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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  Great Car! - 2001 Acura CL
  By T - September 11 - 11:42 am

  Man I love this car. Ive had it going on 5 yrs, and currently have 218+k miles. This car just keeps going, Ive only had to do some reg. maintenance and 2 sets of tires, of course from the mileage ware. I have to say the comfort in the room and seats are great If I rent, or borrow another car, I cant wait to get back in mine. My only cons would be the exterior road noise, and the trans. is a bit sensitive and needs freq. monitoring, but thats any Honda.

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  28k of excellent - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Tom - September 10 - 8:33 pm

  I had a 2005 Toyota Corolla S before this car. It was an alright car, but handling was horrible & was a complete rattle box. My friend had bought the TSX when it first came out. It was love at first sight, I just had to have it. The car is EXCELLENT, hugs the road, sound system could be better but still great, my arctic blue exterior has everyone staring as I drive down the street..I just love this car.

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  Not so good - 2007 Acura MDX
  By bowie - September 10 - 3:13 pm

  Bought my 2007 MDX with/Tech pack in August 2007. Do not like it. The acceleration is sluggish, and the engine is noisy. The tech gadgets function well, but you have to take 20 hours to read the manual to learn how to use them. The navigation system comes with a very old map and POI database. You cannot find any place built after 2004. The navigation system also does not take latitude/longitude. The $3000 navigation system is not better than a $150 portable.

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  Consumer Best ??? - 2005 Acura TL
  By gomaiznblue - September 10 - 1:53 am

  After extensive research and driving, I agreed that TL was a best buy. Leather seating is impressive. However, after 5 months I am extremely disappointed in the build quality. So many rattles, I feel like I am riding with a rattle snake inside. Fun to drive, Looks great, but I cant overcome the interior noise. I didnt expect this when I bought an ACURA. EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED!!

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  Acura TL 2007 - Awesome - 2007 Acura TL
  By Speedy - September 9 - 10:36 pm

  Our TL had a driver door rattle. Took dealer 4 hours to find problem and fix. The mirror was was hitting something inside the door and they put extra padding to fix. All warranty. Highway mileage is excellent for size and power. Likes to drive fast to get best mileage. To turn off AC - display must say AC OFF - not blank - you will get 5-10% better mileage. Hands Free - Although when moving - the road noise interferes with its operation.

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  Excellent Value for the money - 2008 Acura MDX
  By namdxowner - September 9 - 4:08 am

  The 2008 MDX is a great luxury family SUV. The MDX rides like a car and makes my wife feel safe on the road. The last row seat is only useful for kids under 10. However, two features should have been standard with this car.

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  MDX - 2004 Acura MDX
  By redwaller - September 9 - 2:00 am

  One year and 9000 miles have been reasonable, I find that there is more than usual hunting for gears(between 4th and 5th)even on mildly slopy roads. (2) Our dealership services are shameful they use recycled engine oil that too not the recommended SAE 5-20 but 5-30. For next simple oil change I will try DIY.

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  New Acura first impression - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Howard Silverstein - September 9 - 2:00 am

  It is a very nice vehicle. Stable and has good power.

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  amazing for the money - 2004 Acura TL
  By JCO - September 9 - 2:00 am

  Drove everything before buying this audi, BMW (3 and 5)series, Infiniti, Benz. Nothing compared to the value from Acura, neverminding the reliability issues with the others. Anyone who complains about handling must live in Arizona where a RWD would be fine. Here on the East Coast, it is perfect in the snow and rain.

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  Good but not German - 2004 Acura TL
  By lindros2 - September 9 - 2:00 am

  After owning many German cars (of VW/Audi/BMW makes) I jumped to this American/Japanese blend. Great value for money, sprightly performance, and leap years beyond other Honda products (including the previous generation TL). Its just not up to European (or Infiniti G35) standards on fit and finish, performance and overall haptics.