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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  Bad Transmission Ruins the WHOLE Car!! Stay Away!! - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Cole - June 7 - 9:16 pm

  Huge Acura fan, this was my 5th Acura in 4 years. This car really makes me question the brand. Good design (not so much in the back), awesome headlights, decent pickup, nice interior, awesome fuel economy (36 mpg avg on hwy), cool technology, good value, HORRIBLE transmission. I mean this thing is downright awful and RUINS the whole vehicle for me, what a shame! My car has the 2-3 transmission jerk and just sloppy shifting in general. It wouldnt be a big deal if this very well known problem among 15 TLX V6 owners (2-3 gear jerk) would be addressed and fixed by Acura, but they wont do ANYTHING for me and most owners. The 16 TLX doesnt have the 2-3 gear jerk, so you think they could fix the 15, right? Wrong! So dont think you can buy the car and if it has the gear jerk, itll be fixed since its under warranty because they wont do anything for you! I used to swear by the brand and recommend it to everyone, but not anymore, especially not their service! STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAR!!

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  Decent Car, Mediocre Nav System - 2003 Acura MDX
  By lkrakauer - June 1 - 2:00 am

  My MDX drives nicely on dry roads and in snow, and it comfortably seats 7. The DVD entertainment system works really well (my kids LOVE it). But I wish I hadnt bought the navigation system. The voice recognition is nearly useless. The route selection is terrible because it tries to complete it in less than 10 seconds (often causing routes up to 1/3 longer -- and, yes, I am familiar with all of the route selection options). If it cannot find the satellites (i.e., it is lost) the voice still gives (usually wrong) directions but no verbal warning (DANGEROUS!).

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  Horror Transmissions! - 2002 Acura TL
  By SlipGears - May 21 - 1:45 pm

  I cant even imagine how Acura can get away with selling cars with repeated problem transmissions. I bought an 01 CL-S and had 4 transmissions. Just bought a certified 02 TL-S 3 weeks ago and it is already at the dealer for a new trans. Reverse jumps and sometimes wont respond, 1st to second jumps, 2nd to 3rd jumps, and it downshifts on me without notice while driving. These cars are unsafe and unreliable. I do not recommend buying Acura. You get a lot of features for your money, but it wont help you if you cant drive the car! Replaced transmissions are rebuilds. Acura should solve the problem, not delay it until you need another trans 20k miles later.

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  Not As Great As I Had Hoped... - 2015 Acura TLX
  By C. Lang - May 1 - 6:44 am

  Ive driven my 2015 TLX for a little over 2 years and Im really sad that the "redesign" for 2017 didnt fix any of my complaints. First off - the shifting "buttons" in between the seats. So unnecessary and awkward. My dog has turned on my brake assist button way more often than me! Second complaint - weird acceleration. The car has get up and go but it shifts weird and sluggishly in the lower gears, better once it gets going but it clunky that a car like this should be. Moving on - the "Brake" sensor that is supposed to alert you to brake because youre about to run into something has never actually gone off properly. It goes off when Im taking a curve and there are parked cars on the road, or it goes off when Im passing semis but not once has it gone for a real reason. Good golly Acura, could you please just give me a damn twisty knob for the temperature control and fan. 15 screen buttons later I might finally be able to change the fan from floor to defrost! I cant believe I havent hit someone yet while trying to work through the "Infotainment" system! You cant really dial in the windshield wipers. You might think youve got them on intermittent low, but low and behold this smart car "senses" more rain and kicks it into high gear which you cant slow down. The good - sitting in the drivers seat is very comfortable, rear seat, not so much! The car does handle the road very well and it does drive good in the snow and rain. I was so hopeful that the redesign for 2017 would fix some of my major issues, but alas, Acura decided the keep the horrid infotainment system and the shifting buttons. I doubt many of my other cons have been changed either so sadly this Acura will be going back to the dealer soon and I wont be shedding any tears when I see it go! Overall - I should have kept my 2012 Honda Accord, I liked it much better!

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  The worst Acura - 2018 Acura TLX
  By Dimitrios Rigas - April 1 - 7:35 am

  This is my fifth Acura. By far the worst ever. Not only as an Acura but as a car, in general. In more detail: handling is very good, road noise minimal. That is all the positives the negatives: the technology is archaic and extremely slow. It is head scratching how Acura or Honda allows this car to be sold. The software has locked three times in two months! It changes settings by itself and you never know whether it works because it is extremely slow in responding. AWFUL! This is supposed to be a "luxury" automobile. The transmission bugs have not all been fixed. The jerking takes place occasionally, nothing dangerous. And the worst part: it is always trembling! Yes, trembling! At any speed!! You cannot enjoy the driving experience, period. I do not now whether it is the transmission or the "four wheel steering". My 2007 and 2013 TLs were far superior as was the 2010, six cylinder TLX. Even the ELS radio is not as good as was in the 2013 Tl. My daughter just bought a top of the line MAZDA 3. Almost half the price and by far a better car. I truly do not comprehend how Acura allows this disaster to be sold. Totally regret getting this car.

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  nightmare - 1999 Acura TL
  By Alex - March 20 - 9:43 pm

  Transmission goes every 55k miles and Honda wants nothing to do with me. Theelectrical is a nightmare, the ballastshave gone out twice. The whole car is now creaky and rattley and the seats wiggle around if you move in them. Not impressed. I will never buy another Acura.

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  Comfortable but boxey - 1996 Acura SLX
  By Steve of Ohio - March 17 - 2:11 pm

  It is a nice vehicle, but its a little sluggish and boxey on the road. Feels and drives like a mini-bus. Gas mileage isnt good, but it does deliver when towing and hauling. Lots of space and pretty reliable. She doesnt quite hug the road, so it needs to be driven like a mini-bus. It also has one of the worst roll-over ratings, so drive carefully. Looks great and runs well.

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  I Made A Mistake - 2003 Acura RSX
  By whipsaw - March 8 - 2:00 am

  I thought I had bought a very good performance car for a nice price, but about 3 weeks after I bought the Type S my buddy bought a Subaru WRX and he let me drive it. I have not been able to enjoy my car since. Ugh! The WRX is so much quicker, so much more fun to drive, and its AWD. And its the same price! Also, he had the wagon model WRX and you can haul a ton of stuff in it, as well as haul a$$. Dont get me wrong, I still "like" my car, and the interior of the acura is better than WRX. But ultimately Id give up the leather seats, for the extra horsepower, quickness, and safety features and comfort of the AWD.

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  Had high hopes - 2018 Acura RDX
  By Greg - March 4 - 8:11 am

  With the glowing Edmunds review I thought this was the one. Then we took it on a test drive. The road noise was so bad that while on the highway you could not hear the person siting next to you with a normal speaking voice. And, you had to almost scream to hear or be heard from the back seat. Yes, the technology is great and with it being a Honda, the reliability would probably be excellent as well, but the interior noise just kills the deal. Also, the rear seats are rather hard and not very comfortable.

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  Not so happy owner - 2003 Acura MDX
  By sad Customer - February 24 - 10:00 am

  Middle Row seat is very uncomfortable. Wire mesh dog barrier and the plastic housing keeps popping out. Took 10-15 minutes of trying to start on two occasions. On the first few feet of driving either forward or backward makes a klunking noise.The acceleration has a lag.Revs up to 4K in first and second gear.The simulated wood interior is just fake looking.This is my 4th Acura. I have a 99 TL as well and with the TL and the MDX it seems Acura is trying to please everyone but has dropped its quality and standard. ACURA should throw in less features and worry more about their reptation as a seamless car manufacturer. As for me I think this is my last Acura.