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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  Excellent Car - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Tristan - November 15 - 3:24 pm

  The Acura TSX is my first new car and what a change it is from the previous cars I have driven. While this car is not a power beast, it has significantly more power than your normal sedan. The car is quick and somewhat nimble although when going around turns, I would like to feel more steering response- although this can be attributed to Acuras first attempt at electric steering in the TSX. The design on the outside is very modern and has really nice curves. Inside, the technology is amazing- a decent navigation system, good audio, voice controls- it is a tech nerds dream. So far the car has been very reliable. Gas economy is interesting- very good on the highway but not great in the city.

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  20K Miles - Little Flaws - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Norcal221 - November 15 - 9:04 am

  After 20K miles and 24 mos of owning the base model, still a blast to drive on dry, wet or snowy roads. SH-AWD outperforms my 4wd 08 Tahoe. Had electrical glitches that the dealer had to fix: CD player failed, exterior temp. thermometer failed, sunroof failed. 2nd stage clearcoat not premium-needs to be detailed every 6 mos or so to restore the like-new luster. Forget the 3rd row seating unless you have little kids no legroom. 2nd row fits 3 adults comfortably. No other problems! Currently averaging 18 mpg & tires starting to fade due to aggressive driving. Worth every penny!

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  Exellent value and looks - 2005 Acura TL
  By Boza - November 14 - 7:43 pm

  My driving experience have been impecable. This is the best car Ive ever own.

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  09 TL AWD - 2009 Acura TL
  By RonB - November 14 - 11:09 am

  I bought this car after a 3 year lease on a 2007 Accord V6. The Accord was flawless and sold me on Honda vehicles. The exterior styling of the car is just a little too gaudy for my taste and could be toned down some but it was not enough to prevent me from buying the car. I drove the car on a 500 mile business trip the first week I owned it and that convinced me that I made an excellent choice. The NAV Weather is a great plus, the sound system is excellent, the ride is quiet and comfortable and the mileage is more than acceptable for a car of this size.

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  2010 RDX (AWD) - 2010 Acura RDX
  By Robert McGuire - November 14 - 10:04 am

  I have only had this vehicle for two weeks but I have enjoyed it very much. It is fun to drive, has the power I need when merging on to the highway and I love when the turbo kicks in. Not very pleased with the road noise and you feel every bump, thats something that my wife and I both agree on. The road noise you can get use to but the bumps are another thing.

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  2003 TL Type S with Navigation, Spoiler - 2003 Acura TL
  By tonnybb - November 14 - 10:00 am

  I was torned between this car and the Lexus IS 300. The Type S won me over due to its excellent value, long list of features, resale value, and reputation for quality. Including tax, I paid $33,500. I have less than 1,000 miles on it and it is therefore still in the break in period. I have been a long-term BMW owner (5 and 7 series). The BMW handles better, but the total cost of ownership of these cars are way too expensive. This is an excellent handling car for a front drive vehicle with outstanding accelaration and fuel ecconomy for its size.

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  Dependable but boring - 2005 Acura RL
  By Chris - November 14 - 6:53 am

  I wish the Acura RL could use "real looking wood" like my 05 Acura TL did... its so plastic looking. It is a great car though. Seems not as sporty as a car like a 5 series, but reliability is its strong suit. 80,000 miles on it and plan on keeping for long term... only issue is it is boring (true disclosure most cars after a while bore me:).

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  Happy Camper - 2018 Acura RDX
  By Optionier - November 13 - 5:09 pm

  Came from a BMW X-3 that I had been driving since purchasing new in 2011. The RDX is an easier daily driver. I had been driving on run flat tires for so long I had forgotten how bad they are. The RDX is simply more comfortable over all road conditions. Test drove the 2018 X-3 and was disappointed in the BMW’s turbo 4 pot. Even though it had good acceleration it’s still displays an economy car feel, sound and characteristics. Visibility is super, comfort is excellent. Just finished a 650 mile road trip that I had taken many times in the X-3 and felt more comfortable and much less fatigued in the RDX. Throw in at least $10,000 lower price than a similarly equipped X-3 and I’m simply a happy camper.

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  Great Car - Great Value - 2009 Acura TL
  By Jim Matheson - November 12 - 9:25 pm

  This segment is filled with excellent vehicles, but the TL stands out based on its long list of standard features and reasonable price. Mine is the base model, which is just as quick as the AWD due to its lighter weight and gets better mileage to boot. I agree the front grille is not Acuras best work, but I found a replacement in the aftermarket which is a huge improvement. While not a true sports sedan, the car handles well for its size and intended use and the motor is a jewel - smooth and powerful. Acura builds a quality automobile and I have found the resale values to be excellent. Guess thats why I have owned 22 of them so far...

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  Love my MDX! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Buck - November 12 - 9:48 am

  Best car I have ever driven. I came from a mini van and wanted something more sporty. Handling is great. Easy to parallel park. Turns on a dime. I love how it looks. Few things they should improve on: paint chips easily, bluetooth poor quality, navigation system needs much more updates, coin tray cover broke, running board separated, needs a right arm rest or higher console, a lot of wind noise unless you remove the roof rack, need a place to put my purse. When getting in the car I wish the seat would not advance right away this makes it hard to get in. Had roaring noise in drivers front. We already had to replace the bearings!! Even with all this I still love the car.