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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  2004 6-speed manual - 2004 Acura TL
  By teddygram - March 29 - 10:00 am

  Overall great car. Outside explains itself from the pictures. Interior leather seats fit me well, smudges and dirt wipe away with ease (treat the leather every half year, Armor All leather gel). Only preventative maintenance done, I checked tire pressure, liquid levels, and cleaned outside and inside weekly. Never found a problem leaking liquids or tire pressure. Take care of your car and shell take care of you. I drive in West Virginia mountains and around DC. Could accelerate easily at 80+mph on uphill mountains without mashing petal. Fun to drive on backroads. MPG is around the stated 20/30 expected, if youre not racing (I dont drive grandma style either) No surprises from the car

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  New 2011 RDX Owner - 2011 Acura RDX
  By rdxfan - March 25 - 8:34 am

  My comments are coming from a guy who has had a 2004 Saturn Vue (V6) for the last ten years. Very reliable vehicle so far, but not one bringing home awards and has squeaks and rattles all over. Bought a 2011 Certified RDX Tech Package less than two weeks ago. Not many sold, so I consider them the few, the unknown vehicle. Very comfortable seats. Toys galore that I have to concentrate on the road when driving. Just a much different driving experience than what I am used to. Yes, the suspension is much firmer, but taking a corner is fun. I dont slam on the turbo, as I do see how it eats gas. If you dont slam turbo, I just averaged 25.5 mpg according to computer.

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  Ignore the automotive writers and just drive one yourself - 2014 Acura ILX
  By scorpio69er - March 18 - 1:16 pm

  I own the 2014 ILX base 2.0L 5-sp auto. First off, the 150 hp engine is just fine, thanks. I can cruise at 80 mph on the interstate all day long. Ive had no issues running at very high altitude climbing fairly steep grades, and getting up to speed is quick at about 8 sec 0-60 -- once the engine is broken in. Its also economical. Im averaging 30 mpg with ~8K miles of mixed driving. The differences between the 2014 and 2013 are not minor. The 2014 now comes standard with heated leather seats (drivers is powered), rear-backup camera, 17" alloys, and additional sound deadening, including active noise reduction. Im 61" and I fit in the car just fine. Go test drive one yourself.

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  Dollar-for-dollar best car on the market - 2013 Acura TL
  By regalgreyhound - March 17 - 9:39 pm

  Ive owned a number of luxury cars over the years, but this TL provides the best experience per dollar spent than any other car Ive owned.

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  Great all around - 2012 Acura TL
  By josh9319 - March 15 - 2:35 pm

  In general we are extremely happy with this vehicle. Weve had it for a year and a half. Build quality has been very sound, as expected. For example: a rock broke one of the fog lights. I bought the replacement and installed it myself. The underbody panels were effectively woven together requiring me to loosen three panels to get one out to install the light. The vehicle is designed and built to not come apart. When alone I drive the car very hard, as in like I stole it. Though the front/rear torque split is 70/30, getting the back end to step out is surprisingly easy. That said, it is great for hauling kids, or for date night. My mood improves every time I drive this car!

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  Theres more to life than horsepower! - 2014 Acura ILX
  By 1speedbike - March 14 - 6:06 pm

  Was apprehensive at first considering the HP ratings, BUT for the price this car cant be beat! Lots of high-tech and comfort features for <$30K. Heated power comfy seats, rear camera, voice integration, bluetooth, active noise cancellation, NAV, leather, sleek styling. This is NOT just an "upgraded Civic." Obviously, engine leaves you wanting, but its buttery smooth and loves to rev, and is plenty for highway passing. Suspension is not too taut like a sports car, but not overly soft. Steering is typical Honda light, but also responsive. Great handling for FWD. Also, super LIGHT car with consistent 30 mpg. Other than power, it has everything I could ask for in an entry luxury sedan.

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  Even better! A keeper! - 2014 Acura MDX
  By tmariner - March 14 - 11:29 am

  Moved up to the 2014 from a 2011 MDX. Looks similar, but big perceptual difference. I can select the Sport mode and make the MDX handle like the 2011 3.7 liter, but normally luxuriate in the "normal" mode with handling and silence. The twin screen dash still befuddles my wife, but as a techie big step up -- and I have the "base" model without all the goodies. Great acceleration, but more silent and refined. Tons of detail improvements to numberous to list. If youre in the market for an SUV, either step up to or step sideways into this car! I mistakenly leased it -- a reasonable deal, but they will probably have to pry this thing out of my cold, dead hands.

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  RLX Rattles down the road since purchase- no solution - 2014 Acura RLX
  By rlxregrets - March 10 - 9:08 pm

  I noticed rattles coming from front suspension after 500 miles. Brought it to the dealership and they couldnt find anything wrong with it. Dealership reported service rep had the same problem but worse after 7k miles. After another 2k miles the rattles increased in frequency and loudness from all 4 wheels. Dealership replaced front struts which resolved a majority of the rattle but the rear rattle persisted. After another visit, the replaced the rear rattle. The rear is better but now the front is ever present over every bump. When I had a 2014RLX loaner the vehicle had the same issue as both mine and the service reps car. Cant believe engineering isnt all over this issue. Beware of RLX.

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  2004 acura tl (2yrs ownership, 160K review) - 2004 Acura TL
  By wuhantang - March 10 - 10:51 am

  ive had my acura tl for the past 2 years and bought it with 95,000km on it and now it has 160,000km. So this review would be a long term review things that went wrong during 2years: -navigation system stopped working -rear brake light stopped working -driver door lock stopped working my satisfaction: -overall i would buy this car again, all the things that broke were small things that were easy to fix except the navigation (common problem among 04-06 models) -this car is relatively reliable, with low cost of ownership

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  good value for compact cross over - 2014 Acura RDX
  By ewl88 - March 3 - 11:50 am

  Good performance and value.