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 GREAT EXPERIENCE - 2003 Acura MDX
  By PETE MANALE - August 15 - 10:00 am

  GREAT SEATS AND COMFORT. THE NAV IS FUN TO USE AND WHEN NEEDED, A "LIFESAVER" FROM GETTING LOST. THE BACK VIEWING CAMERA HELPS A LOT IN TIGHT PLACES. AUTOMATIC WIPERS ARE A PLUS. HIGHWAY MILEAGE IS GOOD. RIDE IS AS GOOD AS MY WIFES LEXUS. QUALITY THROUGHOUT IS IMPRESSIVE AND DRIVES EASILY ON HIGHWAY. FIT AND FINISH ARE EXCELLENT. I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT. WAS COMPARING THIS CAR VERSUS A SEQUOIA AND DROVE BOTH. INTERIOR OF SEQUOIA WAS NOT AS GOOD AS THE MDX AND THE SEQUOIA DIDNT SEEM TO HAVE THE POWER OF THE MDX.

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  Awesome vehicle - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Bob La Salle - August 14 - 5:16 am

  I have about 2,500 miles on it now and I get about 19 mpg all city driving, 26 all highway, much better than the other reviews. It helps fuel economy if you keep that turbo gauge needle pointing down at the bottom, but the power is there when you need it. It is really fun to drive and just the right size awesome stereo & interior electronics sporty to drive & sporty/plush ride.

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  Amazing SUV at an amazing price point - 2008 Acura RDX
  By dep - August 13 - 2:12 pm

  Wow! For the money the RDX really delivers. I think of it as a cross between the TL Type S and the MDX. Power is ample and the turbo makes it fun. Grip, hold, and road feel are spot on. The RDX makes you feel like you are attached to the pavement with no chance to ever come loose. Acura, as they tend to do, has really invested a LOT in the technology and engineering that you will never see. From the SH-AWD to the first of its kind dual stage turbo. So far, we are really impressed with the RDX.

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  Excellent car for the money - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Nate - August 13 - 12:42 pm

  I just bought my 5 speed Acura last week in desert silver metallic for $10,300 w/42,000 miles on it. For being six years old this car is very stylish. I am a 20 year old just out of college. I needed a car for under $11,000 that looked good and got good gas mileage. The moment I drove the Acura I knew it was it. I was previously looking at wrxs and eclipses but this beats them both as far as the money to quality ratio is concerned. One word EXCELLENT!

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  You will love your Acura MDX - 2017 Acura MDX
  By BigBob - August 13 - 4:21 am

  The MDX with the tech package has everything you need as far as safety and comfort. We added thee otional heated steering wheel sunce we live in the northeast. Great vehicle worth every penny!

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  Sport and Luxury! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By GFunk - August 12 - 9:06 pm

  Ive put about 2K miles on this car so far, and it has been a true pleasure to drive. It is comfortable for daily driving and long drives. I took it on a trip from San Diego to Las Vegas, and it was a real pleasure. However, it really shines on the twisty roads. Ive taken it up into the mountains, and it flew through the turns with little body lean. The sports shift was almost as fun as a manual!I looked at a number of other cars in the sports sedan segment, and the TSX offers the most balanced package: sporty, luxury, reliability, and inexpensive.

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  First 100k OK - 2001 Acura MDX
  By craigo - August 12 - 7:18 pm

  Have had this MDX for 7 years. Great car. The tranny has been slipping under load (hill) for a while and the dealer can not find the problem. Going in for a timing belt this week and I hope they find the tranny issue this time. Love to buy another but the $$$ is crazy.

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  The best car ever! - 1991 Acura Legend
  By Legend LOVER!!! - August 12 - 2:00 pm

  We got our 91 Legend sedan in 2002. Since then we have had basically 0 problems. I love the design of this car inside and out! Extremely fun to drive! Very powerful car. A timeless beauty. Amazing car!

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  Still great after all these years - 2004 Acura RL
  By Ralph - August 12 - 7:10 am

  Since 2004 this has been "steady eddie" for me. I am going to buy it off of lease because it has served me well for four years and I expect it to for many more.

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  STAY AWAY IF YOU LIVE IN A WARM CLIMATE - 2016 Acura TLX
  By DK in Florida - August 11 - 3:51 pm

  If you purchase this car in white, the interior options are only dark colors. My car has the white exterior with the gray leather seats. However, the interior gets so hot because of the cheap black plastic dashboard and black plastic door trim which consumes a large portion of the interior cabin. The air conditioner cant compensate for the intense heat buildup when the car is parked outside in the hot Florida sun. This car has the seats that are supposed to cool and this function really does not help much. My 2009 Acura had a BEAUTIFUL tan interior and a really good air conditioner that cooled the car so well. I am so disappointed in the 2016 TLX, that I wish I would have kept my 2009. The 2016 TLX was purchased for the safety features which are superb, but the car is so uncomfortably hot, that we will consider another brand the next time we purchase. I do not know why Acura does not offer lighter color LEATHER INTERIOR SEATS anymore. Plastic seats in Florida are like sitting in a plastic bag. If the interior options dont change, we will no longer be ACURA customers.