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:

• 

  Great car - 1998 Acura CL
  By AcuraLuvr - May 15 - 1:41 pm

  This is a fun car to drive. It has held up well against time. Very few problems, considering its age. People come up and ask me if this is a new car. The paint looks new. I hope to put a couple more hundred thousand miles on it!

• 

  TSX is a great sports sedan - 2008 Acura TSX
  By kjhighball - May 15 - 11:27 am

  My TSX is a great sports sedan that has enough room to carry 4 adults but still small enough for efficient daily commuting with only the drive. This vehicle replaced my Altima, and I love its smaller size and increase in power. The seats at first were very stiff, but after 2 weeks & 350 miles, they broke in and are now very comfortable. For normal in-town commuting and highway driving, this car is very lightweight and nimble. Personally, I do not need the V6 power, and this cars inline-4 delivers very well.

• 

  Way better than expected! - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Terry - May 15 - 4:13 am

  We expected the RDX to be a great car but it has exceeded all our expectations. The tech packages work fantastic. The only issue is it offers so much tech that we keep learning new ways to operate the vehicle. The car is very quiet, the ride is smooth and the mileage is very good for a new vehicle. I would recommend the RDX to anyone looking for a smaller vehicle but needs lots of room for riders (Im 6"2" and my son is 65" and sits comfortably in the front seats.)

• 

  1997 Acura Integra - 1997 Acura Integra
  By TY - May 14 - 4:00 pm

  I have only had this car for a year, but I have to say, with the exception of minor things like changing my brakes and the moonroof drainage tube popping loose and feeding water into my passengers floor (I paid 40 dollars to fix), I love the car. Its strong, reliable, and has a unique design which lets people know what kind of car it is, but not year. All in all, a strong car with equally strong features.

• 

  My ride - 2003 Acura CL
  By My ride - May 13 - 10:12 am

  I have had my Type S for a little over a year now. I love the sound of the engine. This is my second car in my lifetime the first one was an Acura Legend. They know how to make cars.

• 

  Fun RDX - 2008 Acura RDX
  By angelina247 - May 13 - 12:32 am

  I recently purchased the RDX with tech package. It is such a fun car to drive. It really has a quick pickup. Im sometimes surprised how quickly I can take off if Im not careful. Im still learning how to work the voice controls and navigation screen. I really did my homework and went back and forth about whether I should lease or own. Ive been leasing another make/model SUV for the past 7 years and finally decided the RDX would be worth owning. I comparison shopped the BMW X3 and Mercedes 350. The extras in the Acura for a lot less money were definitely a great incentive. Yet, I feel like the car is just as good if not better. My friends and family love it. Im having a blast!

• 

  Would Keep It Forever - 2001 Acura CL
  By gf - May 12 - 9:52 pm

  I keep hoping Acura will make another coupe like this. It still looks great and handles well at 91,000 miles. Im hoping it lasts 91,000 more. Its second transmission slips just a little on a quick shift, and theres rust on the bottom of the passenger- side door. The brakes have had a major overhaul. Our other car is a 2003 CTS, which I like just as well although the features differ.

• 

  Outstanding Value - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Bradley - May 12 - 2:28 pm

  I researched and test drove everything else in this style of vehicle (Acadia, Buick, Nissan, Mazda, Honda). For the money, this is the best by far. The ride is excellent, the nav is great and the graphics are much better than GM. I love the cockpit feel of the cabin and the comfort of the seating. The exterior got my attention and the interior keeps it. I have three children ages 10, 8 and 8 and we are in a carpool with two other kids for a total of 6 people in the vehicle. We can easily fit one more. We have 16.6 MPG with mixed driving (mostly driving in the local neighborhoods). Got over 23 MPG when on the highway for a short period of time. We look for reasons to drive places!

• 

  Great SUV - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Bert Viloria - May 12 - 12:22 pm

  I just bought my 2008 MDX a couple of weeks ago and I have been thoroughly impressed with its superb handling, amazing interior with all its electronic gadgetry, and beautiful exterior, which has not always pleased everyone. The ride is smooth, aggressive, but not dull and lifeless. The standard electronics available, even for my basic MDX is a long list and should easily please everyone!

• 

  My $40k Gas Hog - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Skillet - May 11 - 9:34 pm

  Ive had this car for almost a year now so some of the emotional thrill of the purchase has worn off. I really like the car in general. It performs well, nice acceleration, handles well and it looks good. My biggest issue is gas performance. Im getting 13 mpg in the city. Its not much better than an H1 or a Winnebago. I didnt buy the car for its fuel economy but this is far below what I expected. I should get more than 250 miles out of tank of gas.