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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  Very quiet - drives like a car... - 2015 Acura MDX
  By woodsfortysix - March 28 - 10:06 am

  Our last Acura was in 2005 - an RL. Probably one of the best autos we have ever had. Customer service was excellent. Since then, several SUVs (another manufacture) and a van for family vacations. We purchased this car about three weeks ago, and just returned from a 1,000 spring break trip with our two grandsons. Car worked great! Very comfortable - handled quite well on the interstate.

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  What you expect from the drivers seat isnt what this $31k Civic delivers. - 2014 Acura ILX
  By zoomjag - March 27 - 7:41 pm

  Disappointing with time. This vehicle doesnt feel like a comprehensive package - Its an economy car, thats it. Acura has taken a Civic (which is perfectly good as is) added a great dash, and some engine and suspension tuning and called it a day, and these mechanical touches dont really seem to add anything to the Civic package nor compete with the Civic Si(as if engineers just threw "good parts" at the car without testing). In many ways, the result here is an underpowered, loud, econobox with disturbing views from the drivers seat (funhouse drivers mirror, subpar plastic on the lower doors, blindspots for days) with a stereo that doesnt deliver premium sound leave you expecting more

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  Critical but Subjective Review - 2015 Acura TLX
  By acuradriver6 - March 25 - 4:01 pm

  The TLX does represent the best value for your money, with all the useful entertainment and drivers assistant features, quiet ride, and comfortable seats. Then here is the big problem that has made me and many others regretted its purchase. The TLXs all new 8-speed DCT is causing all kinds of problems: Hard jerk right before entering a complete stop(like the car has been rear-ended). Delay during acceleration after momentarily letting off gas - engine revs up and then the car slams into the gear that it finally selects - especially dangerous when coming out of a corner or attempting to accelerate after yielding in an intersection. Takes 2-3 key strokes turn on heated seats!!

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  Really wanted it to be good. But its not - 2014 Acura MDX
  By Ted Leo - March 25 - 5:27 am

  Got the 2014 version brand new after being a previous Acura owner. Actual engine and driving part is excellent. Powerful engine and good handling but it is loud and the rest is lacking. Computer service lights never stop. The only time I ever actually enjoy the console is the week after I take it for service and get hit for $300 bucks. The other 90% of the time the tire pressure and service lights are constantly on. It reminds me of my printer that never works because its constantly trying to make you buy new toner instead of just working. Last week and the service tech implied the reason for all the service needed is because the car is almost 2 yrs old. Cmon, it barely has 1200 miles.

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  Excellent Luxury car for the price - 2015 Acura RDX
  By raj2015 - March 20 - 8:47 am

  Driving: Very smooth and comfortable and powerful Price: Best luxury SUV for this price. I would say very less when compare to other compact luxury SUV with given options Options: I dont want to blame that few options (like blind spot monitor) are available since i know it before buying. But the Bluetooth connectivity for phone is very poor. When i am using bluetooth calling, the audio is very poor and other end, they hear lot of noise (like wind blow sound). I have 2012 Camry but the bluetooth phone connection is very nice. Overall: I am very much satisfied for the price. I love my car. You can get lot of standard features in base model.

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  Excellent in every way - 2003 Acura TL
  By Gail Robinson - March 15 - 2:28 am

  I purchased this car in 2005 with 50000. It now has over 130,000 and is running strong. I have never had any problems, just routine maint. It has begun "rattling" but it is 12 years old! Handles perfectly, hugs the road, extremely reliable in snow. Couldnt be happier.

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  Beware of this car, ACURA NO MORE, NEVER AGAIN - 2015 Acura MDX
  By fidus - March 10 - 9:13 pm

  5,000 miles on a AWD MDX and the car is falling apart. First a ln annoying ticking noise that suddenly got loader and is accompanied by a sqeek. At low speeds especially when turning into my driveway there is a knocking noise that sounds like a 20 year old car losing a ball joint. When i start the car there is a rumbling noise that comes and goes. And the newest problem is a very rough downshift when slowing down to a point that you get thrown into the steering wheel. This is my first Acura i have had 6 new hondas and i am saying BYE BYE to honda and Acura forever. Their cars got cheeper and cheeper every year and i dont mean in price but quality. Take your money elsewhere, dont buy the MDX

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  Objective Review - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Kim Todd - March 6 - 9:18 pm

  Test drove the front wheel drive V6. For a little more I bought the Super Handling All Wheel Drive model. Compared to Lexus ES, IS and GS350, BMW 3 series, Audi A4, Mercedes CLA and C class. Without a doubt, the TLX is a winner. It offers this 41 year old everything I could want in a car. It offers very comfortable seats and the quietest ride of all the competition. It offers safety surpassed by no one. Top Safety Pick + by the Insurance Institute. When I feel like driving more aggressively, it simply asks how aggressive? It lets me choose between Eco, Normal, Sport and Sport + mode that completely changes the character of the car. The direct injection engine offers -.

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  My Second and Last Acura - 2003 Acura TL
  By GERALD P GENNARO - March 6 - 7:33 pm

  Purchased new and currently has about 50,000 miles on it. While this S-type is fun to drive, continues to get good gas mileage, and looks good, I remain disappointed in the many little things that do not now and rarely have ever worked right (garage door opener auto-dim rear view mirror). Have frequently had total battery failure that, in turn, makes it impossible to even open the trunk. Repairs and maintenance are expensive as compared to my Honda.

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  Very good vehicle - 2015 Acura MDX
  By johnnymac_ak - March 3 - 10:10 pm

  Owned the car for about two months now. Purchased in Oregon and drove the AlCan highway up to Alaska in Feb. to where I live. This vehicle handled every bit of snow & ice thrown at it. I drove 2400+ miles, for 3+ days on glaze slick roads & never felt a slip. Very comfortable & lots of room. It drives much smaller than it is. The LED lights are very crisp & reach pretty far. The infotainment system is definitely something you have to get used to. It does so many things & is extremely complex so initially it was a little overwhelming, but after a few hours of seat time, things easy now. I drove the RX450 Hybrid, Audi Q5 & Q7, VW Touareg & Pathfinder & the MDX won us. I recommend it.