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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  Happy with my Acura ILX after 4000 miles - 2013 Acura ILX
  By jeepcolorado - September 15 - 10:54 pm

  I purchased the Acura ILX after owning a Jeep Grand Cherokee for seven years. I really wanted a new JGC Overland, but decided it made more economic sense to look for a comfortable 60 miles/day commuter that would still give the feeling I was driving a solid entry level luxury car with most of todays tech features. The ILX has a very well engineered interior that seems well above the luxury level of a Civic or other lower end cars and in line with most other cars up to about 40K. It is a very pleasant place to relax while commuting a couple of hours a day. With a low 30s budget I compared against the Audi A3, VW GTI, Lexus 250H, and Suburu Outback and decided this was the best choice.

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  Great Car, Great Value - 2013 Acura RDX
  By jude123 - September 12 - 10:35 pm

  Have had car for two weeks now and am very happy with it. Seats are very ergonomic and comfortable especially on long drives. Gas mileage is good, about 23 mpg for mixed driving, and about 28-30 mpg on highway. Sound system with the technology package is amazing! Bluetooth works great. Navigation very easy to use and screen is nice quality. Voice recognition is a neat feature. Leather interior is very good quality and durable. Ride is pretty smooth (maybe not as smooth as Lexus RX) but still pretty nice. V6 engine is plenty zippy, never felt sluggish merging or passing. A lot of features are standard (would cost extra with other similar cars), so good value overall.

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  Great 2nd Generation RDX - 2013 Acura RDX
  By chips9509 - September 9 - 10:25 pm

  The V6 / 6 speed transmission in the new RDX is outstanding - quiet, smooth, fuel economy is very good, and it does not have to down shift on every hill. An excellant combination of power and fuel economy. Had 3 passengers on road trip to football game and all commented on ride quality, and how quiet it was. Considered other SUVs in this class, 2013 RX, GLK, and others. Some were a little larger, most had more useable space behind rear seats, but were also many $1000s more. If you want a Premium SUV of this size, dollar for dollar this was simply the best choice.

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  Very nice car - 2013 Acura RDX
  By linn81 - September 6 - 10:55 pm

  Before considered Q5, but Q5 the back seat is too small. Because people often sat in the back seat, so choose the RDX, driving up also pretty comfortable, overall satisfaction, I like the new RDX

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  Very pleased with my first Acura, love the 2013 RDX. - 2013 Acura RDX
  By busyworkingmom - August 24 - 5:12 pm

  I spent a lot of time researching this auto purchase. I needed a car that I can commute in but also travel up the Utah canyons for skiing and also, take on road trips. The 2103 RDX was the perfect fit for me--size, features, price, gas mileage and reliability. My neighbors have an earlier RDX and have little good to say but when I saw the reviews and the gas mileage on the 2013, I knew I had to drive it. Very glad I did. I was on the verge of purchasing another car--and the RDX quickly changed my mind. Its fast enough, the interior is well designed, it looks classic so it wont be completely dated in 10 years (I keep my cars a long time!) and I love all of the features.

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  Great Car - 2013 Acura RDX
  By mongomrp - August 19 - 6:51 pm

  I bought a 2013 Acura RDX about two months ago. This is a great vehicle. I have not seen much advertising or talk about the RDX so I thought Id speak up for it. My two most recent vehicles were a 2006 Nissan Murano (still in the family) and a 2011 Honda CRV (traded it in for the RDX). I like the RDX far better than either of those. It has a smooth quiet ride, good power and gets 22.5 mpg in mixed city street and city freeway driving. It looks great, it drives well and Id recommend it to anyone who asked.

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  Getting 43 Mpg on daily commute - 2013 Acura ILX
  By mahowald - August 11 - 2:19 pm

  I love this car. Gas mileage, suspension, and stereo are great. Bluetooth integration and Pandora integration work perfectly. Suspension and noise cancellation work amazingly well. Although it looks small, it has plenty of room and has always been big enough. Gas mileage has been from 42 to 45 without really trying.

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  Best Car I ever owned - 2005 Acura TL
  By edmundsposter8 - August 6 - 3:40 pm

  Ive had this car since 2005 and have had zero issues with reliability. I still receive alot of positive accolades for the navigation and bluetooth phone considering this was back in 2005. If you take care of the car with regular intervals of maintenance there will be no issues. The best part is there are millions of local Honda/Acura repairs shops that are highly competitive which makes repair costs a fraction of what you pay at the Dealership

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  excellent car - 2012 Acura TL
  By Al2012 - August 2 - 9:59 am

  I owned 2008 TL-S and the new car is a substantial improvement over previous model. Could use a more adjustable positions for driver seat as an extra option(I would buy it) - 18 ways as Lexus. Steering wheel adjustments should be automated and should be part of the driver memory positions. Also, the leather on the steering wheel is horrible - it feels dry and does not offer comfortable grip - I think it is even dangerous, especially if your hands are dry. I had to get wood grain option. I missed having two front compartments from my old TL-S. Otherwise it is an excellent car and a joy to drive. Good job Acura engineers - very competitive car.

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  Best car Ive owned yet. - 1991 Acura Legend
  By sledder - July 30 - 8:45 pm

  I bought this car a few months ago and after replacing a few parts such as the main relay (seems to be a problem on a lot of Hondas and Acuras), the speed sensor and a couple other small parts. The car is awesome. Its been my daily driver pretty much since I bought it and I love every minute of it. The handling is unbelievable, handles better than any other affordable car Ive driven. The performance is great, especially on the highway. The interior is showing some wear (dash has cracks, leather seats are cracking). It still rides great. I recommend this car to anyone that is looking at buying a cheap, reliable car. You may have to spend some $ to get it in top shape, but itll be worth it.