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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  Extremely fun car - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Louie - November 21 - 1:30 am

  We just got this car last week. After you get past all the fun gadgets and solid interior, its an amazingly fun car to drive around town. The engine is surprisingly peppy for a 4-cylinder, and the work theyve put into the suspension really shows. Im not a car guy, but when you go around a corner, its amazing compared to the other cars I tried. Its a perfect daily driver that can also get you grinning on the twisties. Navigation system is great, love the fact that all the other amenities are included!!

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  6 months 10,000 miles and still love it! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Larry - November 20 - 12:46 pm

  Bought my MDX in June 07 after testing all comparable w/3rd row seats (X5, Q7, GX 470). For the value, it won hands down. For the same items and options in others would have cost an additional 10-20K. Have 10K miles of city/highway driving, and love every minute of driving it! Its more like a sport sedan than SUV. Ride and acceleration are excellent seating comfort great in front & back seats. Yes, 3rd row is for kids and small adults, but if you want a full-time 3rd row, get a full-size SUV. They work great when heading out with a few extra friends. No question this is a great combination of value, fun, and luxury in SUV skin. Wife has TL-S - loves driving the X!

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  TL pleasure to drive - 2005 Acura TL
  By Robert - November 20 - 11:46 am

  I have driven the car now for three weeks, 2k miles. I tend to be a "spirited driver", so driving this car has been a nice experience. The only drawback is the torque steer resulting from the FWD on takeoff. I am used to rwd systems, so it comes as a surprise when your steering wheel doesnt correct when accelarating and turning at the same time, as when merging into uncoming high speed traffic. Highly recommend in every other respect. Like the XM radio feature too.

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  Love my TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By jbm - November 20 - 7:30 am

  All it took was sitting inside my car and the beautiful interior... driving only sealed the deal. I didnt choose the navigational system, didnt feel the need to spend the money. Other than the tires on my car, I love it. The tires are not suited for the car and have a "flat spot" that causes the car to shutter at 50 mph until the tires are warmed up.

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  Good for the price - 2007 Acura TL
  By rich1950 - November 18 - 10:48 pm

  Fast and stylish, great interior and sound system.

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  Not for the daily commuter - 2007 Acura RDX
  By JimTex - November 18 - 10:23 pm

  We bought this car knowing that fuel mileage was not its strong point, but have averaged about 19 mpg (mostly city). My wife loves this vehicle because it is incredibly responsive and handles as well as the BMW we traded in. The seating position is nice and high, but without the huge vehicle to go along with it.

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  My Mom loves it! - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Sean - November 18 - 12:49 pm

  Gave this car to my Mom for her birthday. Replaced a benz E-320 with just 8k miles, but she likes the Acura even more.

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  All-Around Awesome! - 2007 Acura TSX
  By J Cos - November 16 - 11:12 pm

  I bought this car about two months ago. I am in love with it. I had a TL before, but love this new car. The handling is peppy, yet not too much like other competitors such as a g35. The interior is easy on the eyes and all of the controls are extremely easy to use. The back seat is small, yet the seats fold down to make a more-than-large trunk for this car size. Handling is stiff, but not quite a BMW. The exterior is due for a redesign, but this cars current body style is what makes it so classy. (Not saying a few upgrades wouldnt help!)

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  1999 Acura RL - 1999 Acura RL
  By ron - November 16 - 12:48 pm

  Driving experience is excellent even at an old age with high mileage. Ownership experience great as well only problem matenance costs are expensive and cost of parts are expensive.

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  The vehicle that has it all - 2007 Acura MDX
  By un - November 16 - 11:46 am

  Very powerful for its size and drives like a car with the SH-AWD making it feel like one, on the most demanding curves. Brakes are stellar with the brake assist feature and with the stability assist control thrown in, your driving is completely technology assisted. We currently get about 18/23 city/hwy on premium gas. Interior is quite comfortable except for the third row which is best for kids under 4. Navigation/sound system/backup camera/heated seats and dvd make it a nice long trip vehicle. The center console is a huge bin without any coin holders/small compartments. Road noise is prevalant at times. Tire noise is minimal. Lots of techno gizmos to keep you busy for a while.