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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  Most fun to drive car fot the money - 2006 Acura TSX
  By bnrdad - June 12 - 5:46 am

  As a former owner of 2 BMWs, a Lexus and a Mini, the TSX is the most fun to drive car for the money. After being beset with major quality issues with both of my BMWs (complete transmission failure and replacement at 1,500 miles for example, 12 trips to the dealer in 2 years, etc.), a nice, but too-soft ride and numb steering in the Lexus ES, and a fun-to- drive, but uncomfortable rear-seat and hardly any storage in the MINI, the TSX is the best all-around car I have found. For $27k you cannot beat it - plus Acuras famous quality and service. I highly recommend it.

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  WOW!!! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Luis - June 11 - 7:03 pm

  I traded in my 2004 Nissan Murano SE. I test drove the RDX with the tech package and fell in love. This SUV handles better than most sports cars. The SH-AWD is great especially in inclement weather. Gas mileage in ok but I have a lead foot.

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  Still Runnin Fine - 2002 Acura TL
  By Northwest Guy - June 11 - 4:27 pm

  I last posted on 9/22/04 and its 3 years later. Car styles have changed, but the fundamentals havent. I do not drive a ton of miles annually, but I do take some long trips, as well as plenty of day-to-day ones. My original review still stands. I did finally put some new tires on the car which, of course, are better than the originals, but other than that, the car has been good to me - without incident or flaws. Recently, Acura extended the warranty on the transmissions to 9+ years, I believe. It gets consistently good mileage - you dont have to use premium all the time, either it drives well - excellent on cornering brakes are good and sound/navigation are great!

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  Fantastic Car - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Tomcat - June 11 - 4:08 pm

  I have had the car for just over two weeks and am completely satisfied with my choice. I test drove four competitor vehicles and found the TSX to be the most fun to drive and best value of the bunch. I commute about 100 miles a day mostly highway miles and find the gas mileage acceptable, >30 mpg. Seems 66 mph is the sweet spot for best mpg on the highway. I appreciated most of the extras being standard which makes finding the right vehicle simply a question of which transmission, which color, and with or without navigation. I highly recommend the navigation.

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  Great Car!! - 2006 Acura TL
  By loveTL - June 9 - 4:10 pm

  I boght my TL last month and I love it! Ive considered other luxary/sporty sedans but nothing came close to TL. You get so much for the money. NAV system with the handsfree link is great. I just moved to a different state and NAV system with voice activation came in really handy. It hasnt betrayed me so far and I use it every day. Sound system is very good as well.

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  Has it ALL - best value on the road - 2005 Acura RL
  By Bob D - June 7 - 10:56 pm

  Picked up my RL 2 weeks ago... first impressions - the SH 4WD is the real deal. I just came out of a C5 after 6 years of ownership.. this RL handles incredibly on the curves at high speeds. The build quality is superb. Ive had 2 legend coupes in the 90s and an RL and this one is by far the best quality Acura has ever produced. The best combination of power, fun 4-wheel drive, super dependability, style and great dealer support. Seats are terrific and the car is as quiet as any Lexus Ive ever been in - but this car doesnt isolate the driver - the steering gives you great feedback while being both quick and light. The stereo is THE BEST OEM UNIT IVE EVER HEARD in a car.

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  Best Sports Sedan for the Price - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Marcello - June 7 - 10:01 pm

  Its mother is a Honda Accord (European size), its father Id swear was a BMW 3-series (last model). This car gives you the best of Japan along with the handling of Germany. You cant beat it for the price. My favorite car out of the ten Ive owned including my BMW 3 series, Infiniti Q45 and Nissan Maxima. I cant wait to see what they do with the next generation. This is my second Acura and Im sold on the brand.

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  Mid-luxury and good value - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Gerald Gruber - June 7 - 2:58 pm

  Cost of ownership is excellent

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  GREAT car - 2007 Acura RL
  By Watson - June 7 - 1:42 pm

  I drove a BMW prior to this, and loved it, but I am thrilled with my Acura RL. It is so smooth, very responsive, comfortable as it could possibly be, and has every possible bell and whistle for thousands less than its Teutonic competition. I chose it over Infiniti M35 because, in my test, it handled better, and I much prefer the looks. GREAT car so far.

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  Sunnyside Acura hit it out of the park! - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Anthony Piacenza - June 7 - 5:48 am

  Bluetooth is crap. Otherwise fantastic car for the $