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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  Nothing like it. - 2004 Acura NSX
  By six7777 - October 12 - 2:33 pm

  To have this car in my garage, and drive it whenever I want, is a dream come true. This is my 2nd NSX, my first one was a white 1993. The 2004 is amazing. I have the yellow/yellow. The paint on this car is flawless. Just an amazing car in so many ways. Love the fact that not many people "get" what this car is all about. Its not about power, its about balance. You have to own one to understand. I have owned many cars, but nothing compares to the NSX, and I will have it for years to come.

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  Best Little Acura Yet - 2005 Acura TSX
  By HuskerFan27 - October 12 - 3:03 am

  Owned 2004 and had to replace it with a 2005. All the little gripes that most forum users had are addressed with the 2005 model. The car is top notch for the price point. Not that 29K isnt a lot of money, but compared to quality and features, you cant beat it.

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  Love this vehicle - 2007 Acura RDX
  By kcosta - October 11 - 2:42 pm

  My husband needed a new car for work to haul people around. This vehicle is what we were looking for. It has enough luxury to impress but is still not over the top. Great performance. Although it is small, it is spacious inside. After getting used to a WRX we wanted something that did not lack in the performance department but didnt break the bank. This vehicle is perfect.

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  Great Car! - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Great Car! - October 10 - 1:17 pm

  After purchasing this car almost two months ago, I decided I had to write a review considering I have found the reviews out on Edmunds to be very helpful. I purchased the RDX after my 2002 VW Jetta broke down which happened frequently. The Acura is a wonderful car in general, and the RDX is great! I couldnt be happier with my decision. It is easy to drive, easy to park, has great acceleration when needed. It is super comfortable and just big enough that I feel like trucks can see me better on the highway. I would recommend this car to anyone who is looking for solid reliability and easy maintenance.

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  Had questions initially - 2007 Acura RDX
  By CAS - October 7 - 3:43 pm

  Had initial questions primarily due to problems with bluetooth, poor gas mileage and limited carrying capacity. But now after several trips and three defective cell phones, believe I made the right choice in the RDX. Gas mileage on last trip was over 24 mpg, seems to improve with each trip. City is routinely 17 mpg. 4th cell phone was the charm, bluetooth now works flawlessly. Love the hard rear deck when using as a sedan, and sport handling is terrific. Wifes Infiniti M35 screen graphics for navigation and rear camera is sharper and clearer, but after looking at several competitors, all have some compromises, but like RDX the best.

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  Amazing Vehicle! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By schnell76 - October 7 - 5:40 am

  Bought an aberdeen green the weekend before Thanksgiving and could not be more satisfied with it. Great power once you get the rpms up. The 5 speed should have been a 6, but its not a deal killer at all. For me the transmission has taken a bit of time to get used to. I think it is geared more towards gas mileage until you get on it and then it really moves. Gas mileage has been between 18 & 19 mpg and that is mostly in town driving. Good for a 300 hp midsize suv. The lack of a dimming rear view mirror is no issue at all. The rear windshield is so dark that it is not necessary to buy the dimming mirror. Love the way the AC/fan speed adjusts based upon the location of the sun!

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  Im In Love With My Car - 2006 Acura TL
  By Brian Watters - October 6 - 3:45 pm

  We bought this car as a "weekender" for leisure driving, and let me tell you, the weekend cant get here fast enough. This car leaves virtually nothing to be desired in the driveability, power, and handling departments for cars in this class. It handles curves like a dream. The more you push it, the tighter it seems to grip the asphalt. The term "fun to drive" is clearly an understatement for describing this machine.

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  Road Tripper - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Ryan - October 6 - 9:17 am

  We bought our MDX in May 2007 and immediately took it on a 4 month, 12,500+ mile road trip through the USA and Canada. Mountains, deserts, bad roads and good - we really put this car through its paces and have been very satisfied. The MDX drives like a car on twisty roads even without the sport suspension and the manumatic was very useful in the mountains. Interior space is excellent - we traveled with a baby & all associated gear. The nav system is accurate and easy to use. Highway gas mileage is better than rated (about 25 mpg), but city is worse (about 17). Only mechanical prob is a "clicking" noise when steering at low speed - dealer says they have a fix - have to see.

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  Most Fun in an SUV! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By FitnessCC - October 5 - 2:18 pm

  This vehicle is incredibly fun to drive. I traded up from a TSX and the RDX actually handles/drives better! The SH-AWD system is amazing: I feel glued to the road, no matter how hard I push the RDX. Acceleration is great, and fuel mileage (for me) has been adequate (21 mpg) - not great, but decent for a SUV with this kind of acceleration. The interior is wonderful - comfortable, tasteful, high-tech, full of useful information. Awesome stereo system. The nav system is very user friendly, if a little outdated in its database - but I absolutely love the XM live traffic display, which saves me time every day. Great vehicle!

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  New To Me But So Far Impressed - 2007 Acura RDX
  By UTRDX - October 5 - 8:07 am

  I just recently purchased a preowned RDX with about 10000 miles on it. I am really enjoying this car. I am getting about 25 mpg on the highway and about 19 in city. Overall this car seems very good, not at all underpowered, previous car was a sedan powered by V6 and this little SUV blows it out of the water. The interior is very confortable (no wood trim is a plus for me as I think it looks tacky). I am hoping that the car is as reliable as other honda cars and am looking forward to updating when I get a few more miles under my belt.