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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  A car called perfection - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Paul Soares - October 24 - 11:33 am

  I saw the reviews of this car at cars.com and I decided to try it. Its worthy of the name they gave to it: Perfection. This car is the best luxury car ever, for the price you pay. Its 10,000 les than the Lexus IS 250 and its faster. Totally worthy of its 28k.

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  Great Car - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Quacker - October 23 - 9:08 pm

  After owning this car for about 5 years, I can safely say it was a great choice. First, the fuel efficiency is amazing. I drive the manual, and I regularly average 30-34 miles per gallon. This is mixed highway and city driving. The interior is ergonomic and spacious (for the driver, at least), the handling is crisp and responsive, the gearbox is amazing (dont whine about the grinding, it goes away after a few thousand miles), the engine is revvy and powerful for its size and fuel efficiency, and the car is built to very tight tolerances. After 5 years, none of the electricals have gone out, nor have any rattles developed. Taut car.

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  Buyers Remorse - 2009 Acura MDX
  By davidb - October 22 - 11:11 pm

  Ive bought at least 10 cars over my life and always been 100% satisfied. For the first time I feel I made a huge mistake. Ive got 1500 miles on a new MDX and Ive decided to get rid of the damned thing. Engine noise reminds me of a 4 cylinder Camry, the transmission is jerky, particularly when downshifting - take your foot off the gas at 60 and the engine immediately starts dragging you down, almost like no overdrive. The front seats are exhausting if you sit in them over an hour. And the steering is way too stiff and the indentations on the wheel are spaced too far apart. I took at least 4 or 5 test drives and for the life of me I dont know how I missed these details.

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  Last Acura - 2007 Acura TL
  By BK - October 22 - 9:52 pm

  This is my third Acura (second TL - had an 04 before this), and sorry to say probably my last. My first two were great cars. This one, however, has had annoying problems. Most have been fixed by the dealership, but there is a noise coming from the brakes they have tried to fix 4 times and cant get it to go away for more than about 2 days at a time. We also have a 2008 Infiniti G35 and I am much happier with it, although I like the TL better on the highway more comfort that sport. I am very disappointed that they cant isolate the noise that I hear ALL THE TIME.. fix it already! Every time I get in the car and hear the noise I shake may head and say to myself, "last Acura I will own.

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  Update after 10 months - 2008 Acura MDX
  By oscarkat3 - October 21 - 11:57 pm

  I still love driving this vehicle but the quality is a bit of a let down. There are a few rattles including a loud one from the passenger seat. The radio settings malfunction sporadically. The A/C makes whistling noises that sound like brakes squealing. The dealer finally acknowledged some of the problems but they never adequately addressed all the problems either. These are minor problems but a disappointment because I had a higher expectation of reliability. I still love all the positives about the MDX. I plan on keeping it for a while but I dont know if I will buy an Acura again?

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  Best car in the world! - 1995 Acura Integra
  By Katie - October 21 - 9:29 pm

  The Acura Integra was my dream car and I bought one the moment I had the chance. When I got my Integra it was already 8 years old and had 78k miles on it. I never had any issues with the car, it was only in the shop for maintenance and brake pads at approx 130k miles. Every time I drove my car I felt like I was a race car driver and I have the speeding tickets to prove it! If youre planning on buying an Integra and dont like to drive fast, please find another car. It needs to be driven fast or it wont feel loved :) My baby was just totaled a week ago and now Im looking for another car with more room for my dogs and cant find anything with reviews as good as the Integra.

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  Bang for my Buck - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Jim Buehring - October 21 - 10:12 am

  really nice car. All the options for less than competing vehicles and a 4 year warranty. I love it

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  Bad Humming Noise - 2004 Acura MDX
  By tedelco - October 21 - 2:00 am

  I have owned a 2004 Acura MDX SUV for about two months. This car has caused me many problems. When I drive at an engine speed of 2000 RPMS I can hear an annoying, constant humming noise. The Acura dealer has checked it a number of times and tell me it is normal and cannot do anything about it. I have also contacted the Acura Manufacturer and they have given me the same reply. I do not know what else I can do. To all future 2004 Acura MDX SUV costumers: when you take a test drive for this car, make sure to listen for this noise when the engine speed reaches about 2000 RPMS. Thank you.

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  No regrets - 2004 Acura TL
  By orange_peel - October 21 - 2:00 am

  This car is the best value, most fun/$ in it class - it isnt even close. No issues with the FWD.

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  BEST OUT THERE UNDER $35,000 - 2004 Acura TL
  By tarzanandjayne - October 21 - 2:00 am

  I looked at the other cars in this price range, and I keeped thinking...Why not just get the TL..best out there hands down....!!!