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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  Nice certified off-lease ride - 2011 Acura RDX
  By njrdx - April 15 - 9:48 pm

  Purchased my 2011 as an off-lease Acura certified SUV. Got it for just under $23k with 30k miles and warranty good until 65k miles. Bought it Fall of 2014 and used it thru a tough winter, the SH-AWD was great! Has 36k miles now so have had it enough time to get very familiar. Do a mix of local and highway driving and it handles both well. With the rear seats down, plenty of room to haul things, the dog, etc. This is a good used car buy if all maintenance and servicing has been done. Turbo engines need on time oil changes. Buying as certified used from Acura is a good way to make sure this is the case.

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  My "New" 2012 MDX - 2k miles so far - 2012 Acura MDX
  By jg88 - April 14 - 1:11 pm

  Just bought a 2012 MDX Tech CPO with 30k miles and am pretty darn happy with it. Tested the X5 and X3, the Q5, the ML 350 and the similarly sized Infinity the MDX was hard to beat for overall driving, quality build and standard features. SH-AWD is in a class of its own for on-the-road traction and performance. Driving during a couple of heavy down pour is a breeze. Surprisingly it has decent ground clearance for logging roads and unimproved two-tracks yet felt lower in driving than the others. Noticed how low in the bonnet the engine sits, must be how Acura lowered its center of gravity. Lastly, could not believe the deal I struck with Acura vs. the German cars - much better.

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  This is not a sports car, its a luxury car - 2015 Acura TLX
  By jw_l - April 14 - 11:59 am

  Had an Acura for over a decade and it was as reliable as the day I bought it. I was hesitant to buy the V6 model after the safety recall, but decided to get one after test driving the 4-cyl and the V6. All the dealerships pulled the defective V6 models already. To start, yes, there is a little lag on acceleration, however, this isnt meant to be a sports car (although the V6 offers Sport and Sport+ modes). I havent experienced jerkiness on the transmission as other reviewers talked about. Its a smooth and very comfortable ride! Love that Sport mode gives you stiffer steering. Really reminded me of my previous sporty car. And, if you prefer the fast acceleration, use the Sport mode.

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  A Nice SUV ripe with electronic issues - Too bad really - 2015 Acura MDX
  By goddo - April 14 - 7:35 am

  I feel like a guinea pig. I was sold a vehicle and I am the one testing it. This SUV is an amazing highway cruiser and family hauler when its not in the garage for electronic issues. My vehicle has been in the garage for multiple two-week periods trying to fix an electrical issue and now the newest issue is the keyless entry/start system doesnt work. I cant even unlock the doors without removing the key from the fob, and I have to hold the fob next to the button just to start the car (even then you wonder if it will work). I have rattles, knocks, and electronic issues that you would expect from a $15K car but not from a luxury brand. I want to like this car, I really do.

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  title - 2012 Acura Integra
  By bob - April 13 - 12:22 pm

  review

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  Waste of money - 2013 Acura TSX
  By ej023 - April 12 - 6:53 pm

  Beyond disappointed with this car. I enjoyed it for about 2 months. Just over 5k miles put on in 19mo and already runs like a clunker. Sounds like crap when it starts, even with snow tires it cant move in a dusting of snow. HUGE mistake on my part to lease it. Ive owned a Toyota, Ford, Dodge, and now this Acura. It is unquestionably the worst of the bunch. I would never waste money on Acura again.

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  Great Car! - 2007 Acura TSX
  By troylp - April 11 - 8:08 pm

  I bought 2007 tsx last year with 81k miles. Pros: very good gas mileage, luxurious interior with all options, quite comfortable, enough power for daily use. Cons: drove it for two months. the starter went out on me. I have owned tl and accord before. Never had this problem. Car has engine vibration issues when in gear. Very common for this model. Overall, im very happy with this car!

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  No problems at all - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Thomas Daly - April 7 - 6:20 am

  Bought the car new and have only to replace the battery. 85,000 plus miles and no tune-up or plugs needed yet. Normal oil changes every 5,000 miles are my only expense so far other than a set of tires. Best car I have every owned - period!

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  beware the 19 in wheels - 2015 Acura MDX
  By Carrie Shaheen - April 2 - 12:45 pm

  very happy with my new MDX with 2 exceptions, one serious, the other just annoying. the serious issue, the 19 in wheels are a huge problem if you need to replace a tire anywhere but a large city. NO ONE carries the 19 in tires. i had a flat in Lake City, Fl. My choices Macon or Tpa. 200 miles in either direction. 2 closer Acura dealers did not carry the tire. 200 mi on a donut is too much. worse yet the dealer says a full size spare wont fit. Until these tires become more available Id stay away from them. The annoying issue: the voice controls for navigation, radio etc are just flat hilarious. Call home pretty routinely either adjusts my AC or finds the closest drug store.

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  Last Honda I will ever buy - 2014 Acura MDX
  By Sung Lee - March 28 - 10:47 pm

  Stay away from this years MDX From 00 Civic si, S2000, TSX, Prelude, and finally this MDX. One of the worst reliability that I have ever faced for a new car. Okay so my car has about 56k miles and now warranty is over. During its journey,it had couple of problems:Seesaw noise on engine bay, Squeeky steering wheel, two recalls (seatbelt and driveshaft), rear seatbelt rattle and now lane departure warning, front collision warning and transmission warning.... I knew that the old Honda/Acura had crappy transmission but didnt know it carried onto new models. Usually first year model is buggy but I think this has to be most annoying new car that I have ever bought (I owned about 15 cars so far)