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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  My expectations were higher - 2012 Acura MDX
  By Celestina Madera - March 18 - 10:29 am

  I had a 2009 Acura TL previously, and I really miss it. It was GORGEOUS, Sleek, Quick, very comfortable, easy to keep clean, and had terrific technology, including a great NAV system. By contrast, the 2012 MDX was a boat of an SUV. Quick is NOT in the vocabulary underpowered comes to mind. Its comfortable enough, and functional, but no WOW. The steering is fine but not agile. The interior was light, which I like, but all I remember is monotone. I felt like a Soccer Mom, and I dont have kids.

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  Love it - 2010 Acura MDX
  By John McGreevy - February 27 - 2:55 pm

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  Just hit 170k miles and very reliable - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Costa - February 20 - 7:50 pm

  I bought this as a third vehicle (instead of a work truck for my rental properties) with about 160k miles. I have owned it for a little over a year and it just hit 170k miles with no major problems. The original owner maintained it well for its first 160k miles, as have I for the last 10k miles. I do have to replace the power steering pump soon, the loud whine that seems to be a common problem, but otherwise no problems. I have never owned a car with mileage this high so I have no basis for comparison but I am very happy with the reliability. It also drives great and if the odometer said 50k miles I would believe it. The navigation system seems very modern for a 12 year old car and the leather is in like new condition. We have an Infiniti JX35 with 50k miles and the drivers seat is already more worn than this MDX with 170k miles they must have used a very high quality/durable leather. The only downsides are no blue tooth in the 2004, I believe 2005 models have blue tooth, and the interior is small for a 3 row SUV (trade off for handling well for a 3 row SUV).

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  Great ride - 1995 Acura Legend
  By Raymond Lloyd - February 10 - 10:34 pm

  Very please with my purchase

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  Reliable and luxurious - 2014 Acura ILX
  By Tommy - January 27 - 5:58 pm

  My family has had a few acuras. We have always loved them. From an Mdx with 200k+ miles to brand new RLs. Great ride, sleek look, great gas, inexpensive to maintain compared to other cars in this class.

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  BEST BANGS FOR THE BUCKS - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Tong Chang - January 26 - 4:57 pm

  I have 335,000 miles on this car. Still going strong with original motor. Only changed out the Alternator, Belts, and struts/shock. Proper maintenance will this car will give you many years.

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  Love this car - 1994 Acura Legend
  By Lana Carlon - January 24 - 12:16 pm

  This car has been trouble free, I love it and I dont know if I will ever get rid of it!

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  Want a great car , buy one. - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Frank Dombek - January 21 - 7:51 pm

  Never owned a car that never needed repair my Acura is the first. All I had done was just maintance for the 5 and 1/2 years I owned the car. The Acura never let me down.

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  Nice highway suv - 2014 Acura MDX
  By David S - January 21 - 6:10 am

  The mdx drives like a sedan on the highway. Comfortably and very quiet. Surprisingly good gas mileage for a full size vehicle.

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  Strange and dangerous downshift. - 2015 Acura MDX
  By Jerry - January 19 - 9:17 pm

  Be careful with the strange sudden acceleration when braking. Shifts into lower gear and lurches forward when applying break. Dealer recognizes this and tells me Acura needs to hear more complaints before addressing the problem. Im worried a lot this during slippery roads.