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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  Love it! - 2004 Acura TL
  By TxEx84 - February 27 - 2:00 am

  Ive had the car four months now. Love it! Fun to drive, nice interior, fast acceleration. The DVD-Audio and Bluebooth phones are incredible.

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  So far its awesome!! - 2009 Acura TL
  By oscar - February 26 - 9:45 pm

  This car is great! From the driving performance to the interior features and tech package. Its like a mini computer in the car. Lets u know about places to eat, movies, bank locations, you name it, it tells you. Plus its really fun to drive. I would recommend the car to anyone.

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  Nice, but has some flaws - 2009 Acura MDX
  By JAnn - February 26 - 12:44 pm

  I love driving my MDX. The base model has everything you really need, it includes a lot of upgrades that you pay for in other cars. The negatives: Low quality leather, it wears bad. The black plastic trim would be better replaced with wood trim, for a $40,000 vehicle that shouldnt even be a question. I notice a lot of road noise in the cabin. Also, I have the worst time getting my hands free link to recognize certain numbers. Sometimes I will have to say the number 4 like 5 times before it will actually dial the correct number. That is VERY frustrating. Also, for a $40,000 vehicle, it should have an automatic liftgate. This car does have excellent road handling, overall I am happy!

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  Unquestionably The Best Bang For Buck - 2009 Acura TL
  By RazorsEdge - February 26 - 8:17 am

  This car is nothing short of awesome. I love the Acura pricing policy. Just two choices: AWD/FWD and tech/non-tech. Unbelievable how much quality and technology you get for ~$35k. In size, features, comfort and appointments, the car is competitive with mid sized sports sedans costing $17-20k more (think: 5 series, E-class, A6). It drives like a dream. Steering is razor sharp, suspension is just the perfect combination of compliant and firm (the SH-AWD package was too firm for my taste). Real time traffic, weather, Zagat restaurant ratings/descriptions, nav system and screen that is truly state of the art (MUCH better than any of the Germans or the G35/37), audio system that has no peer, etc.

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  Very Happy - 2009 Acura TL
  By TallGuy - February 25 - 8:18 pm

  Im a tall driver (66") and finally found a "fit" in the new TL. What an upgrade from my 99 Chevy Malibu! Averaging about 24 MPG and love the performance. Beautiful interior with great features - Voice-activated blue tooth, XM, Universal link garage opener, and this is all in the base model. Exterior is beautiful, even getting used to the Bucky beaver front-end. Overall, design is great.

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  Great Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Rigby - February 25 - 10:00 am

  This is a great car and Im happy to own it. It accelerates nicely and the interior design is very good. This is my 4th Acura and Ive loved all my cars.

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  Not Buying an Acura - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Not Acura - February 25 - 10:00 am

  For sure, this vehicle is fantastic in terms of price, but the quality and the detail of this vehicle is second to the bottom when compare to anothers SUVs like (Highlander, RX300, ML3s and X5). Fake wood trims, unacceptable wind and road noise, unprofessional Acura salesmanship (went to 3 of them, they are all like that, basically Leave it or Take it attitude), lack of feature and feel of a luxury vehicle. Though it is my parents car, but I will definite will not consider an Acura.

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  Brakes - 2008 Acura RDX
  By disappoited - February 24 - 1:00 pm

  I had the car for 8 months and drove wonderfully. Then, it snowed and my car had no brakes. I would miss stop signs, traffic lights, etc. 3 wheels ago, I got in a car accidents because the brakes fail to operate. I had taken it to the dealership and complained but they indicated that some ppl have had issues but there isnt much they can do about it. I filed a complaint at the corporate office but they brushed the matter off as if it was nothing. Beware when purchasing the vehicle. Not every car gets tested for snow, rain and gravel. this is a matter of life and death, for you and others on the road with you. I am in the process of a law suit with Acura. Good Luck to all!

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  I thought Acura/Hondas were relable? - 2005 Acura MDX
  By JP - February 24 - 11:49 am

  I really liked the features of the vehicle. Drove it one week and started hearing a "rumbling" noise around 30-40 mph. Seemed like the transmission was having problems shifting. Dealer had it for two weeks, had to rebuild the transmission and replace the torque converter. Luckily I will have 3 years/36,000 mile warranty on the transmission. Besides that, nothing else to complain about so far. I thought Acura/Hondas were supposed to be very reliable?

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  This Is An Absolute Steal - 2009 Acura TL
  By Fuggedaboutit - February 23 - 1:00 pm

  In a world of $55k+ 5 Series, A6s and E-Classes, this thing is an absolute steal. SOTA nav system and screen, real time weather/traffic, keyless entry/start, real leather, full ipod integration, hard disc drive to store CDs, moonroof, xenon headlights, tilt/telescope steering wheel, seat memories, power driver/passenger seats, tremendous interior room, amazingly sized back seat all for $36k. I felt like I was stealing it. Great ride and handling on the FWD model. Drove the SH- AWD and gotta tell you its a hard ride. Im in NYC so no way was I getting that. If you live where the roads are like glass, that may be your car, but with potholes, watch out! The FWD car handles potholes perfectly!