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:

• 

  My Dream Car - 2007 Acura TL
  By Sherrie Etheridge - July 15 - 8:59 pm

  I have always dreamed of getting an Acura ever since a friend of mine let me drive his. This car has such a great takeoff and is gorgeous! I do, however. hear rattling in the door. Sometimes it is hard to make a u-turn well. I love the navi, the surround sound, HF links. I am not aware of the gas light coming on because I try to fill up at half tank. I do wish that they would make it run with regular unleaded especially now with gas prices so high. All-in-all I think the 2007 Acura TL is the a blessing!

• 

  Very nice! - 2005 Acura TL
  By Brett - July 15 - 1:42 pm

  At 3 years and over 30k miles, not a single problem, not even a bulb out. Fast, smooth, quiet, fun to drive, it gets 33 mpg at 70 mph on the highway, average is about 25 mpg. Lots of nice options, very nice looking inside and out. We have the 6 speed manual, a much different car from the auto trans ones, much quieter and smoother, as you can shift at 3000 rpm, even with lots of throttle and MOVE, while the auto trans cars want to let the motor rev up a lot (where the power is). That makes things busy and noisy compared to the manual trans cars.

• 

  Drive it right and get 26 MPG! - 2008 Acura RDX
  By adam - July 14 - 8:23 pm

  I love everything about the car. In the beginning I was disappointed in the gas mileage (~16MPG) but now that Ive learned how to drive less aggressively, Im getting 24 to 27 MPG in a mix of city/highway. The trick is to stay out of boost and under 70MPH on the highway, sure it takes patience but Ive gone from 260 miles per tank to just under 400... thats a savings of about $150 per month based on the 1800 miles per month I drive.

• 

  What a car! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Larry - July 14 - 5:46 pm

  Saw the TSX and was blown away. We travel a lot so handling/ride/comfort are important. Got it on a Mon., left for 1300+ mi. trip on Fri. What a great surprise bonus: first tank, 523 mi. w/51 mi left; varied speed 68-78, 35.5 MPG!! Mountain twisties w/paddles were great fun; handling is confident and sure-footed. Some aggressive driving/small town traffic brought second fill-up to 29.8. Trip home was combo of 2-lane w/small towns and interstate, 33.7 mpg. Did not expect NEAR this! The sound system/iPod convenience is marvelous. TSX is very comfortable; two 500+ days not tiring at all. Compare the 7 or so cars in this class- nearest comparably equipped car is priced $5K higher.

• 

  Love this Vehicle!! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By playfast - July 14 - 2:00 am

  I picked up my 2003 MDX/touring in early October and have been more than pleased with the ride and performance. I test drove quite a few luxury SUVs before deciding on this one and have not regretted the decision for one second. The build quality is superb. Am looking forward to my first big road trip over Thanksgiving!

• 

  MDX Tech w/ PTG - Steel Blue - 2008 Acura MDX
  By MeBuyToo - July 13 - 8:05 pm

  Great ride words canÂ’t express how much I love this car. The car is nothing but classy inside and out. It stands out on the road and its always the best looking vehicle in the parking lot. Kudos to Acura for coming up with technology ideas that leads us in the 21st century. Nav is working great traffic incidents works. Hands free link works. Climate control is really good super handling, plenty of go power stereo sounds great. The voice commands works well for me, even with the windows down. With all its features its best to get to know the voice commands. Thank goodness they work. Considered Lexus RX350, BMW X5, Volvo C90. MDX design and Technology value outstanding.

• 

  2008 Acura TL-S Auto - 2008 Acura TL
  By Howie - NJ - July 13 - 12:40 pm

  After researching several makes, Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, MB, etc., I purchased my TL-S in silver about one month ago. I wanted a 6 speed but they were hard to find so I took an automatic. Im still getting used to driving the auto as well as front wheel drive after driving all wheel drive Audis for the last 8 years. Overall this car is great, no complaints so far. I love the styling of the interior and exterior and the gas mileage for an engine this size has been surprisingly good. On a recent trip (600 miles round trip) I averaged 33 mpg! This car offered by far the best bang for the buck.

• 

  An Amazing car for that Price!! - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Skolluru - July 13 - 7:00 am

  I bought my TSX last month and I simply loved it!! Kind of features it is having for that amount is superb !it has excellent look, awesome interior wonderful new features.Bluetooth feature,souns system,XM and all new features are excellent.We cant expect more power for a 4 cylinder and good milage aswell.No regrets in buying TSX.I will recommend this car if you are looking for a car range of $27k. No car can beat this!!

• 

  Move over BMW - 2004 Acura TL
  By AH619 - July 12 - 10:00 am

  As a former owner of 2 BMW I can not recall a more enjoyable driving experience of performance, luxury, and comfort. Look forward to the reliability of the Acura vs the shop $$$$ spent on the BMW.

• 

  Great Car All Things Considered - 2004 Acura TSX
  By TXPDelta - July 11 - 4:37 pm

  I love this car even in spite of some quality control issues on the 1st year model. 4 clutch cylinders later and now almost no peddle popping. Other minor issues with door water leak, brake discs, door panel vibrations, and dash squeaks. The car strikes a wonderful balance of daily driver characteristics with solid handling and a near perfect 4 cyl engine. I drove plenty of cars before I bought the TSX and this is the best sedan I found. Not quite a BMW 3-series, but it is the closest youll get for under $30K. Fuel economy is around 23-25 MPG mixed driving with synthetic fluids, Injen air intake, and 93 oct fuel.