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:

• 

  Nothing else close in its class - 2004 Acura TL
  By Piano Man - November 29 - 10:00 am

  Test drove most models in its class. Best combination of style (exterior and interior, fit & finish, sound system, and reliablity history, and VALUE for the money.

• 

  Great Car - 2007 Acura TL
  By TC in Chi - November 29 - 9:39 am

  Traded in my 4Runner for a 2007 Type S. Great car. Smooth and powerful acceleration, handling and braking are superb. I drive 60-70 miles a day, mostly highway. I used to hate driving to work, now its the best part of my day. Great all around car, especially considering the cost. I get 25-26 MPG. This car is best used as a highway cruiser. If you need an around town car look elsewhere. This thing wants to go fast.

• 

  Go Acura - 2004 Acura TSX
  By lxlsamiamlxl - November 28 - 11:26 pm

  Excellent vehicle with the service to match. Traded out of a 97 Passat VR6 and have yet to look back on the decision.

• 

  Excellent SUV... way to go! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Gurm - November 26 - 11:56 pm

  I bought this 2008 Acura MDX sports new here in state of WA 3 weeks back... drives like dream. I chose it over Lincoln MKX, Mazda CX-9, BMW X5 and Lexus RX 400. MDX is very sporty both in looks & driving with option of comfort mode just by pressing a switch (but youll be tempted to keep it in sports mode). I drive Audi S4 too & still respect Acuras sporty drive for an SUV. The Acura navigation is very easy to use, bluetooth & handsfree link are nice additions too. Suggested improvements below.

• 

  The BEST - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Jody - November 26 - 8:20 am

  I Love my MDX. Have had absolutely no trouble with it. I dont think the interior is bland at all. It gets the best mileage for an SUV. I think you get the most for your money with the MDX. Love the Navi too!

• 

  TL vs G35x - 2005 Acura TL
  By Tom - November 25 - 1:30 am

  The TL is overall a wonderful car. I picked it over a BMW 330, Audi A4, Cadillac CTS and Infinity G35x. As much as I loved the G35xs AWD and overall performance I could not believe the poorly laid out and cheap looking interior in the G35x. The TL offers decent performance with understated styling and a great interior at a comparative bargin price. The sound system is second to none, but DVD audio content is very limited. The dealer has been great and even installed the optional wheels and tires at a very nominal charge. The car is "rock solid."

• 

  Fun, great mid-size SUV - 2009 Acura RDX
  By LC - November 24 - 11:40 pm

  Let me say that I love Acuras because of the value you get with the car. No other car gives you the high-tech toys for such a reasonable price. All the toys work and make this a great car to drive. It is very quick and responsive and am getting 21 MPG. It is impossible for people to be getting 14 mpg unless they are goosing the car every chance they get. This is not a luxury sedan. What it is is a great 4WD SUV with luxury features and the best handling of any SUV Ive driven.

• 

  Great Car with may included options - 2006 Acura TL
  By ems - November 24 - 12:00 pm

  Traded in a 2001 Inf I 30 for the TL. What a difference. The TL has effortless acceleration and the ride soaks up any bumps. The blindspots on the drivers rear right and the rear headrests are annoying but you get used to it. Overall a great car with almost everything you want.

• 

  Not Happy - 2009 Acura RDX
  By Disappointed - November 23 - 10:55 pm

  Very disappointed, poor value for the price. Seats are uncomfortable (Im 510", always hitting my thigh on steering wheel) nav system very complicated voice recognition never accurate (say "go home" and nav responds with "air conditioner off"). Dont ever turn the car off with the steering wheel in anything but the straight position, if wheels are not straight, you will have problems turning the key in the ignition. Gas mileage is awful acceleration certainly not peppy requires premium gas oil changes require synthetic oil. Bought this car outright (not leased). After 2 months I am considering getting rid of this car and buying something more comfortable with better nav & mileage.

• 

  Perfect Acura mixture - 2005 Acura TL
  By Paul Ferny - November 23 - 4:05 pm

  Have basic model in automatic. Driven for 4 yrs now. Excellent car - good performance and build quality. Highs - quality feel, good acceleration (in manual mode in auto), good mpg on highway (about 30), sticks to road akin to European car. Lows - initial tires were Michelins and awful - rapid wear and no grip in rain or snow (bloody dangerous after 20k on slick/poor quality roads in frosty Winnipeg), mpg in city not great (about 15-18).