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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  Excellent Ride, Needs Better Brakes - 2009 Acura RL
  By P Medina - October 17 - 2:00 am

  Up to date, it has been a very enjoyable ride. Classy enough for my trade, as engineering consultant, and sporty enough for my younger heart. It has been, however, sifnificantly fuel thirsty, almost as my wives MDX! However, dealership service has been excellent and the vehicle has operated flawlessly, unlike my previous Avalon! Overall, Im happy with my purchase, except for braking performance.

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  Hard to Beat an Acura - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Acura Lover - October 11 - 2:00 am

  This is my third Acura. I traded a BMW X3si for this RDX. I had the BMW only 5 months. Before that, I had an Acura TL. Always wanted a BMW until I actually owned one. Proved to myself I am an Acura fan for life. This is my first 4-cyl car. Turbo makes it feel like a V6. Comfortable ride, quality interior expected from an Acura. Tech pkg is nice, but could be much improved. Feel like I went downhill from the 03 TL to the 07 RDX on that end. This RDX really makes me feel as though my TL got a face and body lift. Dont miss the BMW one bit except for the Bluetooth. I hate pressing the talk button for each and every command even my 03 Yukon doesnt require that.

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  Good Value and Lots of Gadgets - 2010 Acura MDX
  By JJ10 - October 6 - 2:00 am

  Have had the car for a month and overall quite happy with it. It is the best value for the money in this size/category. The tech pkg has tons of features, though some are more gimmicky than useful. Not crazy about the exterior, but interior is roomy and comfortable. Cargo area is smaller than Id like. Performance is ok. The engine lacks torque and has to rev hard for power (while making a lot of noise). Coming from a European SUV, I feel the suspension is too soft and steering is way too loose. The torque vectoring is a bit unpredictable when cornering. Road noise is surprisingly high. The car had a couple of small issues upon delivery, which is disappointing for a Honda product.

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  2006 Acura TSX - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Jack Cockerham - October 3 - 2:00 am

  95,000 miles and original brake pads still servicable, although rotors must be warped a little as the car has begun to shudder under braking from highway speeds. Car has recently developed a strange whine at times from the rear end(?) but only when backing up. These are the only issues this car has had in the 4 1/2 years weve owned it.

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  Best car Ive had in 40 years TSX 4cyl - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Michigan girl - October 2 - 2:00 am

  My previous car was a 2008 TL, before that a VW Passat, Audi A4 sport, Acura TL, Subaru X 2, Pontiac, Chevrolet, CHevelle Super Sports Surprisingly, TSX is much quieter (far less road noise) than any previous car. Surprisingly, it is very peppy, fun to drive. The ELS sound system is BY FAR the best stereo in a car ever. Im short, small, but seat position adjusts better for me than any previous car. TSX is only minimally smaller than the 2008 TL. Its not the smoothest car in driving over bumps, but having a ultra smooth drive is not a priority for me as much as quiet ride and sound system. There is minimal engine sound when revving it at mid speed but none on the freeway.

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  Great car for $$$ - 2000 Acura RL
  By RLownerRI - October 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought this in 07 with 114K on it. I have since put 90,000 and for the $8,000 I spent on it I couldnt ask for a better car. Its very comfortable, has enough pep to get out of its own way (it is not a race car by any stretch of the imagination) and is the most reliable car I have ever owned. The body integrity, even after 11 years and 202,ooo niles is top notch. Motor runs great. My only repaits have been a seat belt sensor and a fuel relay switch - less than $1,000 in repairs (excluding regular maintenance items of course). I do have a small leak in tranny that just started but no slippage. For 200,000 miles Im not going to complain.

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  Fun Daily Driver - 2010 Acura TL
  By Raynman - September 30 - 2:00 am

  Wanted to replace a 2008 TL S-Type with a moderate-price spirited daily driver adding AWD for winter driving. The TL is slightly underpowered, and I didnt like the FWD/tourque steer. Test drove the BMW 535/335 X, Mercedes C 4-Matic. Both are nice cars, but when compared to the TL S-Type neither is really exhilarating. I was not considering another Acura until I saw the 3.5 litre 6-speed. My impression, this car compares very favorably with the BMW 535 in size and performance. Compared to the S-Type the ride is softer with less road feel but the AWD system makes it corner like its on rails even with 18" all seaon tires. Put 19" performance tires on it if you really want to have fun.

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  Not so happy - 2010 Acura MDX
  By steve - September 24 - 2:00 am

  Have had 4-MDXs. The 10 model is the worse. Second row seats dont fold flat unless the second row headrests are removed. When removed there is no place to store them. More squecks and rattles than other 3 MDXs. Milage is not good for having a 6-speed trans. Recommended is 91 octane fuel. If use less the engine gives a fluttering noise. Dealer says tht is normal. This did not happened in any of my other 3 MDXs. Overall not happy with vehicle. Will look elsewhere when purchasing replacement vehicle.

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  Honda Quality, Reliability 20K Mi later - 2007 Acura TL
  By Slash - September 24 - 2:00 am

  I agree with other posters that this TL is rattle prone. Ive had mine in the shop 10-15 times for various rattles (and a leak in the trunk when I first purchased it). The car has been extremely good terms of reliability of the transmission and electrical components. Ive had to replace rubber sealant on the drivers door and the sideviewmirror motor mechanisms (on both front doors). Acura service alone justified the purchase of this vehicle (always available to provide loaners and offer excellent service). I will be extending the Acuracare warranty, as a result. Overall, the car has been as dependable as the two Honda Civics Ive had (with 200,000+ miles). I rate this as a steal of a car.

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  bad trans - 1999 Acura CL
  By 99 acura - September 23 - 2:00 am

  although it is a nice car with a great motor the trans is garbage ive had mine for 2 years and just put another one in and ACURA extended the warranty it doesnt fix the problem they should have recalled and redesigned the trans.