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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  2003 Acura MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Karen Threlkeld - October 28 - 2:00 am

  Great car! Smooth, quiet and very comfortable. Nice acceleration on the highway.

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  Great deal for the Reliability & Luxury - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Kong Lee - October 26 - 3:46 pm

  I got this car used for almost a year now and I must say the TSX has so much to offer. It came with VSA, ABS, a great engine that produces 205 hp, very low insurance rates, 3 garage door openers on the top of the car next to the lights (Dont know what feature its called LOL), Leather seats, very great comfort. I averaged 25 - 27 miles per gallon for the first 3 months because I did not realize the TSX uses Premium unleaded (90) and I have been refueling with Regular Unleaded (87) fuel. It now averages well between 29 - 33 mpg 50/50 city/highway (Phew). I never had any problems with the TSX so far, only had to change oil once 7 months after I got the car. Have not drove in snow yet.

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  Its so hard to say goodbye... - 1996 Acura Integra
  By GS-R Lover - October 26 - 3:29 pm

  I bought my 1996 Acura Integra GSR (5 sp manual) used in the fall of 1998 right after I graduated from college. I was 22 years old and had just landed my first job in the real world. At the time, the purchase price of $18k nearly broke the bank, but I loved the car and wanted to make a long term investment. Well, it is now the fall of 2009, I am 33 years old, and I still have my GSR and I still look forward to driving it every time I get in! Unfortunately, the time has come for me to get a new car because it is now impractical to own a 2-door due to all of the trips I have to make with my young children. I have loved owning my GSR and I will miss it very, very much. This car will one day be a collectible.

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  2500 hundred miles - so far so good - 2009 Acura MDX
  By BRV - October 26 - 10:52 am

  I have logged just under 2,500 hundred miles since August. W/tech pkg I paid 40k + tax & title. Vehicle handles well on dry and wet roads (no snow in our area yet). It is fairly quiet and very comfortable. Overall great vehicle and best value in the "upscale" SUV class. Beats others in its class for the same money. EPA 15/20. Im getting 20 to 21 overall in mostly country driving where I live and commute to work. Best feature: performance/handling/comfort combination Worst feature: roof rack wind noise. I removed the cross bars and will just put them back on when needed. Very easy to just unscrew 2 screws per bar. Takes 5 minutes.

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  Nice car for the money - 2009 Acura TSX
  By dcb - October 24 - 12:42 pm

  Have owned the car a little over 4 months and have put 4600 miles on it. Researched quite a bit and chose over an Audi A4 based on expected reliability and price/feature content. Former 04 Accord coupe 6 speed owner. Gonna buy another new Accord coupe, but drove an automatic and hated it. Drove the TSX and TL after driving the Honda coupe and Acura much better car to me...less road noise, better interior, etc. Accord never went back to the dealer for service in 5+ years...that sold me on Acura over Audi. However, have already been back with break squeal and now have a blown front speaker...not happy about this. Ride is firm, but about right, quiet, refined, handles very well.

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  TSX is not a 3 series wannabee - 2006 Acura TSX
  By gt0279a - October 24 - 8:20 am

  Crossed shopped BMS 325i, Audi A4 and Lexus IS. The TSX is a fun car to drive and comes with just about every feature you need. The exterior design is not the most exiciting, but I spend most of my time inside the car and the 325i and Audi A4 are just bland and not quite as intuitive as the Acura. The Navigation is tops on the market, the BMW one lags and the Audi is confusing.

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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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  Best in Class - 2006 Acura TL
  By Steven D. - October 23 - 1:43 pm

  I checked out all the competition and concluded that the Acura TL offered the best bang for the buck. It is much roomier then the Lexus IS 350 and less expensive for comparative equipment. I enjoy the NAV system and use the blue tooth constantly. Its nice to keep your hands on the wheel and still control all the main features of the car. I would recommend this car to anyone wanting luxury with a sporty feel.

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  Glad I bought it - 2005 Acura TL
  By Ty - October 23 - 12:03 pm

  My choice was between the Infiniti G35 and the TL. I bought the TL because of the extras and it drove better. For the money, there is not a better choice. I looked at the Infiniti, Audi, Maxima and TL. TL just offered more for the money. I dont have many complaints other than the stereo system needs refining (especially CD) and it needs auto headlights.

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  Best not-a-station-wagon car ever made - 1999 Acura NSX
  By Rainbby - October 22 - 9:51 pm

  This silver NSX-T has been our daily driver for ten years. Unless youre hauling goats to a vet, this is the best way for two people to get from here to there weve found in a pretty long life. Weve owned a dozen cars in fifty years together. Over half were sports cars. Getting out can be a challenge at our age. Otherwise weve never had a car so satisfying in every way. I raced Formula Ford and Im an aerospace engineer. This is a superbly designed car in all ways. We only get 21 mpg, but Corvette friends grimace at that. Our first clutch lasted 97K and both have been a pleasure to use. Headrooms fine for a 6 footer and someone has a tall mod.