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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  Love it - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mark Satlof - September 23 - 8:04 pm

  Ive driven my TL for almost year and except for the trunk size, theres not much i would change. Ive been on long trips and lots of city driving. its a blast to drive and my two little kids love it too.

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  IMPRESSIVE, Smooth - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Mike T., Chesapeake, VA - September 23 - 6:54 pm

  The Jewel Eye LED headlights are bright! I live in the country and have to drive dark roads and on my daily commute to work often times rainy highways where if you have mediocre headlights you cant see the freeway lanes. I have several cars, a couple have traditional halogens, HID and high end Xenons on my 911 Carrera S, these 2016 TLX headlights are bright! They penetrate good in fog and rain! I have read posting that the Dashboard Controls are over complicated, I say otherwise as I got the brief from the dealer sales rep. I in my opinion that is very intinuative. It actually make it easier to set those vehicle systems that were so hard to set up in older cars to your personal preference a breeze to set up. For example, if you dont like to wear out your LED lights cause they keep turning on and off as you approach the vehicle or your door locks un locking when you put your gear in park, or your cabin lights staying on for 10, 150, 30 secs after you close ther door, that is now so easy to setup in that menu system. On older cars you have to unlock, lock door twice, turn on & off ignition, turn key on...etc etc just to reset these configurations, now its all in the menu and simple to setup. In regards to engine power, I think the 2.4cc engine is just fine. The "Normal" and Sport IDS mode will pull the car just fine. Traffic light to traffic light, to highway entrance acceleration is well sufficient for what this car is designed for. I drive sports cars at the track so I know acceleration and turning and braking qualities you need for the condition its needed, and this TLX 2.4 is just fine. Not super pull youd get from muscle cars or high performance sports sedans. I just got the car couple of weeks ago and I will post another review after 6 months. I advise folks that are contemplating getting one is to read the Experts/Edmunds Engineers write ups. They have a section for it.

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  Love This Car!!! - 2006 Acura TL
  By sara - September 23 - 12:04 pm

  After much test driving of many cars we were sold on the new TL. It took us several months of looking at several different cars, but we always came back to and compared them all to the TL. This car is so much fun to drive, I find reasons to run to the store to pick up groceries! The gas mileage has been terrific, averaging about 27 miles to the gallon. We have taken trips to Indianapolis several times, and it has been a pleasure to drive. The interior space is comfortable, quiet, and spacious. Our 67" son rides very comfortably in the front seat, as well as the back seat. We love our new TL.

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  Best Yet - 2005 Acura TL
  By Fran - September 22 - 2:12 pm

  Having never written a review before this I feel compelled to do so now. I have owned many vehicles in my 60+ years including several recent Infinitis and I must say after 1 1/2 years with this TL this is the best of all of them. I have the model w/navigation and wouldnt think of buying a car without it from now on. This car is fun to drive and gets over 30 MPG on the highway. I put on 25K- 30K miles per year and this car has held up great with no problems at all.

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  The Best Car - 2005 Acura TL
  By SHORNBACK - September 22 - 12:51 pm

  I absolutely love this car! The way Acura designed this vehicle is just amazing. They did it with the driver in mind. Everything is within reach, without taking your eyes of the road. Handsfree navigation system is great, with a press of a button you can ask for the nearest atm, gas station, Acura dealer, restaurant, climate control, stereo control. Overall this is the best car I have ever owned. Whenever I have a chance I alway refer everyone I know to Acura when they are looking to purchase a vehicle.

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  Better than ever - 2006 Acura RL
  By n mckinley - September 21 - 3:31 pm

  I have owned 2 Accords and 3 Acuras, this being the third, and I have never owned an auto I thought so much of. My friends call it the "rocketship" or the James Bond car, because of all the technology. It makes me proud every time I look at it and drive it.

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  Acura Owner in Alabama - 2003 Acura MDX
  By alabama - September 20 - 10:00 am

  Love this vehicle.

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  Hard to look beyond Acura/Honda - 1999 Acura TL
  By Hondas 4 life - September 20 - 8:52 am

  This Acura is a benchmark for value & rigid construction. Excellent feel & bang for the buck. Offers many standard features that are often expensive options on other entry luxury sedans. Decent mileage & get go for its not too powerful 3.2 4 speed auto trans. Even though only 4 speed still a performer. Ride is compliant & quiet, not Lexus quiet but defintely more fun. Engine is top notch, idles silently after +150k miles! Longevity of electronics, mechanics, etc. are phenomenal! Only problem we had was a clogged EGR port that was easily taken care of @ the dealer. Love it so much we went out & got the beautiful 06 TL. Just watch out for the trans. problems from 2000-2003 thats all.

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  FINE PERFORMANCE - 2004 Acura TL
  By MENON - September 19 - 8:35 pm

  A little over 27,000 miles without any problems at all except a battery that was covered pro-rated by the dealer. It is a smooth and powerful runner and looks very good on the road.

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  Great car - 2003 Acura CL
  By btaggart - September 19 - 12:53 pm

  This is the greatest car i have ever owned. It has a great ride quality and plenty of zip. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality performance coupe.