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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  Failed Transmission at 138,000 Miles - 2001 Acura CL
  By adamsbauer - June 4 - 11:37 pm

  The car looks great and I really like the way it runs but I expect more than 138,000 miles from an Acura transmission. I wish Acura would have done more to help me but I am stuck with a car that has a lot of miles and will have a new transmission soon and I am out several thousand dollars. If I buy from the same company I will buy an Accord. No need to pay extra if they dont take care of you and their cars dont last.

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  Worst new car experience Ive ever had! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By UNHAPPY CAMPER - June 4 - 9:27 pm

  Bought car 2/29/08. Nightmare begins. 3/17- A/C blows hot - dealer replaces incorrectly installed refrigerant line steering wheel shimmys during braking - dealer turns rotors radio wont hold presets - dealer reprograms key fobs 4/7- steering wheel still shimmys under braking - dealer replaces rotors and pads radio still not working - dealer states "it works now" 4/15 - radio presets disappear again - dealer replaces radio tuner 5/22 - radio still wont hold presets Acura regional rep states "theres no remedy" problem is under investigation by Acura engineering 6/4 - Acura customer svc rep states they know about the problem but theres no known date when problem will be resolved

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  Piece of junk falling apart - 2003 Acura MDX
  By gwen - June 4 - 10:46 am

  I bought a 2003 MDX a few months ago, a mistake. It had only a little over 60000 miles and is very poorly built. The transmission has problems. The headliner was cut too short and is falling out in the back. The rear window washer is about to fall off. And the right door has a part loose inside that makes a lot of noise when you close it. I would not buy another Acura. This company used to turn out good cars. What happened?

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  Awesome car!!! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By trevmann - June 4 - 10:03 am

  I just picked up my new 09 TSX this afternoon, and I think Im in love! This car is absolutely amazing! I traded in my 08 TSX because I loved the new styling of this car so much. The new 09 seems to drive even smoother than the 08, seems to handle better, and the audio system is definitely improved. I had no complaints about my 08, I just really liked the new design. I really like the backup camera in the new 09, I like the Acuralink feature on the new 09, and the interior and exterior design is definitely on par! I am very pleased with Acuras new design!

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  Fun to drive!!!!!!! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By wanggo - June 4 - 10:00 am

  I got a manual tsx and this baby can really howl!!!! Its fun to take the tach all the way near the red line. I love the deep howl the exhaust makes. Awesome handling, very taut and quick

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  1999 GS-R - 1999 Acura Integra
  By troy - June 4 - 8:52 am

  I got my GS-R hatchback with 25K miles and sold it close to 70K. The 1.8L VTEC truly is one of the finest engines ever. Tons of revs, lots of high end power, usable torque, good exhaust note and excellent fuel economy (35 mpg on the highway). My paint was black and as long as you kept it clean and waxed it once a year, there were few cars that looked better. I loved that it came with a spoiler, something that has eluded many cars I have owned before and after this one. The shifter of course was precise, smooth and near effortless. My only problems were 2, count em, 2 bad clutch master cylinders, probably the way I drive. :)

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  Pinger - 2007 Acura TL
  By Fares - June 3 - 2:12 pm

  This is my first TL and unfortunately will be my last. The engine pings and Ive used nothing but 93 octane fuel.

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  Surprise, surprise! - 2007 Acura TL
  By Gordon - June 3 - 11:47 am

  On a return trip to Dallas, TX from Austin our average mph was 73 & gas consumption was 32 mpg (did hit 33 for a short time). Cant beat that with a stick!!

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  Just a Honda - 2008 Acura TL
  By NeverAgain - June 3 - 10:44 am

  Complete "rattle box" - and as my wife notes, style is already very outdated. We drove the C350, 335 and GS350 over the weekend, all I can say is that all of these are nicer, have much better interiors. Dont let the "reliability" sales pitch sway you - we had more problems with a new TL than we did with our two other MBs. In hindsight, interior is very bland. Handling is average - feels like a box on wheels, and corners poorly (never expected so much squealing). This car is meant for 40- 50 yr olds.

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  My TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By Nikki - June 2 - 10:30 pm

  This car was an excellent investment. I am impressed with the durability, reliability, and performance of the vehicle. Despite its 270 hp, the gas tank is small, so I only end up spending anywhere from 30-34 dollars on gas (that is with the currently high gas costs in NY). Its a six cylinder, so fuel efficiency is not expected to be quite like a four cylinder, but its pretty good. The pick-up and overall speed of the car is excellent- it packs enormous power! The only qualm I have is that I figured the stereo system would have been a bit better in sound. Dont get me wrong, its great. But initially, I had expected a little more bass and volume. But I highly recommend it to anyone