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:

• 

  Great family car, not very fast, little noisy - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Simon Chu - June 4 - 9:34 am

  Overall not a bad car for a US manufactured vehicle, lots of gadgets that are fairly standard with other luxuries. My first time owning an MDX, the jewel lights are great. I am a little annoyed by the dull hum when you turn the steering wheel. The service guy says that is how it is made. I did not hear it in the other vehicles. The controls screen HAVE to be UPDATED to include a single button to change air circulation, when you see some exhaust and dusts you have to scramble to find the control and press TWO BUTTONS to change to recycle. I am able to get by just putting the car in AUTO for AC. You have to press TWO BUTTONS to turn on and off AC!

• 

  my baby - 1993 Acura Vigor
  By monkey boy - June 4 - 2:00 am

  i think the vigor kicks @$$, i absolutly love it, the vigor was the first car i leagaly drove and it currently has over 115000 miles on it and it still runs like its brand new, and the 2.5L has always had enough power to get out of any sticky situations

• 

  OverLooked Luxury Sedan - 2002 Acura RL
  By sgt - June 3 - 2:00 am

  We owned a TL and decided to upgrade. We are very happy with our decision. The ride is fantastic, like riding on a cloud. Well built automobile.

• 

  Acura - 2003 Acura TL
  By Ink - May 31 - 10:00 am

  nice car for tall people, I could not fit in the Lexus IS, C230, and a few other cars I tested. Im 64 with long legs, and this is the car I needed. The transmission is always a little busy for some reason, and the rubber around my sunroof rotted off and they wouldnt replace it. Gas mileage is less than desireable, but I didnt buy the car for economical reasons. The extra 600 I paid for the wood wheel was worth it, so was the exterior body kit. All in all, if the car wasnt as quick as it is, it would be a total loss.

• 

  Iowa Green TL - 1996 Acura TL
  By Jeff Durbin - May 29 - 2:00 am

  Excellent car. I bought a five-year old 96 with somewhat high miles but I got a very good price. Interior is wonderful and the exterior is solid, if somewhat conservative. The only nit I have with it is that the drivers side window sometimes comes unsealed at 75 or 80 and I get a lot of wind noise. Dealer servicing was obscene so I am finding a new mechanic.

• 

  The best car I have owned - 1999 Acura RL
  By jtp225 - May 29 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this car used in August of 2000 with 9,000 miles. It has since given me no problems of any kind and has been a pleasure to drive (38,000 miles now). I paid $30,000 and feel I got a great bargain!

• 

  Great car, great performance,great price - 2006 Acura TL
  By sukumar - May 28 - 10:56 am

  I have had the car for two days now, preliminary feedback. Got the black on black with nav. Excellent build quality, awesome road performance, great road handling. Filled with luxury features and still like 10-12K cheaper than a corresponding Lexus with not so good performance. This car beats a Lexus or Infinity hands down. Best value for money at this price. Dont waste your money on BMWs built in European welfare states, you are paying for their high taxes and state provided freebies.

• 

  None - 2000 Acura TL
  By Nazzman - May 26 - 2:00 am

  teriffic value, a blast to drive, I would Buy it Again.

• 

  Good Value - 1999 Acura CL
  By pgk - May 24 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this vehicle at point when Acura was discounting the car, probably due to forthcoming model change. The car is almost 3 years old with 19,000 miles and there hasnt been a single problem. Typical Honda. It is a two door vehicle and really a two passenger car unless your friends prefer to ride in cramped rear quarters. Turning radius is terrible so dont even think about those mid block U- turns. The engine (3.0) gets the car moving at any speed/rpm and is one of the nicest features. Car came with almost every option imaginable, so if you want a good value, check out this vehicle.

• 

  Truly amazing quality - 1993 Acura Integra
  By Kruzo - May 23 - 2:00 am

  Can not say enough about it. Bought new in 93, 182000 miles on it. No major breakdowns ever. Normal maintanance stuff -- brakes, muffler, etc. On my second battery, second clutch, ORIGINAL front brake rotors. Second (!) muffler (by Honda). If maintained properly (i.e. not by Midas), will live forever. Problems I did encounter in all 9 years are: AC (need repair at the moment), Oil pan gasket (hard to get to), a distributor cup at 50K miles. Other then that --- nada. Not bad for a HEAVILY used commuter car that does 80 miles a day.