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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  BUYER BEWARE*LEMON ALERT** - 2014 Acura MDX
  By rollahead - June 9 - 11:11 am

  Have 14 MDX/Tech 9 mo. Complaining since inception #1 Drivers windows rattle lowered a few inches #2 intermittent motor noise from behind dash with recent 3 second**Steering Wheel Lockup**. Dealer duplicated motor noise on 4th visit. Corporate tech advised dealer "theyre aware of "issue" with steering motor, but dont have any solution at this time". Dealer advised car "normal" and I should pick it up!! Problem without solution=no repair? What could happen if the steering wheel locks up again? If you have this problem Please file your complaint immediately with National Highway Safety Administration 888-327-4236. BTW dealer said rattle windows is as per Acura design. Really?

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  Fun car to drive packed with luxury (04 RL) - 2004 Acura RL
  By mike900 - June 5 - 2:24 pm

  I bought this car more than two years ago with 78000 miles on it. Ive put more than 13000 miles on my 04 RL and theres absolutely zero issue! So you can see the reliability of this car. I only changed the air filter myself, one of the headlight hit its lifetime I did it myself too. It is easy to DIY with these common consumables. This generation of RL is the last of the honda legend. It kinds of combines the luxury and sporty driving experience. The horsepower of the engine is not really impressive giving the weight of the car is like an mid size SUV. But the acceleration is pretty good. I live in midwest and the front wheel drive has good traction in the winter too. mpg is crappy..

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  The perfect car - 2014 Acura MDX
  By jianco - May 26 - 10:06 pm

  I bought my 14 MDX Tech (no AWD) last week and have driven 1000 miles already. AVERAGE MPG: 29!!!!!!!!!!!! Two other people in the car. Not even broken in yet. Driving at 65 to 75 mph. Incredible ride, ridiculous technology, insane value compared to the it peers, which are the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Mercedes GL450.

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  Complete waste of money - this is NOT a luxury car - 2013 Acura RDX
  By wnmnm - May 24 - 12:16 am

  I bought a 2013 RDX wanting it to be a great choice for a luxury CUV. I walked away in April 2014, traded it for a BMW X3. Performance: numb steering, terrible suspension (failed, under warranty), failed engine mounts producing excessive vibration, unstable at high speed. Tech package: mediocre with Atari graphics. Sunroof: constantly malfunctioning. Build quality: Terrible cheap plastic all over, exposed sound attenuating foam where the windshield meets the dash, no rear passenger vents, the poorest quality leather ive ever seen in a car, and NO dash cover under steering column (where you can feel wiring and more sound attenuating foam), Playskool key FOB, hollow doors. Avoid this car!!

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  Great car to drive, but can be expensive to maintain - 2009 Acura TSX
  By yitz1 - May 20 - 1:03 pm

  I love my TSX. Its roomy in the front and handles great. It has a lot of good standard features. It has a lot of pizzaz for a 4 cyl. The main problem I have with it are unexpected expenses. I just had to buy a new tire and rim for the second time after hitting a pothole ($1000!). Stupid low profile tires. Unless you live in a place with few potholes, this can be a big problem. Also, it a little plastic piece around the side mirror broke. I figured it would be under $25 to replace. No such luck. They dont sell just that piece. I had to buy a whole new mirror for over $300.

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  Best car in last 14 years - 2000 Acura TL
  By xdamian - May 16 - 7:36 am

  Purchased it Nov 1999. Only has 44,700 miles. Car is anvil strong. No squeaks, or vibrations. Needed front left engine mount 7 years ago have replaced only routine maintenance since. Original everything else including Xenon headlamps. Corners at 80 with car rotation (need to feel it to understand). Front dashboard like new (with no special care except occasional cover to keep sun off surfaces in summer). All electrics work perfectly and never needed fixing. Maintenance suggested new tires, (dry rot from lack of use) battery through some pretty tough N VA winters and timing belt (to be changed every 10 years despite mine not needing it). Super quiet, no acceleration lag whatsoever.

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  I Dont get all the negatives - 2014 Acura MDX
  By nukem4ever - May 15 - 8:53 pm

  (AWD with tech and RES package) I have put 14000 miles on it so far, I drive a lot on highways and I find very little to dislike about it. It is a very quiet car, with a great transmission with perfectly in-tune shifting, it has fairly good acceleration. Sure it is a new model and some folks are going to have bear with the fact that new models will have some issues but those will most likely be ironed out easily. Honda makes excellent engines and the one in this car is no exception, I have driven this car almost daily for about a year and couldnt be happier, but I guess you have to drive it to appreciate how great the ride is

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  6,000 miles, what havent I had to replace?? - 1993 Acura Legend
  By pnwluvin - May 7 - 8:04 pm

  I bought a 1993 4 door sedan automatic 3.2liter legend. I got it with 90,000 miles. It now has 96,500 miles on it 9 months later and I couldnt be more disappointed. Having only been able to drive the car 6,000miles I have replaced the entire engine,radiator,power steering pump,master cylinder, brakes, fuel pump, fuel pump relay. Now I needs new cv axel and it dies every time I come to a stop. BUYERS BEWARE. It has so few miles only because it breaks ever 300 miles! Now I have to scrap together money to buy a new car, which is hard when my car breaks down so much. Maybe if I replace everything in the car it will work for more than a month.

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  Bad designn or bad quality? - 2014 Acura RLX
  By s_sc - May 7 - 6:15 pm

  I bought of my RLX-ADV about 4 months ago and only put on about 1500 miles so far. I have already took it back three times for repair. There were iPhone 4S issue (automatic dial out and hang out), low battery and charging system warning sign(happened in less than first 50 miles), and camera too hot/LDW, LKAS shut down (90 degree outside) during driving. Dealer recharged the battery, but no action to other issues. Dealer and Acura insisted the shut down is the proper action by design. SF Bay Area is known for good climate. The LDW, LKAS shut-down happened multiple times in April. I really wonder what the car would do in Summer!

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  2001 Acura Cl 3.2 Type-S Coupe -- Excellent - 2001 Acura CL
  By jrswifty - May 5 - 11:09 pm

  I loved my 2001 Acura so much that I figured Id share my great experience. I drove my car for three years running it up to 180000km. This car never let me down and started every single time - even in the -40 Canadian winters. I never had any problems with the transmission or any other part of the car. The Acura Cl Type-S is truly a joy to drive, lots of power for all sorts of fun. Handled excellent in the winter and on gravel roads. Unfortunately I was hit in an intersection writing my vehicle off. That being said, the car kept me safe and the necessary airbags deployed when and where they were needed. I now drive an Infiniti and it is not at all comparable to my great Cl.