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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  GREAT CAR FOR THE MONEY - 2001 Acura TL
  By BRUCE JACOBSON - November 30 - 2:00 am

  I WAS LOOKING FOR AN ENTRY LEVEL LUXURY CAR AND THIS CAR FILLS THE BILL. IT IS EVERY BIT THE CAR THAT THE LEXUS ES350 IS AND $6000 LESS.THE AUTO SHIFT IS GREAT FUN AND THE GPS IS BOTH HELPFUL AND A NICE TOUCH FOR TRAVELING AND WORK. YOU NEVER GET LOST AND FUN AND EASY TO USE.

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  Most "Bang for your Buck!" - 2003 Acura TL
  By randalr1 - November 29 - 10:00 am

  This is the second newer generation Acura TL my wife and I have owned. Both have been excellent cars. The engine is outstanding and very smooth. We have owned several cars at this pricepoint and the Acura blows them all away. You get the features in a 35k - 40k car while paying 30k or less. Plus you get a great warranty 4yrs, 50k.

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  Exterior Quality - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Christopher Trinh - November 29 - 12:22 am

  Overall it rides nice and very comfortable. The downside is that the Acura MDX has built quality issues. The panels either dont lineup or the gap is not even. For instance, the fuel door is off center, both side of the trunk lift gate have uneven gaps and both side of the front top fender panels are off and dont lineup with the front bumper. Very disappointed and I would consider other brand of SUV such as Lexus in the near future. If you are in the market for any Acura vehicle, do check for quality built issues. Chances are the panels dont lineup and the gaps are not even.

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  Bulletproof - 1999 Acura Integra
  By archslater - November 25 - 2:00 am

  After 45,000 joyful miles, im happy to report that I havent had a single problem with this car, not one, and I drive the car in a spirited manor. These cars are bulletproof. What makes it even greater is that I leased it, and agreed on an end of lease purchase option in the initial contract. The lease is up soon, and the true market value of the car is $4000 over the agreed purchase price... VERY LITTLE DEPRICIATION!!!

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  Good car with not so good mileage. - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Manoj Pandey - November 24 - 5:41 am

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  good value - 2000 Acura TL
  By kensho - November 21 - 2:00 am

  the TL is the best sub $30k car on the market hands down - fast and fun to drive -

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  Could be better (Transmission Problems) - 1998 Acura CL
  By CLCoupe - November 18 - 2:00 am

  I own this car for 5 years and never had any electrical problems, but something is wrong with Acura/Hondas 1997-1998 transmission. I bumped into another car lightly (no dents or paint chipping off, no damage whatsoever), then my transmission acted awkwardly and shifts very hard. The transmission were free of charge though. This didnt only happened to my car, it also happened to 2 of my other friends who owns a 1997 prelude and 1998 Accord. Same symtoms from VERY light head-ons. BEWARE!!! Honda might be trying to cover up this problem.

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  2002 cl - 2002 Acura CL
  By scotty mo - November 18 - 2:00 am

  Weve owned the 2002 cl for about 8 months. Havent had any problems. Has lots of standard features, decent power. customer service has been excellent.

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  U Gotta Problem?...Nope!!! - 2000 Acura Integra
  By mr27122 - November 15 - 2:00 am

  Reliable, fun, and relaxed. Its a great car and my fondness for it has only increased as ive reacked up mileage on the odometer.

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  Liberty loves it! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By ladylib - November 13 - 2:00 am

  The MDX was not without inital minor problems (the thud, the weeping mirrors) but both problems were resolved by Acura and the dealership. Hubby was recently in a 50mph freeway crash in our MDX, and while our vehicle is pronbably totalled, he wasnt. This vehicle has earned its admirably high safety rating - it did what it was designed to do and Im grateful. Those foks at Acura build an awewsome egg crate. Were not looking elsewhere - were just planning on replacing our damaged MDX with a newer model. Thanks Acura!