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:

• 

  MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By G. Davies - May 18 - 10:46 am

  I test drove a number of vehicles and did a lot of homework prior to deciding on the MDX. I do mostly in city driving and have been amazed at the smooth, quiet, drive and supurb handling. On the highway, it handles equally as well. Its comfortable and provides everything I need. I only wish I got the Navi system!!!! Although Edmunds states the MDX is bland and ho hum, I think its a classy and understated look of quality.

• 

  Much improved over 2014 MDX - 2017 Acura MDX
  By Chuck - May 17 - 11:39 pm

  The styling, handling, and safety features are the biggest improvement over previous models. The addition of the chrome to a black MDX makes it look sharp. The added safety features are vastly improved. The tranny could be a little smoother. Pairing an android phone can be a tricky situation. Overall a very good choice for a family or if you need cargo space. Set your cruise control to normal instead of adaptive and set your tranny to sport mode to improve your driving comfort.

• 

  Best One Yet - 2007 Acura TL
  By skyteddybear10 - May 17 - 5:28 pm

  My third Type S and the best one to date, as a matter of fact it is the best car i have ever owned.

• 

  Now you see me... - 2001 Acura CL
  By Adam Hill - May 17 - 4:52 pm

  Ok honestly, I am a 22 year old male and I give this car hell in a handbasket. I live out in the country so the roads can feel my 260+ hp. I love this car. It sounds like a T-rex lives under my hood. From the line, automatic mode is probably faster than the manumatic but hey, nobody likes that anyway on any car. If you wanna shift all the time get a five speed its that simple. Car is really light for a 3.2 engine and is getting rarer by the month. No problems yet with mine and like I said I drive it like Mr. Hyde.

• 

  Good daily city driver. - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Ja-Aron - May 17 - 2:10 pm

  After owning a 2009 and 2012 TL, I purchased a 2016 TLX SH-AWD Tech Package and so far I love driving it. The transmission is gets a little confused when starting from a stop in city driving. The Auto Start/Stop and Econ Mode really help with the gas mileage, you can really tell the difference from the TL in that aspect. There is also a lot of power hidden in the car as well. Try sitting a red light, turn off the HVAC system, turn on Sport Plus, and hit the gas when the light turns green. The SH-AWD eliminates wheel spin and torque steer and you take off like a rocket. The front seats are very comfortable. The head unit is a little cumbersome at first but you get use to it. The Lane Keep Assist is very impressive when using cruise control. I recently drove from DC to Ocean City, Maryland and got 37 MPG is highway driving in Normal Mode with the A/C on. I never got that type of gas mileage in either of the TLs I owned previously. The TLX may not stand out in the day time but at night when you see the Jewel-eye headlights in your rearview mirror then you see the distinctive taillights as it passes, youll know thats a TLX. This is an all around good car. Now for my gripes. I wish Acura didnt hide the exhaust tips. The interior fit and finish could be a little better. My trim piece covering the speaker on the dash board is slightly dislodged. No doubt I will have the dealer address this during my first scheduled service. The head unit has trouble managing two separate Bluetooth devices. I usually use my I-Pod as my Bluetooth Audio Source and my I-Phone 6 as my Bluetooth Phone Source. The head unit will sometimes get confused and switch these around during start-up without any prompts from me. The folding exterior mirrors are not easy to fold, its like they need WD40 or something. The rain sensing wipers can be too sensitive at times.

• 

  Simply the best - 2003 Acura MDX
  By X-um - May 17 - 10:00 am

  This is the best SUV EVER. All others still attempt to copy it but perfectly cant be duplicated, just immitated.

• 

  Fun Car with Luxury Attached - 2003 Acura TL
  By Mati - May 17 - 10:00 am

  Great Car ; Lots of Power ; great pricing

• 

  TL doesnt live up to the LEGEND - 2003 Acura TL
  By kelirod - May 17 - 10:00 am

  I currently have the TL-typeS.....this is my third Acura. I previously owned the Legend and the RL. Of all my Acuras my favorite is still the LEGEND!!!!!!!!

• 

  Stay away from the RL... not worth it - 2008 Acura RL
  By jcshma - May 17 - 2:28 am

  Bought the RL Tech pacakge. 2nd day noticed major quality problems. Rattling noise from all over the place. Owning the car for 6 weeks so far and several parts are replaced. Windshield and headliners are all taken apart due to major manufacturing defect. Honda corporate really doesnt care about customers, the only thing they care is talk nicely, but no action to solve issues.

• 

  Its just okay - 2008 Acura MDX
  By rndymn16 - May 16 - 3:37 pm

  MDX rides nice but everything inside is basically "cheap". Voice recognition is not quite there. Also surprised that its the only SUV that didnt come standard with roof rails.