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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  A wise choice - 2005 Acura RL
  By giorgichigo - July 26 - 3:48 pm

  Drives like a Mercedes and has more features at a lower price point. It took me a while to adjust after years of driving BMWs but I have grown to appreciate this vehicle, its comfort and outstanding reliability.

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  Change transmissions every 50,000 miles - 1999 Acura TL
  By frances - July 25 - 12:47 am

  Overall, I love the car... but it is now on its fourth transmission with 150,000 miles. Since no one I told my situation to wanted to offer any compensation, I doubt Ill purchase another Acura. Obviously the problem is common, so it seems Acura should step up to the plate!

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  Great Value - 2009 Acura TL
  By Doc6633 - July 24 - 10:53 am

  Compared to other cars that I drove in several different classes this car gave me the most bang for the buck. The space that the car provides and quality of all the finishes compared to other cars at its price point is superior.

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  Solid SUV - 2009 Acura MDX
  By Dmitriy - July 23 - 8:45 pm

  This is a very well-built SUV. Great interior, audio, engine, transmission. Exterior design will be updated, no doubt. Fuel-economy is a really big down side. Otherwise, better-priced then BMW and Audi. Way better, than Mazda and American-made SUVs.

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  One flaw in this great luxury car - 2009 Acura TSX
  By valuehunter07 - July 23 - 5:23 pm

  Ok Im going to slam this car a little, because the voice activation system has major flaws, and this prevents you from being able to operate your hands free phone link. For whatever reason, there is no option to dial your calls out, without using the voice activation system (which means the car has to hear and understand your VERBAL commands). This means that when you cant get your verbal command through to the car, that youre basically not able to call out. For a luxury car, this is absolutely unacceptable. I understand this is new technology, but they could easily have allowed for a way to dial out calls without using the very flawed voice activation.

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  Excellent Balance of Comfort and Power - 2008 Acura TL
  By HardtoPlease - July 23 - 9:13 am

  No perfect care exists, but the 2008 TL Type S comes close for an attainable price. The vehicle is an excellent blend of power, handling, and interior refinement. A comparable BMW would be significantly more expensive. The competitor vehicles, such as the G35 and the IS350 are good cars but lack the professional finish seen in Acura vehicles. After a week of ownership, there are no visible flaws. The voice command feature of the DVD-navigation system does take some time to learn and perfect.

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  Solid Car - 2008 Acura TL
  By mtlpa - July 22 - 12:35 pm

  Basically bought this car from the inside out. Compared to 330i, Audi A4 and felt the TL was a better value and much more spacious. After a year there have been no defects to speak of, so quite satisfied with build quality. Performance is quite good although torque steer is evident under hard acceleration. Ergonomics are excellent and runs fantastic on the highway. Manual mode transmission is a little disappointing as it does not force the transmission into quicker gear shifts.

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  Nice SUV, Could Be Better - 2009 Acura MDX
  By Ralph - July 21 - 3:50 pm

  I am very impressed with the handling and many electronic features of the MDX, but I am somewhat disappointed in some of the interior fit & finish, harshness/loudness of the engine, audio quality, complexity of the navigation system, and the dealer add-ons that should be standard in a $40K+ vehicle.

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  Great Car - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Frank Bennett - July 21 - 2:46 pm

  Glad we decided on the RDX. Everything we had hoped for in our new SUV. Safety features of the Advance technology are exceptional.

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  Not pretty, not bad, just ok - 2008 Acura TL
  By jfinley - July 21 - 1:18 pm

  Not bad is as good as this car gets. I love the ride and features for the money. The gas mileage is great. Unfortunately, I have an electrical problem that seems to be undiagnosable and continues to plague my car. The torque steering is an issue with this car, but overcome with a little driving skill. I would prefer folding rear seats and better tires form the manufacturer, but pretty average overall. However, the value compared to its competition, was amazing. Many features for the money.