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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  Really wanted to like it - 2012 Acura TL
  By Paul M - July 29 - 9:53 pm

  Not impressed at all. Had trouble with the car since the day I purchased it. Navigation is awful, the directions are misleading, it doesnt take you on the most direct route and the POI has completely wrong address information and has taken me to places that didnt exist at least 5 times. I have not been able to use a device plugged into the USB port at all, it causes the screen to freeze or reset. I brought the car to Acura and they supposedly changed the unit itself, all wiring and the USB port and it still doesnt work. My worst complaint of all is the transmission. Its extremely jerky especially when shifting into 2nd gear and just isnt smooth at all. It really slows the engine down and now I know why the new Acuras have different transmissions. Otherwise the car handles very well, the seats are very comfortable I can drive all day, sound system very good. Not sure if these are common problems or I just got a lemon but wouldnt recommend.

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  LKAS and LDW Do not work when car is hot - 2015 Acura MDX
  By emwhydee - June 20 - 11:54 am

  I live in AZ and have had this vehicle for 2 months and whenever the temps rise above 90 degrees and the car is parked in the sun the LKAS and LDW do not work. I get a message that the camera is too hot. 15-20 minutes later, the cameras start working but by that time I am already home. I purchased this car because of these safety features but did not realize they would not work. What a waste. I will not buy an Acura again. The navigation system is equally poor and does not recognize addresses or place names so it is another lost cause. I do not recommend buying this car for these features.

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  Lots of mechanical issues - 2005 Acura MDX
  By MHirt1 - May 16 - 1:27 pm

  I am the original owner of my 2005 MDX, and currently have about 130,000 miles on the car. We have had many mechanical issues with this car, including: - failed torque converter at about 55,000 miles - failed transmission cooler at about 85,000 miles which caused intermingling of transmission and radiator fluids - not good - failed electrical harness unit - had to wait to get one from Germany! - numerous suspension issues - rust appearing on front of hood and in all four wheel wells starting at around 100,000 miles Even my 15-year old Saab has had far fewer, and less expensive, mechanical issues. I am not sure whether I will buy another MDX.

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  2014 MDX - 2014 Acura MDX
  By chris441 - May 3 - 9:27 am

  I would steer clear of this redesigned MDX. I looked at a few different Suvs before purchasing my "New "MDX". Was thrilled to have my first ACURA. What a rattle trap it has become. Noises from the front to back. Engine has strange noises. Interior trim coming loose. Made an appointment with the purchasing dealer only to have them tell me it needed tires.(21,000 miles) and alignment. Could not find the noises. Said if I came back and purchased a set of new tires $1300.00 they would look at it some more. Talked to Acura about this and they said it was a dealer issue and I would have to take care of it by working it out with the dealer. What happened to my warranty?? No more Acuras for me!

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  title - 2012 Acura Integra
  By bob - April 13 - 12:22 pm

  review

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  Last Honda I will ever buy - 2014 Acura MDX
  By Sung Lee - March 28 - 10:47 pm

  Stay away from this years MDX From 00 Civic si, S2000, TSX, Prelude, and finally this MDX. One of the worst reliability that I have ever faced for a new car. Okay so my car has about 56k miles and now warranty is over. During its journey,it had couple of problems:Seesaw noise on engine bay, Squeeky steering wheel, two recalls (seatbelt and driveshaft), rear seatbelt rattle and now lane departure warning, front collision warning and transmission warning.... I knew that the old Honda/Acura had crappy transmission but didnt know it carried onto new models. Usually first year model is buggy but I think this has to be most annoying new car that I have ever bought (I owned about 15 cars so far)

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  What you expect from the drivers seat isnt what this $31k Civic delivers. - 2014 Acura ILX
  By zoomjag - March 27 - 7:41 pm

  Disappointing with time. This vehicle doesnt feel like a comprehensive package - Its an economy car, thats it. Acura has taken a Civic (which is perfectly good as is) added a great dash, and some engine and suspension tuning and called it a day, and these mechanical touches dont really seem to add anything to the Civic package nor compete with the Civic Si(as if engineers just threw "good parts" at the car without testing). In many ways, the result here is an underpowered, loud, econobox with disturbing views from the drivers seat (funhouse drivers mirror, subpar plastic on the lower doors, blindspots for days) with a stereo that doesnt deliver premium sound leave you expecting more

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  Critical but Subjective Review - 2015 Acura TLX
  By acuradriver6 - March 25 - 4:01 pm

  The TLX does represent the best value for your money, with all the useful entertainment and drivers assistant features, quiet ride, and comfortable seats. Then here is the big problem that has made me and many others regretted its purchase. The TLXs all new 8-speed DCT is causing all kinds of problems: Hard jerk right before entering a complete stop(like the car has been rear-ended). Delay during acceleration after momentarily letting off gas - engine revs up and then the car slams into the gear that it finally selects - especially dangerous when coming out of a corner or attempting to accelerate after yielding in an intersection. Takes 2-3 key strokes turn on heated seats!!

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  Really wanted it to be good. But its not - 2014 Acura MDX
  By Ted Leo - March 25 - 5:27 am

  Got the 2014 version brand new after being a previous Acura owner. Actual engine and driving part is excellent. Powerful engine and good handling but it is loud and the rest is lacking. Computer service lights never stop. The only time I ever actually enjoy the console is the week after I take it for service and get hit for $300 bucks. The other 90% of the time the tire pressure and service lights are constantly on. It reminds me of my printer that never works because its constantly trying to make you buy new toner instead of just working. Last week and the service tech implied the reason for all the service needed is because the car is almost 2 yrs old. Cmon, it barely has 1200 miles.

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  Beware of this car, ACURA NO MORE, NEVER AGAIN - 2015 Acura MDX
  By fidus - March 10 - 9:13 pm

  5,000 miles on a AWD MDX and the car is falling apart. First a ln annoying ticking noise that suddenly got loader and is accompanied by a sqeek. At low speeds especially when turning into my driveway there is a knocking noise that sounds like a 20 year old car losing a ball joint. When i start the car there is a rumbling noise that comes and goes. And the newest problem is a very rough downshift when slowing down to a point that you get thrown into the steering wheel. This is my first Acura i have had 6 new hondas and i am saying BYE BYE to honda and Acura forever. Their cars got cheeper and cheeper every year and i dont mean in price but quality. Take your money elsewhere, dont buy the MDX