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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  Very happy with purchase - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Tyler - March 28 - 7:49 pm

  It has great acceleration and hugs the road very well. The suspension is stiff and reminds me of my old RSX-S (could be good or bad depending on the driver). Ive driven from TX to CA in this and was not fatigued. All in all, it is a pleasure to drive. I do extensive research whenever I buy pretty much anything and I found this to be a better buy than the competitors.

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  Not a cushy Buick - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Margaret Neal - March 28 - 1:53 pm

  Great car to drive. Adaptive Cruise, lane change warning and other safety features are just awesome. Brakes are terrific. Compared to our Lucerne, road noise is much worse, but tolerable; interior is not par w/price. Ride is pretty good for suv. Acura cheaps out on some features that will annoy you every time you drive it. For the RDX, only one of the two key remotes w/the applicable pkg will start the car. With the MDX, both remotes will do it. Guess Acura saved a couple bucks to hack off customers. Bad design is driver seat position. Our Buick had it right..seat went all the way back when ignition turned off, making getting out really easy, after getting in, push driver 1 or 2 and seat, outside mirror, and interior mirror repositioned. With the RDX, using the driver 1 or 2 setting, the seat positioned PRIOR to getting in. For us short people, that made getting in difficult. The inside mirror also was not among the setting. We had to disable the seat positioning setting. A really bad design. Door panels are sorta cheap also. Overall, a nice car, fun to drive but some cheap outs. Not worth the price..but close.

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  Great Car - 1994 Acura Legend
  By Chuck - March 27 - 4:57 pm

  This has to be one of the greatest cars ever made. I bought it in 2002 with 120k miles and have had nearly no problems. As long as you maintain it regularly, this car will last a long time. Im still driving it to this day.

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  Terrific car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By Raven - March 26 - 8:05 pm

  I recently traded in my Integra for a 3.2 TL Type S, and while I love my TL, my memories of that wonderful Integra will always be with me. Great acceleration, amazing handling on curves and the ability to get in and out of traffic make that car a joy to drive. The styling is great and theres just something about what Acura does with engines that creates a powerful sound that makes you love what youre driving. Reliability? Acura has cornered the market on it. I have owned 2 Acuras - now on my third - and I will never purchase any other brand. Not a thing ever went wrong with my vehicle and I drove it harder than I ever should have.

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  This why you buy an Acura - 1998 Acura RL
  By Rod - March 26 - 6:36 pm

  Always reliable. Even after ten years, the build quality of this is incredible. Leather, paint, and all interior trim pieces are still in great shape. I have test driven several cars in the last two years and none offer anything new or better quality. When driving this car, there is a tangible perception that you are experiencing engineering at its best.

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  The best is yet to come is here - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Brian - March 26 - 4:00 pm

  Figuring on higher gas prices in the future and not wanting to give up performance. I traded my 8 cylinder car for a 4 cylinder Acura TSX which has the pep of a well trained puppy dog. It loves to rev and with the sport mode stick shift in place you are Le Mans or Daytona in your mind !! Now I get quick performance at a very reasonable gas mileage. It is a drivers car that accomodates passengers !!

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  1999 Acura TL Sedan - 1999 Acura TL
  By Acura Owner - March 26 - 2:46 pm

  I purchased my Acura used with 92K miles. It now has 142K miles and continues to run strong. No issues other than routine maintenance. Great stereo system and ride quality. Gas mileage is so-so, but it runs fine on regular gas.

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  It is what it is - 1996 Acura Integra
  By acura lover - March 26 - 1:04 pm

  Ive had my car now for about 6 years now. I think for what the car is worth, its a very reliable and good car. Since buying the car ive not come across any problem... as long as you keep up with your regular maint. youre good. At 138K still goes up to 110mph not so bad!

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  Newly Leased TSX no Nav - 2008 Acura TSX
  By DandO - March 26 - 12:06 pm

  Great car. Very fun to drive and very difficult to take foot off the gas to slow down even though the 0-30 mph could use some help after that its a rocket. Great standard features that require no further addition. Good price and overall value. Initial MPG is not so good. First 2 weeks of ownership: city: 16-18 mpg highway: 18-22 mpg. I hope it gets better as the car is broken into.

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  Type S Manual - Nice ride! - 2008 Acura TL
  By Rob H - March 25 - 7:00 pm

  Previously owned a 04 TSX, just got a TL Type S 6 speed, great car so for. Stereo w/XM and 6 channel surround is fabulous, shifter is slick, Type S seats are solid. Wheels are large (and a bit pimpy) but overall, a great car so far. Worried about mileage as this car but it absolutely flies.