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:

• 

  Until Now - 2001 Acura CL
  By ladyveee - December 19 - 6:22 pm

  I have had my 2001 3.2 CL since 2004. Thats right shes 11 years old and has been so good to me as I have been to her. Last week I had an interesting experience that Ive never had before. She putted 3 times while in traffic and just died. It wasnt the battery and 30 minutes later she started up and the problem has not reocurred. She has been with mechanic for approximately a week and they cant find anything wrong. Mechanic has been driving her to and from work to see what happens. If mechanic can not find the issue, I may have to consider replacing her, I drive too often and late at night and am afraid of getting stranded or worse. Up to this point she has been reliable. I love her but

• 

  2005 Acura TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By bradyoung - December 10 - 6:58 pm

  I bought this car brand new back in 2005. Mechanically its worked great. Ive only had to do basic maintenance on the car such as batteries, belts, fluids, etc. I did have a power steering hose to begin leaking that I had repaired. 6 months later I get a recall notice from Acura and they reimburse me for the cost of the repairs and install a new power steering hose. This car now has 162,000 miles on it and its doing great. I just wish the newer TLs looked as good because I would buy another. The only down side has been tire wear. This car does like to go through some tires about every 25 to 30K miles. The tire wear is based upon normal driving.

• 

  Great car! - 2004 Acura RSX
  By anhdao - December 6 - 6:01 pm

  I loved everything about this car. I wish I still owned it.

• 

  One of the best - 2000 Acura TL
  By realtordl87 - December 3 - 11:04 pm

  One of the best cars Ive owned. I just purchased it this year 2012 and its a 2000. I traded in a 2009 Pontiac G5 GT with only 37,000 miles in on this car which had 122,000 miles at purcahse and I would do it over again. I absolutely love the way the car drives, the interior, and the outside. It drives smooth as a brand new car. The only thing that I have an issue with is the cup holders. They dont really do anything with a 20 oz water bottle or pop bottle, it more or less just topples front to back when driving. Im a realtor by trade and the car is more than spacious enough. I could have bought a newer car, but I really prefer Model years 1999-2001 for some reason.

• 

  Best Handling SUV I Have Ever Driven - 2008 Acura MDX
  By rfcn2 - November 30 - 1:45 pm

  We bought this car the first day of 2008. We owned at that time a 2003 MDX that we sold privately to the first person that came to see it. We now have 45,000 miles on the 2008 MDX. We drove most of the better SUVs that were available in 2008. IMHO this was the best one regardless of price. The only other one that drove about as well as the MDX and felt luxurious was the Buick Enclave. My wife mostly wanted a 3 row vehicle so Lexus was not really considered. The other finalist was the smaller Caddy. To me the MDX is a great handling SUV. It is really fun to drive. Not a Vette, but for a big car this is the cats meow. Repairs have been needed but better than average.

• 

  This is a fantastic automobile! - 2004 Acura TL
  By acurafan15 - November 28 - 12:03 pm

  Words cannot express how fond I am of this car I have been in love with my TL ever since I first drove it. It just surpassed 181,000 miles, and I have enjoyed every single moment. Soon this car will be 10 years old, but it still manages to fetch compliments and stares daily. I have friends, family, and co-workers who dont believe the mileage. It has held up perfectly (paint, interior, mechanically) and even mechanics/Acura service centers find the mileage hard to believe. There is a reason that so many of these cars are still on the road, they are perfect! I love whenever someone complains about the maintenace cost/price tag of their car (BMW, etc.) and I never have anything to say.

• 

  My husband (BMW guy) wants my RDX!! - 2013 Acura RDX
  By sbrows - November 14 - 7:26 pm

  This car is perfect! Traded my 07 MDX for better gas mileage and because I only used 3rd row twice last year. The RDX is so much better than the Lexus RX that I was considering. RX may have a few more options but the Lexus RX ride is "mushy" compared to the quick and nimble Acura RDX. My husband, who drives a BMW 535i, LOVES my RDX - he always wants to switch cars! The RDX is roomy yet sporty super smooth, agile and quick. We have 3 kids and they fit comfortably in the back seat (my oldest is 57"). I would have like one more option pkg (heated steering wheel, heated 2nd row seats, wood grain trim) but not a deal breaker. We are very happy for the value of the RDX for the price.

• 

  So excited to buy my new Acura ILX - 2013 Acura ILX
  By stevenrose - November 10 - 3:43 pm

  I have owned many cars from Jeeps to Volvos and I keep coming back to Honda products. I owned a 1996 Acura Integra and I always refer to that as my favorite car. I owned a 2007 Volvo S40 that was pretty to look at, but drove very choppy. The 2013 Acura ILX is really smooth and fun to drive. I have read reviews that the ILX car is a Honda Civic in a tuxedo. What is wrong with a Honda Civic? My 2006 Honda Civic EX Coupe drove 10 times better than my Volvo S40 and the new ILX I just purchased drives even smoother and is 10x more luxurious than my Honda was. I think I have found that perfect blend of performance, luxury and style. I think I might have found my new favorite car.

• 

  Daily driver for 10 years - 2002 Acura RSX
  By oaklandfan78 - October 31 - 12:48 am

  My RSX has gone through a lot over the past 10 years and put on over 145K miles but its still running strong. Its been through quite a lot. Among the highlights were how many times, it flawlessly handled the California drive from LA to SF. At one point, it also became my utility vehicle and the fold-down seats spent many weekends lugging around DJ equipment. It now serves as my daily commuter with good gas mileage and still evokes a strong feeling of excitement when I get on the road each morning. Hopefully I can make it to 200K one day.

• 

  Everything that you want - and then some - 2013 Acura RDX
  By english_august - October 30 - 11:57 pm

  The 2013 RDX is the best value for money in the luxury small-SUV segment. While competitors such as the X3, GLK, and RX 350 probably exceed RDX on many or most parameters, a comparably equipped car from those manufactures is $6,000 - $10,000 more expensive. If you are considering a loaded mainstream SUV brand (such as the CR-V EX-L), then you owe it to yourself to put the RDX on your shortlist. For about $5,000 - $7,000 more, you get better engine, aesthetics, reliability, build quality, luxury features such as keyless entry and brand cachet.