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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  2016 Acura MDX AWD - 2016 Acura MDX
  By CFM - December 27 - 6:28 pm

  We finally bought our new SUV or I guess they call it a crossover. Keep in mind we only have a few hundred miles on it so its still really early. We looked at a lot of vehicles before choosing the MDX. As far as a luxury 7 passenger vehicles go this seemed to have everything we wanted and needed after a couple of weeks of shopping and doing serious looking at the German counter parts. The MDX meets all of our requirements as follows in no specific order. Luxurious, stylish, roomy, safe, quality. We hope the maintenance is low and that it will hold its resale value I guess time will tell. The ride is great in the awd however on bumpy roads you can hear some road noise. The steering is awesome The turning radius is amazing making u-turns a breeze. This is a very easy and stress free vehicle to drive. Unlike most of the reviews I have read the command center is easy to operate we were a little worried after reading the reviews but it is super simple! We thought we wanted the black on black but after looking at the Lunar Silver Metallic we fell in love with how it really accentuates the lines on the vehicle.

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  A fantastic value - 1998 Acura TL
  By jdaniels - December 27 - 2:00 am

  I bought the TL as an Acura Certified pre-owned car with 44,000 miles on it. Condition of paint/leather/engine compartment was/still is (at 56,000 miles) unbelievable "showroom" new. The car runs and drives like something much more expensive its "gait" on the highway has to be experienced .. it just powers effortlessly along at illegal speeds. The transmission shifts are undetectable, unless youre really pushing it, and then you WANT to feel it shift and it does so smartly. Handling is decent for a car of this size/weight/genre. Reliability is rock solid.

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  Acura quality is going down - 2003 Acura CL
  By mad cls owner - December 23 - 10:00 am

  First off, I love the engine, transmission, and the seats. The car accelerates well, and the ride is firm, but comfortable. The handling is pretty good for a car of this weight. What has diminished my enjoyment of the car are the various squeaks and rattles coming from the dash, passenger side seat, sunroof, and the rear of the car. This is not something I expected from an over $31,000 car. It only has 1860 miles on the odometer. Hopefully my dealer can fix these annoying problems. My Acura Integra GSR had no such problems early in its life. I will think twice before I buy another Acura.

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  Great Car, Good performance!! - 2001 Acura TL
  By GeorgeD - December 23 - 2:00 am

  I really love this car. The performance is really good and with everything standard you dont feel like your being takened.

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  Jurys Out - 2004 Acura TL
  By Gordie Gartrell - December 19 - 10:00 am

  Loved the car at first sight. It came down to the TL and the G35 and I thought I had my mind made up until a months worth of driving. The pull in the front end is driving me nuts and the handleing in rain is really poor. Hit a bump at high speeds and the car dances all over the place. My conclusion is that front wheel drive with this kind of power is a no go. If I could take it back and get the G35, I would. All the good things about the TL are solid and it is a great car but the bottem line is driving and performance and it falls short. Maybe Acura in 2005 will nail it.

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  Fun to drive, poor mpg - 2007 Acura RDX
  By k - December 18 - 10:13 pm

  Great pickup and handling for an SUV. The tech gadgets are fun. My first tank of gas gave me 16 mpg - my Porsche gets 19 mpg combo and 27 mpg freeway. It makes me wonder what Acura was thinking when they designed this engine. If the mpg doesnt go near the lowest stated mpg after break-in, then there is a problem.

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  best car for your dollar - 1997 Acura RL
  By corey - December 11 - 2:00 am

  Acura RL 97 has served me well. Never had any real problems. As long as you maintain (oil changes and proper servicing) you will have no problems. Had for 2 yrs and just bought 740iL but RL was better car believe ir or not. Cd changer in center console RL has, front wheel drive, smooth ride, good fuel efficiency, V6 engine is sufficient unless youre Mario Andretti

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  Acura RL special edition - 1998 Acura RL
  By tomlu - December 11 - 2:00 am

  Its been a very fine car, no matter on long-distance highway ride or every day city commute. Very impressive acceleration and braking, ever after 4 years of services, it still feels like in its first year, and still want to beat all the beamers.

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  Great car if take carre of it - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Geter - December 10 - 2:00 am

  This is the second 1st generation Legend I have owned and love it. As long as you use synthetic oil, keep the tranny fluid changed and change the timing belt before its due, youll be good to go. Automatic tranny is a little too happy about downshifting sometimes, but overall Ive been loving this car.

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  The Compromise - 2003 Acura TL
  By Jim6090 - December 10 - 2:00 am

  What a compromise. I love VW Passats, but my wife wanted smooth and RELIABLE!! This baby is smooth and powerful. I bought the car as a compromise with my wife. SHE was right, I did not admit this to her. This is a GREAT car. So much car for a reasonable price. I have driven them all and this is the best!!!!!