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:

• 

  Great car. - 1995 Acura Integra
  By rpthorp - January 10 - 4:21 pm

  I had a 95 LS until someone totaled while it was parked. This car was reliable, fuel efficient and fun. I would recommend a 1996 or newer to avoid pre-OBDII computer problems, and slightly more power (GSR) would be nice. But overall, this car was great. It had all the amenities- power everything. Once the seats were folded down, there was a surprising amount of cargo room- enough for bicycles.

• 

  Excellent value in a 7 seat SUV, awesome in the snow! - 2011 Acura MDX
  By danmoch - January 2 - 8:51 am

  Purchased 10 MDX in June 10. Needed an AWD/4WD SUV >5 seats with tow hitch, priced under 50K. Also have 09 BMW X5 35d (diesel) which I love. First looked at another X5, but 3rd seat optioned vehicles were hard to find. The MDX drives well everyday, has nice electronic things (nav, rear cam, bluetooth, ipod/usb adapter.) Rear seatbacks tilt back a few degrees making the difference between an okay seat (BMW) and a nice relaxing one. Interior space definitely bigger/more usable than in 09 X5. Where the MDX really shines is its snow traction. This car is better on snowy town roads in the Tahoe area than my X5. Note MDX = Michelin Latitude tires, BMW = Bridgestone Dueler runflats.

• 

  Great fun car, but with unfortunate drawback - 2005 Acura RSX
  By denverseven - January 2 - 2:19 am

  This car is really fun to drive, especially stick. I found it to be underpowered however and always had to work for torque since it peaks so low and at high rpms. However, once you learn to time everything correctly it becomes a joy to drive. I had problems with my transmission (which are common). The gear gear kept popping out and if you tried to keep it in there it would grind. The second gear was about to go in my car (but if you read the crsx forums, youll find tonnes of owners have second gear grind. These things really begin to take a toll after some time and destroy the enjoyment of the drive. Otherwise, great built quality - clutch will last and last, and is also very light.

• 

  A little disappointed - 2010 Acura MDX
  By mark3840 - January 1 - 6:54 pm

  This is my wifes car although I drive it often. Im not a huge fan of the MDX. It suited our needs and was a good value compared to other luxury CUVs. Way too many buttons and very confusing to navigate the controls and nav system. Voice commands are useless - even difficult to make a simple phone call. (In the Genesis you just push 1 button and say, "dial home," for example.) Nav & stereo, although rated high, doesnt even belong in the same league as the Genesis. Seams are not tight. Quite a bit of noise for a lux CUV. Good power and ride as well as fairly comfortable. I like it overall but I hope Hyundai comes out with a luxury CUV soon, because it will blow away Acura.

• 

  its true.. good but could be better, easily - 2008 Acura RDX
  By richman3 - December 30 - 12:34 pm

  It is true, all that was written by the reviewers on edmunds... The glove box slams on the passengers legs, the cup holders are not adjustable, the lights are not automatic, the GPS cannot be seen when sunny, center console oepns to side instead of up, your have to hit the OK button every single time on the GPS unit, I mean every time you get in the car. This is silly, and could also be easily recitified. Just download a patch. etc. etc. All of these could easily be fixed. Come on Acura this will take just a little effort. That being said I love the pickup and handling and it has plenty of utility for me. Just throw my hockey stuff in and go. e on Acura, this is a luxury brand.

• 

  very pleased, but a few issues... - 2009 Acura TSX
  By natochi - December 20 - 4:05 pm

  Bought a certified pre-owned ’09 TSX recently. The TSX handles like a 3-series but provides a lot more value. With “S” mode on in the Auto this feels like a different car – from what I’ve heard you’re consistently revving higher and pushing that VTEC more. Critics give the TSX a hard time for its lack of power but it’s a pretty quick little car. Turn on “S” mode and pass a semi-truck on the highway and tell me this car isn’t fast. What I don’t like: The Hands Free Link audio commands are still weak. I think I already blew a speaker and this seems common as the speakers are a bit subpar. Other than those, great car!

• 

  Moved from a Lexus RX - 2011 Acura MDX
  By g35shopper - December 19 - 11:35 pm

  Took delivery of a 2011 last Saturday. Mostly very pleased. The exception would be the mpg. My Lexus was bullet proof but just too dull to buy another one. The MDX handles much better and the transmission is much more decisive. I do have to admit that I can tell why the RX commands a price premium. The interior and the controls in the MDX feel cheaper (although acceptable).

• 

  Think twice about this one.... - 2001 Acura CL
  By ar1906 - December 16 - 9:38 pm

  I bought my cl type-s used 4 years ago with just a little over 100k miles on it. It has been better than I expected but this car has a serious transmission issue. Ive had to replace 2, the first was well over $2k and the second was fixed under warranty and now at 215,000 miles Im looking at getting a third!!! If your thinking about buying one used beware that your gonna have to replace the transmission at some point. Other than that issue this car has been great, its fun to drive with very comfortable seats for long trips. Verdict: Im selling it and getting a 07 TL, why? U cant beat honda and acura value!!!m selling and getting a 07 TL as mileage is pretty decent too. To sum it up,

• 

  40K and so far, so good - 2008 Acura RDX
  By twistlock - December 16 - 8:39 pm

  For the past couple of years my RDX has worked well - no warranty issues to date. In addition to city/ highway driving, I travel frequently to Lake Tahoe during the winter. The SH-AWD mated with winter tires keeps me truckin along. Agree with other reviews that gas mileage is not the best when climbing the Sierra Nevada, but there is zero power loss (IMO) and I knew what to expect with a turbo-engine.

• 

  False MPG Claim! - 2011 Acura MDX
  By ezboston - December 8 - 7:35 am

  I have a 2010 MDX Tech Package/entertainment since April and my Average MPG is between 11/13 MPG. I have been conservatively driving the car. I do 80% Highway. Horrible car to get if you are are concerned about getting that extra few MPG.