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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  A Great Second Car - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Hondalover - July 7 - 12:09 am

  This is my second vehicle. As a younger driver I find this car absolutely perfect for me and the things I like in a car. Easy, fun, good enough on gas, sharp style, commanding appearance, and amazing handling.

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  I love my MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By lvernacc - July 6 - 10:06 pm

  I purchased my MDX in May 2004. This is the best vehicle I have ever driven. I researched other comparable vehicles as Lexus, Toyota, BMW and Volvo. The MDX was not only the best value, but has the best ride.

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  Very nice - 2005 Acura TSX
  By bob - July 6 - 8:03 pm

  For about $500 more than the accord v6, you get a much nicer vehicle and service.

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  2008 Acura TL - 2008 Acura TL
  By john saltonstall - July 6 - 11:45 am

  I looked at Infiniti, BMW and Lexus before buying the Acura. They all have pros and cons. The value of the Acura is outstanding and the fit and finish is excellent. The 3.2l engine has plenty of power for my needs and the gas mileage is excellent on highway driving. The cabin is very quiet and the ride is smooth but not as cushy as the Lexus.

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  Sold On Honda Products - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Dan Chapman - July 6 - 7:40 am

  Ive had my RSX for a year and a half now and I am so happy with how well my car drives. It handles as tight as a brand new car and I have 53000 on it now. Comfortable seats. Sport tuned suspension. Powerful yet fuel efficient engine. The car corners like a bat outta hell! Im sold on Honda.

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  Whats wrong with me? - 2004 Acura TL
  By wardy - July 5 - 7:33 pm

  So many people like this car. I purchased new based on short test drive & Consumer Reports review. This car looks great, particularly the exterior (I rated 10). However the suspension is very harsh, nothing luxurious about it. The car plows on turns due to the heavy front end (front wheel drive). It even hydroplanes more than most. Maybe Im too old for this ride @ 44 but my take is pretty package, lousy car. I traded after only 1 year

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  2005 MDX Review - 2005 Acura MDX
  By 2005 MDX - July 5 - 4:42 pm

  Bought the original style MDX because I just knew the new model wouldnt be as nice. I have never been so happy with a car in my life. Its a wonderful highway cruiser and up in the rockies, it just handles the whoop di doos very solidly, no floating around, just well composed ride. Mileage is 21 highway average at 75 mph and around town 13 (100% stop & go). I got the touring model with nav & the tow package. The AWD works wonderfully. I took it out in the desert near Moabe, Utah and it will go down creeks & up sand banks with ease. In snow its a joy, give a lot of confidence in any type of bad weather. Reliability has been excellent with only the nav being replaced, have 75K miles

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  My TL - 2007 Acura TL
  By Zax - July 5 - 4:06 pm

  I love this car and was dreaming about it for more than 4 years. Now that I have it, its so fun to drive it. Wish it gave better fuel economy but if you can pay for the car, you can pay for the gas. I wish it had just a little more power when I hit the gas. Its quick no doubt, but could be quicker from the get-go.

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  Horrid Reliability - 2008 Acura MDX
  By John Vaughn - July 5 - 2:42 pm

  Just too many issues to list here. The main ones are the suspension defects for both front and rear of vehicle. The front lower control arms busted twice on mine just from every day normal city/high-way driving - no offroad use at all! No aggressive driving either. The rear suspension sounds as something is going to break off - Also "repaired" twice... so they say. Problems still exist. This vehicle has a lot of problems and Acura refuses to work with the customer.

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  Excellent!! - 2009 Acura RL
  By nervous_mcstabby - July 5 - 2:23 pm

  This is one nice car!! Very quiet with and excellent radio. Controls can be a little confusing until you know where all the controls are. Its best to practice a little before you go on the road and want to change radio channels or map functions. I get a lot of AHHHs from my co-workers when they look at the interior styling. I bought a bright silver exterior. The prominent "transformer shield" grill blends in nicely. Not so with darker colors, in my opinion. The tail end looks fabulous!! Definite BMW 7 series resemblances. Very powerful acceleration. Great control over rainy roads with the SH-AWD. Gas mileage isnt great, but its not bad either. On par with a 300 hp car thats 4,000 lbs.