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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  Acura RDX is a great choice. - 2015 Acura RDX
  By road_gypsy - July 17 - 12:51 pm

  I was originally considering a Honda Crosstour, but also looked at the Subaru Outback 3.6r, lots of 4 cylinder SUVs, the and the RDX. My extended family has had good experiences with Hondas, but poor ones with BMW and Mercedes. The RDX quickly became my favorite. Didnt like the CVT and driving exp. of the Outback although it had more space. The Crosstour was felt heavier and had worse maneuverability, although real 4x4. The RDX was an instant top choice on the test drive. I like that its fast and agile when I need it to be and saves some fuel with the VCM tech. on the highway. The tech. package has a lot of things I dont need, but the stock AWD has some great features.

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  Our first Acura: 25 year old 89 Legend with only 15k miles. Love it! - 1990 Acura Legend
  By kcbobo - July 16 - 2:42 pm

  I love this car! Our first Acura is a 25-year-old Legend L with only 15k miles. Like a time machine, its new inside and out. Was purchased new in 89 by a family member. Always garaged and dealer-maintained, it had been sitting in a garage unmoved for 4 years. Trailered it home, drained fluids, replaced belts, tires, a few hoses and this baby is wonderful. One of the best cars weve owned, powerful and luxurious. Automatic trans shifts smoothly, quiet on the highway, great road manners. Well-mannered is the best description for this car. It moves capably and confidently, handles well and was built to last. Bravo to the Honda engineers...they certainly got it right on this one!

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  Look Forward to Commute Home - 2011 Acura TL
  By joeb30 - July 2 - 9:21 pm

  Bought a used 2011 Black TL with 60,000 miles. My wife asked why does my TL look so sexy (it was parked next to a 2012 Black TL). Mine has the beak painted black, dark tint, painted caliper covers. I keep it clean and it has a deep shine. Do these cosmetic upgrades it the car looks very sexy. It is SH-AWD which translates to fun to drive. Not to be confused with those small foreign sports sedans, my TL drives like an American hot rod. Big interior, big exterior. Except it has all the electronic gadgets you need. In a few drives the buttons become second nature. Reliability - well my 2001 TL has 200,000 miles and still no problems.

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  Great value with Honda/Acura dependability - 2014 Acura TL
  By mqc99 - June 30 - 4:53 pm

  I bought the 2014 TL to replace my 2008 BMW 535i. I love my new TL. It has good power, reasonable gas mileage, and good handling. The BMW may be slightly better in handling, but the TL is way better than the BMW in reliability (I was stranded 3 times and almost stranded twice during the 6 years I owned it, but that’s a different story for the BMW forum). We have had many Honda cars before and it has always been very reliable for us. I am hoping my new TL will be just reliable and fun to drive for many years to come. As someone said here, Acura is trying to clear out their 2014 TL inventories making room for the new 2015 TLX model. So, there are some excellent deals on the 2014 TL now.

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  owned since April 12 - 2012 Acura TL
  By enbeuu - June 24 - 8:15 pm

  great TL and best Acura owned since Legend Coupe which wasnt close to this model in drivability and comfort. blind spot is horrible and side view cam is a must for this model Rear cam is wonderful.

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  I absolutely love this car!!! Best car purchase I have made. - 2014 Acura ILX
  By aeroj101 - June 23 - 12:50 am

  I bought the manual 2.4 version about a month ago, and I am completely in love with this car. First, I think I am probably the target consumer (young professional at a corporate job). I wouldnt want a Civic Si, but I definitely wanted a manual transmission (and the MT option is the ONE main reason I chose the ILX over a Lexus IS I dont care if the IS is faster, I wanted an MT). The sound isolation is good, road comfort is great (Im not trying to experience all the bumps on the road), and I personally love hearing the tune of engine revving up (its beautiful, and its a manual, and thats part of the fun). I am committed to only owning MT cars, and am glad Acura makes a few.

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  Multiple Acura owner - 2014 Acura MDX
  By geomey - June 16 - 3:14 pm

  I have owned a 2003, 2007, and 2010 Acura MDX all with the top of the line package. I have been very satisfied with all of the vehicles except for one area. The tire balance vibration in the 2007 and 2010 Acura drove me crazy. Everything else worked extremely well. The vibration caused me to purchase a 2013 Lexus RX 350 which was a quieter and smoother riding although smaller. We recently checked out a 2014 MDX and were blown away by the improvement in ride and road noise. The ride is better than the RX, quieter and a substantially better handling vehicle. With the gas mileage we are getting we are extremely happy. You cannot buy a better 7 passenger SUV for any price.

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  Fun car to drive packed with luxury (04 RL) - 2004 Acura RL
  By mike900 - June 5 - 2:24 pm

  I bought this car more than two years ago with 78000 miles on it. Ive put more than 13000 miles on my 04 RL and theres absolutely zero issue! So you can see the reliability of this car. I only changed the air filter myself, one of the headlight hit its lifetime I did it myself too. It is easy to DIY with these common consumables. This generation of RL is the last of the honda legend. It kinds of combines the luxury and sporty driving experience. The horsepower of the engine is not really impressive giving the weight of the car is like an mid size SUV. But the acceleration is pretty good. I live in midwest and the front wheel drive has good traction in the winter too. mpg is crappy..

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  The perfect car - 2014 Acura MDX
  By jianco - May 26 - 10:06 pm

  I bought my 14 MDX Tech (no AWD) last week and have driven 1000 miles already. AVERAGE MPG: 29!!!!!!!!!!!! Two other people in the car. Not even broken in yet. Driving at 65 to 75 mph. Incredible ride, ridiculous technology, insane value compared to the it peers, which are the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Mercedes GL450.

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  Great car to drive, but can be expensive to maintain - 2009 Acura TSX
  By yitz1 - May 20 - 1:03 pm

  I love my TSX. Its roomy in the front and handles great. It has a lot of good standard features. It has a lot of pizzaz for a 4 cyl. The main problem I have with it are unexpected expenses. I just had to buy a new tire and rim for the second time after hitting a pothole ($1000!). Stupid low profile tires. Unless you live in a place with few potholes, this can be a big problem. Also, it a little plastic piece around the side mirror broke. I figured it would be under $25 to replace. No such luck. They dont sell just that piece. I had to buy a whole new mirror for over $300.