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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  Great value midsize SUV - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Arien DeGuzman - February 27 - 7:25 am

  It drives comfortably and smoothly.

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  Acura 2004 base model - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Gotcha - February 26 - 12:06 pm

  Excellent. Everything I wanted except good gas mileage!!! Great value for all that is included and great performance.

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  Great Car - Couldnt Be Happier - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Happy - February 25 - 6:00 pm

  We just purcashed this car, but absolutely love it so far. I believe this car has the best features for the money and is going to be a very reliable and durable car moving forward.

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  No Comparison - 2005 Acura TL
  By Ray - February 25 - 4:40 pm

  I got this car about 3 weeks ago and I love it. I was in between the Infiniti G35 and the TL. There is no comparison. The TL is great to drive. The interior is amazing. The bluetooth, navigation, and sound system are all great.

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  You get what you pay for - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Bigbelt - February 25 - 1:22 pm

  This car is like driving a sports car in an SUV. We were downsizing from a Chevy Avalanche, and this was a great find. The fuel economy is the only real drawback that we can say at this point in time about the vehicle. You really should test drive this vehicle if you are considering anything in this class. Much more responsive than the Lexus and a lot more room. Looks like Acura did a great job of redesigning the whole vehicle. This is a true pleasure to be behind the wheel. Acceleration is very smooth, shifting is as well. Braking and handling is next to none.

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  Outstanding Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By JohnZ - February 25 - 2:00 am

  Despite the fact that this is the last year for this body design, I purchased the TL. I bought it because of its quality, reliability, performance and bang for the buck. You will not be disappointed with this car. From fit & finish to drivability, it competes and exceeds its competitors.

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  Great all-around car - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Martoon - February 24 - 11:42 pm

  This is my 2nd Acura, and I plan on buying one again (after many more years of enjoying this one). I bought this car based on features for the price, pretty much loaded. I have 47,000 miles on it and have had no mechanical issues with the car other than one minor recall. Good power, great handling and I average about 27 miles per gallon in mixed driving. My only complaint is the drive by wire can be a little touchy when starting from a dead stop, but you get used to it after a while.

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  Best Car ever - 1999 Acura RL
  By timevans - February 24 - 11:05 pm

  I have 236,000 miles and climbing on my RL. It stills looks and drives like new. Original engine and trans! This car is awesome and has everything. Very reliable, and stylish. Japanese cars are enginered the best! This car proves it!!!

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  Fun car, but... - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Jimbo - February 24 - 3:30 pm

  Very smooth ride in comparison to my two prior Ford Explorers. Enjoy the nav system however still learning commands and touch screen can be hard to not make mistakes. A heating problem has developed in our car, and the same issue with a neighbor who has the same car. The local dealer is stumped. Not a good feature in the winter. Other than this the car is great.

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  I love it - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Quiltdiva - February 23 - 7:12 pm

  I have been looking at the 2009 Nissan Murano, Mazda CX-7 & 9, Subaru Tribeca and 2008 Nissan Rogue. The RDX is just right for me. All those wonderful luxury features plus not so huge. It drives really stiff, more like a sports car and the seats are wonderful. I made the right decision for me.