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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  What a purchase!! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Shak - August 6 - 9:20 pm

  I purchased this car in July of 08. I considered BMW, Lexus, Audi, Accord and a few others. But the features for price, comfort, drive won hands down! Car drives great, awesome handling with steering, good acceleration (use pedal shifters... fun!). Ive always wanted an Acura, and this was the exact way to finally step into the brand! Had considered the 08 and the 09 TSX. The redesigned exterior of the 09 is what won me over and took a bigger chunk out my pocketbook.

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  Very happy - overall a great purchase - 2008 Acura TL
  By Nate H. - August 6 - 3:36 pm

  I purchased my 2008 Acura TL Type S in April. 4 months later I am still very happy. Excellent acceleration and the gas mileage is surprisingly good. Ive been averaging 27 mpg with city/hwy combined. Luxury and sport nicely combined. The TL offers more leg room for rear passengers than the IS 250 and G35. I wish the back seats were capable of folding down for my random stops at Lowes and Home Depot. The doors are hard to keep open while exiting but I will survive.

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  Love my Type S - 2003 Acura TL
  By charveycmt - August 6 - 5:33 am

  This car has great value and is very fun to drive. It is the best luxury car for the money, after having extensively researched all the European models. About the only negative thing I can find is that the ride in the Type S is a little stiffer than your typical luxury vehicle, but when you buy a car with a faster, larger engine, you expect to have a stiffer suspension. I knew this before I bought it, and have never regretted it for a moment.

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  RDX - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Dan - August 5 - 3:40 pm

  I wanted a sports car but needed the room of an SUV. It performs like a sports car with agility, quickness and handling but offers more comfort than a sports car. I evaluated the competitors but they could not compare for the difference in price. I am satisfied!

• 

  Ever-Ready Legend - 1994 Acura Legend
  By ForeverLegend - August 4 - 9:17 pm

  The Legend was bought used, and after 100,000 miles, the car is still going strong. At 170K miles, the car has had a few problems. Driver side window is dead, master cylinder has been replace, and splits in the leather seats. And one time the rear brake pad popped out of its bracket after my hitting a pothole. On the plus side, Ive never had any major problems. I typically drive freeways at 90 mph, get around 22 mpg, and have a smooth ride and good acceleration. If my Legend is like most others, Ill still be driving my car after another 100K miles. Ive been very happy with my car, and dont know what Id buy as a replacement.

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  Very happy I upgraded - 2008 Acura TL
  By Chas - August 4 - 2:46 pm

  So far the experience has been great! I started looking around at smaller, more fuel efficient models like the Accord and Civic but finally gave in and decided that a little luxury and styling had to be worth something. I really like the handling but my one knock is that it seems to give the slightest vibration at around 60 but then over that it goes away. Ill keep an eye on that but it might just be engine rattle at that rpm. Corners seem to grab and hold like I am not used to and I find myself heading into curves with a bit more confidence. I am very happy that I decided to step up. This a no-brainer over the Accord for me.

• 

  Dangerous Gamble - 1999 Acura TL
  By Marc - August 4 - 9:34 am

  This car was a graduation present to me after finishing high school, and I love it! However, it has let me down so so many times, which is really disappointing because its definitely my favorite car. This car has been nothing but trouble, though. We bought with 97k miles on it, and in less than a year had to performance over $3500 in work. Ignition coils fried and fans quit working, leaving me with an overheated undrivable car until repaired. Then a month later transmission problems became massive. Performed maintenance and fixed the issue for about a week, then while out of town the transmission failed altogether leaving us stranded in another state. I love my car but it has stolen my $$

• 

  Buy this car! - 2008 Acura TL
  By I Love this Car! - August 3 - 8:21 pm

  I wanted a TL but I wanted to stand out from the crowd of other TL owners so I bought the TL-S with the aero body kit installed and it looks great. Im getting 22 mpg city on 87 octane. I tried the 91 oct but I cant tell the difference on 2 tanks so I went back to 87 and its just fine. Love the nav system, Id be so lost w/out it plus its a fun toy and great for resale when(if) I sell it. Not a rocket ship but has plenty of power for city driving and has the Honda reliability, fit and finish. It loaded with options that would cost thousands more with BMW, Lexus, Audi and Merc. Why pay more??

