on the weekends. Nice to have an automatic transmission during the week and running around town. Leather seats have held up well. 36,000 miles on the car, and will keep it for several more years. Interior road noise is not bad, but could be improved at highway speeds.

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  Fine, fine car - 1998 Acura CL
  By Coz - January 20 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car right out of college, my first new car - and it has been a truly great car to own. Cant really gripe about anything too much. I think I may drive this one into the ground - will make a great 2nd car when I finally decide to get something new.