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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  Its just ok - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Anonymous - December 6 - 2:00 am

  I have been driving my RDX for 2 months now. Interior is nice with heated leather seats, moonroof. Not enough room in the back, my tall 9 year old wont be able to sit back there in a few years. Gas mileage is awful. 20 mpg on average. Its a gas guzzler and you must buy premium gas. poor cargo room. My honda crv had double the cargo. Nice pick up with the turbo acceleration. But too much of a gas guzzler, cant wait to get rid of it. Luxury vehicles are way over rated and not practical for the cost. I suggest you shop around before buying a luxury car. Total waste of money just for transportation.

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  My 4th Acura RL - 2007 Acura RL
  By Mike - December 5 - 2:00 am

  This is my 4th RL the exterior design, while well executed, is boring. It is solid but not as reassuring to drive as the previous models. It is surpringly fast when passing. The fit and finish are as expected the metallic paint is beautiful. The voice activation system remains a mystery, but the navigation system is easier to use than before: no need to touch the screen. The front doors are larger than they need to be and are hard to reach to close. In general, getting in and out is not as easy in this model. Steering is lighter than expected road and wind noise can be intrusive, but for the excellent sound system. The trunk floor is not flat.

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  not for babies with carseats and stuff! - 1993 Acura Integra
  By Chrissie - December 2 - 2:00 am

  i got this car right before i had my baby girl...thought a good gas-mileage hatchback was a smart buy to help with saving money while getting around...i read a post about the head- gasket...well...same here...the babys rear-facing infant seat barely fits in the back...no cupholders...now im looking to sell the car and get a different one...:(

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  All Around Well Built - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Erik B. - November 28 - 2:00 am

  This is the first car in the luxury category that I considered buying. I own all Honda products. Pros: comfortable drivers seat, thrill to drive, rock solid reliability, Maintenance Minder system, sports car handling Cons: cheap aluminum accents, turbo lag, slightly cramped back seat, navigation should be touchscreen (selector knob is cumbersome, stock tires wear quickly Overall, I do like this car. It was a dealership loaner with 17,000 miles on it. It lacks the refinement of the other cars in this class (BMW X3, LandRover LR3, etc.) but for the price you get all the options you could ever need. I will most likely opt for another Acura when purchasing my next vehicle.

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  Just like new - 2006 Acura TSX
  By RB & PB - November 26 - 2:00 am

  Approaching 100k.Recently had the brakes done and new tires (oem)put on the car,it feels as new as the day it rolled off the dealers lot.The controls still feel like they were dipped in butter.The clean,classic lines and overall styling of this car remains relevant.The car suffers from a lack of low-end torque & poor acceleration from a dead stop. Acura missed a golden opportunity to remedy this by not offering a turbo I4 (like the RDX) and thus maintaining the "agile/light/tossable" personality of this car. Test drove the new TSX and did not like the numb steering & dull interior ,may consider other options like the IS 350 AWD (increase HP, AT dual shift capability,heated/cooled seats,etc.

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  Roof Rattle - 2010 Acura TL
  By John - November 24 - 2:00 am

  Rattle in the area of forward roof or moon roof area. Had the car to the dealer 3 xs for the same problem. They had the car for 4 days working on the problem. They corrected it by spraying some type of form between outer and iner roof. The rattle is back again (2 months later) worse this time and more so when the sun shade is back and weather is cooler. Going back to the dealer again next week. The rattle and noise is so annoying that you dont enjoy the car. For the price of this car not real happy.

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  My "new" used RL - 2006 Acura RL
  By Ruppster - November 15 - 2:00 am

  I am a car guy. Have owned three beemers, four Mercedes, a couple of 3rd generation RX-7s, etc. I am now a dad with two youngsters and decided to go "practical" and buy a responsible used car. After much research settled on a very, very clean 2006 RL. While it does not have the marquee value of my last to Mercedes, its a pretty darn nice car and one heck of a value. Paid about 20K for a car that listed for 50K new and still has very few signs of wear and tear. Interior features are just great. Voice recognition isnt perfect but everything else is spot on. You really feel coddled in the cockpit. Stereo is best Ive experienced, materials are top notch.

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  Sunroof Air Leaks and Rattles - 2010 Acura ZDX
  By gea001 - November 15 - 2:00 am

  Love many aspects of this car - exterior styling, interior comfort and design, tech features, sound system etc...price/value equation vs. BMW X6 Have had sunroof quality/adjustment issue which I did not expect from Acura. Acceleration/Power/MPG trade-off not that compelling vs BMWs Ive owned.

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  Great car, poor speakers - 2009 Acura TSX
  By phoking - November 15 - 2:00 am

  I have the Tech package 6 speed and love the car, but have a few complaints here and there and have owned it for just under 1 year. Pros, I love the interior look of the car. The design of the dashboard is pretty sleek and I think everything flows really nicely. Especially the gauges at night. You get a pretty nice feel from the shifter. but lately it feels like it kinda "clunks" in to 3rd instead of slipping in like it usually does. And with the tech package, you get one of the best sounding factory audio settings Cons: with that said about the audio, the speakers are bad quality. Ive had 3 speakers blow since owning the car, and I listen at moderate to low levels only. Handling is subpar.

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  The Sports Sedan of mid-size SUVs - 2010 Acura MDX
  By SJ - November 14 - 2:00 am

  Traded in a 2005 Honda Pilot. The Pilots acceleration, cornering, and braking cant compare to the MDX. I have it out on the twisty roads of the Sierra Nevada. It feels like a decent sports sedan, not an SUV. The interior ambience if the MDX is way more luxurious than the Pilot. Another huge difference is road noise. There is very little road noise in the MDX. Gas mileage is disappointing. At 8,000 miles on the odometer, I am still not hitting the EPA highway mileage on longer trips. So far it is has not had a single reliability issue. If is is as reliable as my previous 3 Acuras, it will be a 10.