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  Engineers have overcomplicated dashboard controls - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Annie - August 2 - 11:40 pm

  This car is drop dead gorgeous from the outside. It rides like a dream at 60 MPH - Simply HATE driving the car at lower speeds. The controls are all STUPID. Who dreamed up putting all of the controls onto an ipad screen that fades out when the sun glares onto the screen? Whats wrong with a few knobs? So much easier to locate when driving and trying to keep your eyes on the road. Hate the way the car is programmed to have the seat slide all the waaay baaaack and all the way baack forward agaaaiiin when starting and stopping. Let ME control where I want the seat to be. Ill move it if and when I deem necessary. The beautiful jewel lights...SIMPLY WORTHLESS IN AN AREA WITHOUT STREET LIGHTS. Although I took the car back and made numerous inquiries because I simply cannot see at night, I was assured by the Service Manager that nothing can be done to adjust the lights, and I am awaiting (for over 3 months now) a reply from the Regional Service Manager due to my complaints about the lack of light from the lights. Interestingly, I just tore the bumper off the front of the car backing out of a parking spot and visited a body shop. We got to chatting that the car was so beautiful but the lights were so bad - and he offered to adjust them. Do you know, he adjusted the lights up half way - and they can be raised additionally - while my Service Manager at Open Road Acura insisted they could not be adjusted. This is infuriating! The front bumper is so low to the ground - right after my experience yesterday, while driving home I was next to another TLX same year - and the same bumper was torn -coincidence? I am amazed it tore so easily. The visibility - try looking in your side mirrors without becoming seasick - they are curved. So if you move forward or back and continue looking at mirror - the view moves and stretches. Why??? Why does the air conditioning vent reflect into the side mirrors - oh wait, they said it was a recall only the day after my purchase. But Ive met other owners who were not given the revised "matte black" vent instead of the reflective silver version. The bars holding the windshield and windows is so thick that I have to lean forward and then behind the bar in order to make a turn, because so much of the view is obstructed. Then, when backing up - the cameras drop to the ground - a warning comes up on the screen that the Driver is responsible for checking behind the vehicle - but the mirrors are on the floor ??? Luckily, there is an override for this particularly stupid feature. The Navigation is awkward to use and soooooo slow to respond. It probably takes a minute to start up upon starting the cr. It also isnt as accurate as the navigation in my older TL. Several times it has taken me way out of the way and then backtracking numerous times unnecessarily. Just the other night it took me off Route 80 at one particular exit. I drove through the town making numerous turns only to eventually be put back onto Route 80 and exit again two exits later. Why? Note to the Engineers - you dont have to control every aspect of the car for us - some of us would like to control things ourselves. The Safety "Brake Warning" comes on at unusual and not braking situations. Driving down a road - nothing in front, and the warning begins flashing. Ive made a complaint to NTSB about the lights, and assure them and anyone else who will listen - I fully expect to be killed in this car.

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  I now volunteer to run errands - 2009 Acura RL
  By hkl in TX - August 2 - 1:53 pm

  Had it a week and Im very pleased. Wanted a sports sedan with all the luxury/tech appointments. Drove E-Class, 5-series, M-35, 09 Maxima and Lexus GS. No major weaknesses vs. competition. If you are looking at this class, test the RL. Improved low end torque is a big plus vs. 08 model. Not as fast off the line as the 535, but as fast as the rest. Sports mode helps with initial acceleration, but not necessary after that. Quiet smooth ride. Not as noisy or bumpy as the GS and doesnt feel like a big boat like the M-35. Technology and radio are excellent. Interior comfort is awesome. Other brands more recognizable, but this is a better car.