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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  Dont Buy It! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By houston - July 13 - 8:39 pm

  I purchased this car in March. I previously owned a Honda with well over 100,000 miles and loved it. So you think you are getting high quality for the money? Wrong! I have had problems since the beginning. There was extreme wind noise which they attributed to a bent windshield. The car started making clicking and grinding noises. That was the defective bushings. I have driven it exactly 16 days and the bushings have evidently gone bad again (bulletin on these). The entire dash is squeaking and they said they will have to tear out the dash to figure it out. There is some metal fluttering and continued noise like the door is open also. Buy anything else on the market and you will be happier.

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  MDX Tech w/ PTG - Steel Blue - 2008 Acura MDX
  By MeBuyToo - July 13 - 8:05 pm

  Great ride words canÂ’t express how much I love this car. The car is nothing but classy inside and out. It stands out on the road and its always the best looking vehicle in the parking lot. Kudos to Acura for coming up with technology ideas that leads us in the 21st century. Nav is working great traffic incidents works. Hands free link works. Climate control is really good super handling, plenty of go power stereo sounds great. The voice commands works well for me, even with the windows down. With all its features its best to get to know the voice commands. Thank goodness they work. Considered Lexus RX350, BMW X5, Volvo C90. MDX design and Technology value outstanding.

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  2008 Acura TL-S Auto - 2008 Acura TL
  By Howie - NJ - July 13 - 12:40 pm

  After researching several makes, Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, MB, etc., I purchased my TL-S in silver about one month ago. I wanted a 6 speed but they were hard to find so I took an automatic. Im still getting used to driving the auto as well as front wheel drive after driving all wheel drive Audis for the last 8 years. Overall this car is great, no complaints so far. I love the styling of the interior and exterior and the gas mileage for an engine this size has been surprisingly good. On a recent trip (600 miles round trip) I averaged 33 mpg! This car offered by far the best bang for the buck.

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  An Amazing car for that Price!! - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Skolluru - July 13 - 7:00 am

  I bought my TSX last month and I simply loved it!! Kind of features it is having for that amount is superb !it has excellent look, awesome interior wonderful new features.Bluetooth feature,souns system,XM and all new features are excellent.We cant expect more power for a 4 cylinder and good milage aswell.No regrets in buying TSX.I will recommend this car if you are looking for a car range of $27k. No car can beat this!!

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  Impressive - 2008 Acura TL
  By Bonsai77 - July 13 - 12:55 am

  For a base level sedan (w/navi) Acura certainly packs in the features. Voice recognition, rear view camera, GPS w/ real-time traffic option, sequential sport shifting. Low torque is the only drawback - though its not enough to impede a speedy freeway entry or over-taking. The manual shifting more than compensates. General fit and finish - though well done - could use a little more of a solid feeling and refinement. Overall - very happy with the purchase.

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  Move over BMW - 2004 Acura TL
  By AH619 - July 12 - 10:00 am

  As a former owner of 2 BMW I can not recall a more enjoyable driving experience of performance, luxury, and comfort. Look forward to the reliability of the Acura vs the shop $$$$ spent on the BMW.

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  Acura buckboard - 2006 Acura TL
  By C. - July 12 - 6:13 am

  Really nice car,but they forgot to include any kind of ride, took a 7 hour trip and thought I had ridden in an 18 wheeler, rough ride, not comfortable at all. My behind was sore after the trip, you can feel the slightest bump like they forgot springs or something !!

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  Nice Ride - 2008 Acura TL
  By WCM - July 11 - 11:09 pm

  This car is not perfect, but I love it. I like the driving/handling of the car. It feels tightly gripped to the road pretty sturdy on turns. Ive been averaging about 15-17 mpg in the city. This car likes to be driven out on the open road and highway, not stopping/starting, going over speed bumps, etc. I cant wait to take it out of the city to see what it can do. Love the on-board computer. Comfortable interior, too. Gadgets/ergonometry is not too hard to figure out, per editors knock on this item. I would take this car over its competitors, a BMW or Lexus, any day of the week. Good value. Cant help but turn around and look at it, great styling.

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  Great Car All Things Considered - 2004 Acura TSX
  By TXPDelta - July 11 - 4:37 pm

  I love this car even in spite of some quality control issues on the 1st year model. 4 clutch cylinders later and now almost no peddle popping. Other minor issues with door water leak, brake discs, door panel vibrations, and dash squeaks. The car strikes a wonderful balance of daily driver characteristics with solid handling and a near perfect 4 cyl engine. I drove plenty of cars before I bought the TSX and this is the best sedan I found. Not quite a BMW 3-series, but it is the closest youll get for under $30K. Fuel economy is around 23-25 MPG mixed driving with synthetic fluids, Injen air intake, and 93 oct fuel.

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  Outstanding - 2004 Acura TL
  By DeskJocky - July 11 - 1:48 pm

  This is a great car with a good blend of fun and practical. I just cant believe that the TSX beats it in these Consumer ratings! My 2004 TL beats every TSX Ive been in (including 2008) in every way except one: the exterior styling on the TSX is way better. The TL needs cosmetic surgery, but its a fantastic ride.