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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  I love my MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By lvernacc - July 6 - 10:06 pm

  I purchased my MDX in May 2004. This is the best vehicle I have ever driven. I researched other comparable vehicles as Lexus, Toyota, BMW and Volvo. The MDX was not only the best value, but has the best ride.

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  Very nice - 2005 Acura TSX
  By bob - July 6 - 8:03 pm

  For about $500 more than the accord v6, you get a much nicer vehicle and service.

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  2008 Acura TL - 2008 Acura TL
  By john saltonstall - July 6 - 11:45 am

  I looked at Infiniti, BMW and Lexus before buying the Acura. They all have pros and cons. The value of the Acura is outstanding and the fit and finish is excellent. The 3.2l engine has plenty of power for my needs and the gas mileage is excellent on highway driving. The cabin is very quiet and the ride is smooth but not as cushy as the Lexus.

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  Sold On Honda Products - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Dan Chapman - July 6 - 7:40 am

  Ive had my RSX for a year and a half now and I am so happy with how well my car drives. It handles as tight as a brand new car and I have 53000 on it now. Comfortable seats. Sport tuned suspension. Powerful yet fuel efficient engine. The car corners like a bat outta hell! Im sold on Honda.

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  2005 MDX Review - 2005 Acura MDX
  By 2005 MDX - July 5 - 4:42 pm

  Bought the original style MDX because I just knew the new model wouldnt be as nice. I have never been so happy with a car in my life. Its a wonderful highway cruiser and up in the rockies, it just handles the whoop di doos very solidly, no floating around, just well composed ride. Mileage is 21 highway average at 75 mph and around town 13 (100% stop & go). I got the touring model with nav & the tow package. The AWD works wonderfully. I took it out in the desert near Moabe, Utah and it will go down creeks & up sand banks with ease. In snow its a joy, give a lot of confidence in any type of bad weather. Reliability has been excellent with only the nav being replaced, have 75K miles

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  My TL - 2007 Acura TL
  By Zax - July 5 - 4:06 pm

  I love this car and was dreaming about it for more than 4 years. Now that I have it, its so fun to drive it. Wish it gave better fuel economy but if you can pay for the car, you can pay for the gas. I wish it had just a little more power when I hit the gas. Its quick no doubt, but could be quicker from the get-go.

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  Excellent!! - 2009 Acura RL
  By nervous_mcstabby - July 5 - 2:23 pm

  This is one nice car!! Very quiet with and excellent radio. Controls can be a little confusing until you know where all the controls are. Its best to practice a little before you go on the road and want to change radio channels or map functions. I get a lot of AHHHs from my co-workers when they look at the interior styling. I bought a bright silver exterior. The prominent "transformer shield" grill blends in nicely. Not so with darker colors, in my opinion. The tail end looks fabulous!! Definite BMW 7 series resemblances. Very powerful acceleration. Great control over rainy roads with the SH-AWD. Gas mileage isnt great, but its not bad either. On par with a 300 hp car thats 4,000 lbs.

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  Lives up to "Sports Sedan of SUVs" label - 2008 Acura MDX
  By SXY - July 4 - 9:18 pm

  Bought the MDX for utility, but drive it for fun now. I have an older Audi A4 quattro sedan, and was looking for a larger vehicle with more reliability for my weekend golf and ski trips. Didnt think I would prefer driving this full time. It corners as well as the A4! I can also load lots of gear in the back, and rear seat passengers sit in comfort. I compared this to the BMW X3, X5, 328xi wagon, Infiniti EX35, FX35, and the smaller sibling RDX. The MDX has an unbeatable combination of performance, utility, luxury, and price! Yes, price! While gas prices are high, you can get this vehicle for under invoice prices!

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  My Acura TL has been Great! - 2004 Acura TL
  By MEB - July 4 - 7:38 pm

  I purchased this vehicle over 3 years ago and have put over 60,000 trouble free miles on it. I had minimal problems and the vehicle is fun to drive. I plan on keeping the car for several more years. The color combination with pearl outside still turns heads! It has been by far the best vehicle I have ever owned!

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  Wifes 2016 Acura MDX with SH-AWD Advance - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Glen Tryer - July 4 - 6:05 pm

  We looked at numerous SUVs and Sedans but kept coming back to the Acura MDX. Build quality, fit & finish, ride comfort, interior materials, driving performance and styling were equaled only by several of the other Japanese auto makers. Acura was the only one with a dealership nearby so it wouldnt be a hardship if the MDX does have problems in the future. This is our fourth Acura so we do have some degree of owner loyalty. Both of these factors weighed heavily in our decision on which SUV to purchase. However, there are several things that we do not care for and they are as follows, the automatic stop/start feature is a nuisance (and it cannot be disabled), navigation system and driver / vehicle interface is cumbersome and complex. Youre better off just learning to use the voice prompt for most commands. I prefer the Bluetooth connectivity in my 2011 Ford truck than the Acura phone system. My wife has learned to use Siri on her linked IPhone to make calls from the MDXs Bluetooth connection (its easier than their system, at least in her opinion). We drove both the two wheel drive and SH-AWD versions and I can say for a fact that the AWD option handles and performs MUCH better in a hard rain. We typically dont have any snow or Ice in this part of Texas but my guess is that the AWD would do just as well in those driving conditions too. Another consideration is that when the SH-AWD option ($2000) is purchased, you also get a spare tire and jack. If you buy these items separately from the dealer they are $510. The two wheel MDX drive DOES NOT COME with a spare tire. The multiple versions of ride control (e.g. IDS, Comfort, Normal, Sport) are wasted on us. Why would anyone want to drive a glorified station wagon in Sport Mode, the MDX is not a sports car! Acura could get away from having to install the VERY expensive magnetic shock absorbers currently in use but I suppose if thats what the competition is doing they have to do it too. Transmission, shift points, smoothness, etc. all seem to be set OK for normal to moderately aggressive driving. We really like the transmission push buttons in lieu of a "gear shift lever" sticking up in the middle of the console. The MDX has paddle shifters, if you have the need to shift manually but I doubt well ever use them. The engine is strong, quiet and idles smoothly. Our overall fuel economy has been in line with Acuras posted claims for miles per gallon but I sure wish they could have figured out how to do it on Regular (87 octane) fuel. Wheels and tires on the Advance model are good looking 19" wheels w/ Michelin rubber, but I saw several of the basic MDX two wheel drive vehicles equipped with Hankook tires. They would not be my first choice of tires on a $40K vehicle. Warranty is comparable to Lexus and Infiniti, I cannot understand why the Europeans (especially the Germans cannot seem to keep up with their competition in this category). As of this writing, we have not purchased an extended warranty on this vehicle and I doubt that we will. After all, Acura and Hondas claim to fame is their remarkable reliability and dependably so those features should be designed and built into the vehicle. I wish we had more mileage and driving time in the vehicle prior to writing this review but at least I could share a few things with a prospective buyer. In summation, my wife REALLY likes the vehicle. The additional room, the ability to set up a little higher than you do in a typical sedan and ease of driving were big selling points.