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 expect it to be reliable!!! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Jessie - October 19 - 6:02 pm

  I bought this vehicle thinking I was buying a reliable Honda product (Ive owned several Hondas that have had over 150K mi with nothing more than oil changes and minor repairs). This vehicle has been a big disappointment. Where should I start?? Been in the shop 3 times for transmission issues, they still cant fix the leaking sunroof after 4 attempts!!, car wouldnt start (turn over) a couple times. What makes this even worse is the ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS service at the dealership (Ive tried 5 different ones) and Acura corporate customer service SIMPLY DOES NOT CARE. While I understand that any vehicle can have problems, how they take care of you says it all! Will never buy an Acura again!!

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  Lemons, but no Lemonade - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Unhappy - October 19 - 12:38 am

  I got a lemon. So far the dealer hasnt been the least bit helpful with helping me. Its had a new transmission, 3 batteries, a new alternator and now theyre telling me Im having axle problems!! Its a cute car, but its time to get something that wont break down on me five times in half a year!

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  Wouldnt buy it again... sorry I bought it... - 2017 Acura RDX
  By K Gordon - September 13 - 4:49 pm

  CONS: Purchased the newest top-of-the-line vehicle available. Picked it up and the Navigation didnt work. Dealer had to replace a wiring harness to fix the problem. Got the car back and now the Radio does not work properly. It sounds ok for a while and then the music sounds tinny like the bass was turned off. This is VERY irritating as it doesnt matter what form radio / sirius / ipod - so either the wiring or speakers are messed up. Navigation is difficult to use and I still havent figured out how to add the way points for trips. Locking the doors on the car is tricky - if you press it twice too close together, the windows and roof open! And the remote start is very picky and difficult to get to work. The Hands Free isnt very adaptive. My 510" husband has a great deal of difficulty getting in and out of the car... it is very tight. PROS: the back seat covers are fitted perfectly.

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  Good for the price. Not for performance - 2004 Acura TSX
  By hbux - September 8 - 10:00 am

  TSX is good for people who want all the great option with low price. If you are looking for performance car. This is not the car for you. Although the car has 200hp, you only get the power on highway. 0 - 60 is very slow. 6MT will help a little. For interior, it looks very nice and confortable. However, most people have rattle issue. Rattle from dash board, door panel, roof...etc. Basically, noone escape the rattle. For the sound system, The stock speaker is really sucks. I replace the speaker to Apline. The sound is much clean and less distortion. The Gas miliage is not as much as they claim. I got around 25. If I have the other chance, I go for

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  Acura - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Jennifer Coleman - September 7 - 11:55 pm

  Starting is like driving a stick

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  Unreliable - 2005 Acura RL
  By Howard Kelley - September 2 - 7:16 pm

  This car has a computer glitch that discharges the battery when the car isnt driven for a few days. The car has been towed to the dealership twice and is currently sitting at the dealership waiting for a "fix" from Acura. This problem isnt peculiar to my car but is a significant problem that other Acura RL owners have encountered. I am currently going thru arbitration with the State of Ct to get a refund since Acura doesnt know when the fix will be available. The keyless feature to start the car can lead to problems if you let a valet park the car. Sometimes the ignition is left in the acces position. The GPS works better in the TL model. The transmission has a very long lag time.

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  Acura Lemon - 2003 Acura TL
  By Bruce Wainwright - August 16 - 9:05 am

  I have had to return this car to the dealer 12-15 times. 3 Struts have been replaced, 2 seat frames, numerous rattles and noises. The car has not held its resale value as I had hoped. I would not continue to own it if it had.

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  Unreliable dressed up Honda - 2002 Acura TL
  By Hate TL-S - July 23 - 3:01 am

  I bought this car for its power and handling - was I in for a let down. I have a vibration from the front end - I use only Michelin Sport A/S - had this issue with OEs too. Well major issue is the transmission. I am on my 3rd. Seems to go out every 30k on me. I have 70k miles on it. Since the last transmission - car does not have the kick / pick-up. Revs like a rocket before I get any good speed. Not sure what they have done since the last transmission repair. Ive lost lot of power and handling in this car. Acura TL-S has a known tranmission problem - would stay away from it. All they do is replace it with a remanufactured transmission and hope it last.

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  Very Disappointed in my MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Janet - July 17 - 2:55 pm

  "Clunking" noises that "cant be fixed". Said MDX just makes these noises w/ no remedy <-NOT an acceptable answer!!! Poor design features: no continuous visible outside temperature readout recirculating air setting does not stay on-must be constantly re-set Navigation system NOT user friendly. Also, static in AM radio. Over-designed in some areas under-designed in others. Manufacturer not willing to remedy problems. Spent over $40,000 for a car that does not meet expectations.

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  very disappointed - 2003 Acura TL
  By banditday - July 14 - 5:56 pm

  I loved my car when I first bought it. Put the CompTech headers, exhaust, springs, swaybars plus Koni shocks and Brembo Gran Turismos on it under factory warranty. Well, less than 6 months after I bought the car I start having paint problems - horrid peeling, bird doo eating through the paint (my other car is 8 years old and looks amazing - this Acura looks 20 years old at 2). Now Im in the tranny recall issues.... on my third tranny. Tranny #2 had zero power to the ground. The car was being outgunned by delivery trucks! I am furious with Acura - my family has owned 8 or 9 Acuras, ranging from Type R Integras to TLs and CLs.... and Acura wont do a thing :-(