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:

• 

  Huge disappointment - 2014 Acura RDX
  By todd_d - January 24 - 6:23 pm

  After having nothing but great experiences with our last 5 hondas, the Acura RDX was a complete disappointment. Above 60 on smooth highway, its a pretty good ride. But around town in the sub 45 range, it is horrible! Within 3 months of owning it, we had all of the struts replaced under warranty. This made no difference. I dont understand this since it is basically a CRV chassis and the CRV rides quite a bit better. I thought maybe something was wrong with this particular one, but after reading other peoples experiences on Acurazine, this is the norm. Not just with RDX, but all Acura models at this time. 1st Acura Ive owned, and last! Traded it in after 14 months, 12000 miles.

• 

  The best SUV money can buy - 2015 Acura MDX
  By richpar - January 24 - 6:09 am

  Ive owned several Acuras and this is the best yet. The power and how the vehicle handles is amazing. Extremely quiet, spacious with amazing technology. Test drove every luxury brand and my decision remained the same. The seats are like heaven and I just love the stereo. Took her on a trip across country and wanted to just keep on driving. Really a fun to drive SUV. Added fog lights and trailer hitch and can tow the required 5K pounds (more than what I need).

• 

  TOO MANY DEFECTS IN 1ST YEAR - 2014 Acura MDX
  By rmc71 - January 21 - 4:13 am

  14k miles on AWD Tech pkg. Have had in shop a total of 26 days. Brake warning comes on with no traffic in front (Acura says to just turn it off !!). Has occurred when at stoplight, door chime doesnt work, steering column had to be replaced. Now waiting for new electrical module to see if it will solve issues. Navigation system not user friendly when trying to set up. Way too many defects for a $50k car. This car has fallen into lemon territory and will be hard-pressed to get another one.

• 

  Love my car - 2015 Acura RDX
  By maryz2 - January 17 - 10:43 pm

  I purchased the 2015 RDX AWD, I did not buy the tech package. I did add the fog lights. I love most everything about this car. Rides very nice and is quiet this was important to me. The stereo is nice and am happy about the satellite radio. My complaints would be no heat/air conditioning vent in the rear my former non luxury car had this. The mirrors hang out far on the sides really hard to get in my garage. I wish the temperature gage read larger. Overall a great purchase and my insurance did not go up. The RDX has a good safety rating.

• 

  stay away from RLX - 2015 Acura RLX
  By b2cmu1 - January 16 - 6:47 pm

  Purchased new RLX in 2014, what a mistake. It has had three recalls and now an engine noise has developed which Acura mechanics can not figure out. Audio tapes have been sent to Acura Engineering and they are stumped. I intend to get rid of it as soon as it comes back from shop (two weeks) Bad news trade in value is now $35,000 for a one year old car with 12,000 miles for which I paid $52,000. Go with Lexus or Infinity and save yourself trouble

• 

  Great car - 2015 Acura RLX
  By daniel6767 - January 15 - 2:21 pm

  This is a wonderful car- my 4th Acura (2 TSX, 1 TL) Interior surpasses anything I looked at and the technology that comes standard is exceptional. Could be a bit sharper on the outside but still gets lots of looks and certainly beats the Lexus GS. And, with the great discounting going on, would be hard to beat the value.

• 

  2014 Acura MDX - 2014 Acura MDX
  By skypilotair21 - January 15 - 12:11 pm

  The vehicleis very nice and sharp, although you would think that Acura could have install fog lights as a standard equipment. The vehicle has everything you need and its very comptible.

• 

  Do not buy this car - 2013 Acura RDX
  By michdes001 - January 14 - 8:35 am

  I dont know where to start. Interior cheap. GPS is the worst-does not even recognize state roads. Also the entry of data into this system takes impossibly long time. I have reverted to using Google maps. Voice activation- throw it out the window- does not understand a single command from someone with no accent at all. Loud interior on the road- you hear all road noise. Cant even hear people on the bluetooth on the highway because car is so loud. Bought this car brand new and wish I never drove it off the lot. My husband has 2008 TL and his GPS is more knowledgeable than mine. And, with only 30K miles on it, it already has a knock with all regular maintenance performed as scheduled.

• 

  Best vehicle Ive ever owned/driven - 1997 Acura CL
  By chimneyyo - January 14 - 12:02 am

  I bough this car with 160K on it, its now at 173K. The previous owner abused this car and Im currently in the process of getting it back to its former glory. Fun to drive, absolutely amazing sound system, decent on gas, decently quick, theres just so much to this car. But my favorite thing I discovered today. I was in an accident. A reckless driver rear ended me, I was at a stop, he was doing about 40mph. I drove away in that car. Theres very little damage, more damage was done to his 2012 accord. The doctor at the ER said I should be in much worse shape but Im fine. I dont know what that cars made of, but I fell in love all over again. Thank you, my little acura, for saving me today.

• 

  Better with age - 2010 Acura TL
  By bmorekid - January 13 - 11:31 pm

  2010 Acura TL with 83,000 miles. Bought it two years old and was immediately impressed with the interior design, a work of art! There arent but a few 2015 sedans that can compete with design of the 2010 TL. I would complements on its looks even when the car was really dirty? Powerful engine that will snap your neck if you give it too much gas. Negatives: the jerkiness and vibrations of the automatic transmission when it downshifts problematic Bluetooth audio and no detailed audio display screen when using Bluetooth.