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:

• 

  Not worth the money at all. - 2015 Acura TLX
  By SOL - November 15 - 8:55 pm

  Pros: headlights is great, sound system, front design. Cons: jerks while gear shift at low speed, HOLD feature sometimes hold at low speed when its suppose to hold after the car has come to a complete stop, no cup holders in the rear, trunk opening is small, the car doesnt turn sharper like they advertise (bs). Would not recommend buying Acura again.

• 

  The good , the bad, and the ugly - 2016 Acura ILX
  By Jeff - August 28 - 3:52 am

  I was looking forward to driving this car because I liked the styling and have owned two Acura TLs. After owning 10 Hondas also , I thought Id check it out The car has a nice cockpit but no lumbar support or adjustment so it was out for me with back issues. It is laid out nicely but storage is the least Ive seen in any other car. console compartment is small and cheap feeling and the door storage can fit a tennis ball?? My main compmaint is a general one with the CVT transmission on ANY car. It COMPLETELY takes the fun out of driving and one feels like theyre a passenger in a very expensive lawn mower or sewing machine. These transmissions are solely for fuel effiiciency. Very effective for that but thats where it ends. In one minute I knew this wasnt the car for me. It shifted five times before I got to 26 mph. The 8 speed transmission makes this worse Over al the car has great styling and will last for hundreds of thousands of miles like all Japanese cars. I just want to actually enjoy the driving experience. Acura is only better than Honda of you can spend over $30K. The Civic is a superior car to the ILX and less expensive. Back to Honda or maybe Subaru

• 

  Rides like a go-cart - 2005 Acura MDX
  By edavis - July 25 - 11:23 pm

  When I first purchased by Acura, I loved it. But after the first year and several miles later the suspension is terrible. It bounces like a go-cart and the brakes are pretty scary too. I believe that it is the front wheel drive that causes the problem with this SUV. The dealer tells me that I have to come in and spend $600 to reset the suspension to the original factory specs, this must be a recurring problem with this vehicle. The air conditioner also makes a loud rattling sound.

• 

  Expensive Name with Basic Entertainment - 2016 Acura ILX
  By Monica - March 31 - 1:11 am

  Very disappointed in the hands-free system when in actuality its Hands-On. You can only dial numbers that are stored in your speed dial other than that you are having to use your phone to dial numbers. While driving your phone book and dialing is not accessible which is the reason why you need these options accessible to you while driving so that it can be hands-free. I feel as though for this car to cost so much that I paid for a basic Ford Focus entertainment system on the inside of it. This car doesnt have a dial pad to dial a number you have to roll the button and push the numbers which is Hands-On. The technology in this car doesnt make sense and is not a safety feature as they say it should be. I feel as though for this car to be as expensive as it is that this Siri radio should have come along with it. But no its a basic radio station with speakers that are not loud at all and theres no touchscreen to do anything. This is by far the worst car Ive bought and wish I would have kept my Hyundai Elantra which features on the inside were so much better than this Acura and I paid 10 - 15 G less. Ive contacted Acura numerous of times with only to be told that this will go in a file for my complaints. I sure wish they would give me another car with the features that are basic in other cars or buy this one back. This is a $30,000 car and I am so disappointed in it . I advised them that I would sell them this car back in a heartbeat and now Im stuck with an expensive car with basic features and a High car payment. So definitely think twice about buying the ILX because you will really be disappointed in the features that they offer you in such an expensive body. Review: nothing has changed for the better. No room in car and Ive almost received ticket due to having my phone in hand for trying to make a phone call because the Calling system in the car is poorly done. Ive call the company and they still have not tried to rectify my problem or even offer me a better car from my money. Their attitude is oh well. They may would have helped me If I was of political or entertainment status.

• 

  2016 MDX vibration - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Very disappointed - February 20 - 2:57 am

  I bought a 2016 Acura MDX within the first week I noticed a vibration between 55 to 75 mph, at 459 miles I took it in to the dealer to install the mounding I had purchased and told them it had a vibration they balanced the tires. It did not solve the problem, took it back a second time where I was told by the service writer that there was nothing wrong with the car, I would find nothing wrong with it and it drives just as well as any car on the lot. You can visibly see the steering wheel shake and feel the vibration. I took it in a third time, took a service technician out with me, he witnessed the steering wheel shaking and vibrating. So I asked, ok we are in agreement that you witnessed the steering wheel shaking and vibrating he said yes, I took his name and wrote it down along with date and time. The dealer had my car for about a week, which they did give me a loaner, they called and said they had figured it out, they replaced the brake rotors. Needless to say the vibration is still there, since then I have taken it to a tire store that told me I had three bad tires, took it back to the dealer, they road force balanced the tires, vibration is still there. I have been in contact with Acura Client Relations since the second service appointment, next step is meeting with the District Service Manager. Not to mention how the transmission shifts, I am hoping they come out with a software update for that. Needless to say I am very disappointed and regret purchasing the MDX.

• 

  Transmission went after 15k - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Krang - February 19 - 7:29 pm

  I have had my SUV in for repairs several times. Window would go up and down. In the fourth try they almost fixed it. It doesnt just go down on its own any longer. It just doesnt stay up if you roll it down. It takes about 4-5 tries. The USB ports dont work. They said its my phone, I have had 6 chargers and a new phone since my purchase. The computer/transmission has been in 3 times. They claimed it was a computer issue with shifting. However when my car failed to go over 30 MPH. I called, their response was there is no engine light on, there is no problem. However after my car being there for a week, they called to let me know the transmission is faulty and needs to be replaced. I called my sales rep (who weve used for 5 cars) to see if he could swap my car out for a similar one. He didnt help and told me to call Acura and file a complaint. He also said they will not do anything to help you. Extremely disappointed after spending 50k on a lemon. I did plan on purchasing this car at the end of the lease.