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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  RLX-- love this car - 2014 Acura RLX
  By angela2014 - August 28 - 3:24 pm

  I got the RLX with Advanced package in Oct. 2013. Have driven more than 15K miles, I can not be more happier. No matter it is 8 hrs drive from southern California to San Francisco or road trips to Vegas and Grand Canyon, or even daily commute on the highways, the car is so quite and comfortable, every time behind the wheel feels like a special treat to myself. My friends have A6 and E class, whenever they rode with me they can not stop praising how much they enjoy the ride and how well made the car was . Actually I got the feeling they sometimes find excuses to just take a ride with me because of they like this car.

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  07 Loaded MDX - 2007 Acura MDX
  By rslewis - August 28 - 8:14 am

  We bought our 07 in 2014 with 100k for 14k out the door from a small dealer that only sells about 12 cars a year.. Had it checked out by a local Honda dealership and came back good except for the passenger rear sport shock was leaking and needed to be replaced... no big deal, until I found out that you can only get the sport shock from Acura at $700 a pop... OK!! My only gripe about the truck though, ours has sport, entertainment, tech and tow packages... the only thing it doesnt have is the back-up sensors that beep. Its grey with grey interior and it looks awesome... you can tell its a solid truck when driving it, no rattles and very firm when in sport mode. Great SUV!

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  Acuras Sedans are Back! - 2015 Acura TLX
  By unlimitedinc - August 27 - 10:47 am

  I had a TSX. It was great. I have to admit, for the TLX, I was worried about the dual clutch transmission. I worried about Acura getting back to its roots with its sedans. All that has been put to rest. My 2.4L tech TLX has been absolutely great! There are some pretty curvy, hilly roads in Austin and I put the car to a test. It handles amazingly well and the transmission... awesome! You can feel the gear change from idle on to 2nd gear but thats it. Even then, its pretty close. The technology is awesome too! I havent even gotten to the aesthetics. The body looks great and the interior is definitely luxury. Thank you Acura!

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  RDX is a Sport Car in Disguise - 2014 Acura RDX
  By carguyrg - August 25 - 8:00 am

  I have had my 2014 RDX for 4 months now and have driven it for over 11,000 miles. It replaced a 2010 TSX V6. I find the RDX to be everything the TSX was in performance and handles even better. (The V6 TSX was front end heavy.). I have been very pleased with the gas consumption averaging 27.5 MPG with mostly highway driving. Anyone looking for a mid size SUV should take a close look at this car. The base trim matches many of the other models luxury trim which makes it very price competitive with models you wouldnt expect.

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  Love my MDX but would hesitate to buy again - 2014 Acura MDX
  By johnra - August 23 - 11:24 am

  This is a great family car with plenty of room, power, fuel efficiency, safety features, and style. For these reasons I am very happy with my purchase. However, there are enough quirks that I would hesitate to buy an MDX again. There is an odd noise the car makes when shifting from 3 to 6 cylinders the lumbar adjustments on the front driver seat are too limited sound quality from the radio is pathetic and I have heard awful things about the in car nav (thankfully I did not waste my money on this). All cars have quirks but these are too many for a car in this price range. I get the sense Acura rushed this out the door - a lesson learned for me in buying the first year of a new model.

• 

  Supercar - 1998 Acura NSX
  By khausmann - August 20 - 3:52 pm

  Best car I have ever owned, which is saying a lot since I have had 69 cars. Beautiful from every angle, everyone wants to see it up close and ask about it. Many people have never heard of it, but most assume it is 2 or 3 years old and costs 100K or more. It is confused with a Ferrari a lot. It is comfortable, handles like it is on rails, great stereo, convertible. We drove from Colorado to Austin, never below 75 mph, and never got less than 26 mph.

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  my Ricer - 2001 Acura CL
  By redplanetlover - August 16 - 12:03 pm

  I bought my 2001 CL 3.2 Type S around Christmas in 2006 and as of now I have replaced the alternator and the power steering pump. Thats it! I did it in my garage for a couple hundred bucks all in. I have had NO problems with the transmission at all and I am at 165000 K right now. I think the transmission problems are from people who shift manually and I rarely do that. The computer does a better job than my ears can. What can I say? I have thought about replacing her but every car I test drive is no quicker and most dont have the handling of my Type S. I have found that to show an improvement I would have to spend $50,000 and why bother? If you can find one, buy it and smile.

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  1999 Acura Integra GS Hatch Manual - 1999 Acura Integra
  By thekenneth - August 15 - 1:07 pm

  This is an outstanding used car. I bought it at 154,000 in 2014 and am so impressed with the solid transmission and engine. Cosmetically it is quite weathered. Clearcoat peel. This one had some water infiltration into the hatch thru the tail light gaskets but this was easily fixed. Very low seat for this old guy to climb in and out of but decent front leg room for tall people. Dont expect to transport full-sized people in the back seats! Super solid used car. Zippy and nimble. Fun to drive. I recommend it.

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  Excellent gas mileage - 2011 Acura TSX
  By bluehat2 - August 12 - 10:30 pm

  Ive been very pleased with this car thus far since purchasing in 2011. This is my second Acura after owning an Integra many years ago, and fourth Honda since owning Fords and Chevys. The biggest thing Im happy about is the gas mileage. It has been well above the stated MPG. On a recent 3 hour trip, I hit 41 MPG on the way down, then 39 MPG on the way back with conservative driving. I consistently hit 40 MPG on my weekly 1 hour commutes to the home office. Of course, this is assuming that the on board computer is accurate.

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  What a disappointment. - 2015 Acura MDX
  By laura81 - August 9 - 3:11 pm

  We purchased a 2015 MDX several weeks ago. The next morning, many error messages came on after starting the car - tire pressure warning, emissions system warning, transmission system warning. I was unable to drive the car. The car was towed to the dealership, we were assured it was a battery problem. We were given a new battery and left for a trip. We then drove it several hours, parked it overnight, and received the same messages the next day when we tried to start the car. Another tow, another dealership in a new state. Two weeks later, and we dont have the car back yet. Acura Client Services has been really unhelpful. I would not recommend this car to anyone.