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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  Excellent Commuter Car - 2014 Acura ILX
  By bybchucky - March 2 - 9:52 am

  I recently purchased an ILX with the Tech pkg, and I am very pleased with it. I had a 2008 Acura TL prior to purchasing this car, and I thought I would miss the V6 acceleration, but I honestly dont. A lot of the reviews say the 150 hp is underpowered, but I find the car to be adequate. In fact, it picks up quite nicely on the highway and I dont have trouble passing cars. The interior is nice, well built, and feels a lot wider than what the outside appearance would make you believe. The rear leg room is also excellent considering this is a compact car. As stated above, this is an excellent commuter car.

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  My mom drives a sports car - 2010 Acura MDX
  By buddyguy - February 28 - 9:11 am

  My mom bought a 2010 MDX used that I drive occasionally. At first I didnt like it, but once I drove it alone and realized how fast this car is, I dig it! The v6 sounds awesome under heavy throttle and the car takes off! The SH-AWD is great in the snow, and the car handles like a dream. Stereo sounds great. Leather seats are very comfortable. Sport mode with the paddle shifters is a lot of fun, almost like a real manual. Now for the not-so-good.. We had to have a new transmission put in at 25k miles. Acura did it for free, but just be warned.after they fixed it we love the car!

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  Great but Navigation system is from the dark ages - 2014 Acura TL
  By mchasan - February 26 - 9:34 pm

  I love the car! The only problem is the navigation systems. The navigation system is not only difficult to use, but it is very often inaccurate & misleading. I have had to resort to using my cellphone for all my navigation.

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  Excellent Value! - 2014 Acura ILX
  By pda2 - February 25 - 8:55 pm

  Well, I have the smaller engine in the automatic and it aint a beast..but with the shifter paddles you can manipulate the gears slightly for a little bit more oooumph. From a quality to price standpoint, this is VERY hard to beat. I looked at Chevys, Toyotas, even the Mazda 3 and 6, all similar price points. The quality inside and lines out, make this look like and feel like a much more respectable and high quality ride. What car would you rather show up in at a clients house? What car would you rather trust with a child inside? LCD screen is VERY small BUT the trunk holds 2 sets+ of golf clubs. It rides very smooth, seats adjust easily, the interface is user friendly with simple buttons

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  Diappointed and mislead - 2014 Acura MDX
  By hhhjjj - February 24 - 7:14 pm

  We purchased a 2014 Acura MDX 2WD. It has a harsh and noisy ride over bumps. This is due to the light suspension and the light rear end. If you accept more bounce and are indifferent to thumping noises you will be OK. Our dealer suggested riding around with a 50lb bag of dog food to help quieten. Also, notice the resistance when the engine downshifts. Our biggest objection is the Dealer, Gary Force Acura in Brentwood Tennessee, mislead us by putting us in an AWD model for our two test drives. We thought we were buying a much smoother and quiet vehicle. Either way, I would not recommend this vehicle. Based on price you can do much better purchasing another vehicle.

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  If I had known then what I know now - 2013 Acura RDX
  By tnuzzi1 - February 22 - 8:42 am

  I have had my RDX for 1 year and 19,000 miles. After the first few months of owning it i noticed a vibration between 2nd and 3rd gear and 4th and 5th gear. I brought the car to the dealer and had a technician ride with me so I could point it out. The vibration, the dealer stated, is due to the deactivation of cylinders and that it is minor with no fix. This is not minor when you spend many hours driving. A vehicle that is considered a "luxury" suv should not be vibrating. The gas mileage is not as stated. I average around 19mpg. I drive about 50/50 highway/town. The dealer replaced my bluetooth mic but that did not improve. I can hear fine, people have a hard time understanding me.

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  Beware - 2014 Acura MDX
  By mike1984 - February 22 - 7:15 am

  The 2014 Acura MDX is my third MDX and my last! The build quality and fit and finish was so bad that even after two dealer service visits, many items are still unacceptable. Based on the build quality alone, Acura is no longer a premium car manufacturer. The design and engineering of the technology package is not user friendly and certainly not intuitive. Losing the weather information is a major backward step. The noise from the injectors, the noise from the steering wheel, the noise from the lift cylinder are unacceptable. The dealer says these are "just the way it is on this vehicle." I have 3000 miles on this vehicle and I am looking to trade. I am really disappointed in Acura.

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  Simply Amazing! - 2012 Acura TSX
  By nitish17 - February 10 - 5:39 pm

  I recently bought a lightly used 2012 TSX w/ Tech Package and I couldnt be happier with it. Everything people mentioned about it in earlier reviews is absolutely spot on. The more I drive it, the more I appreciate the efficiency of it. The handling is like that of a sports car with very nimble steering response and smooth acceleration off rest point. I would mention that getting the Tech package is well worth the money since it would really bring up the oomph factor of the handsomely designed cabin.

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  Acura Venza - 2014 Acura MDX
  By bgf18 - February 8 - 3:30 pm

  Overall, we are seriously disappointed. We made the mistake of trading in our 2011 MDX for a 2014 before we had a chance to live with it. Acura has, unfortunately, transitioned the MDX from being an SUV to a minivan-shaped SUV, much like the Toyota Venza. The vehicle is shorter, fatter, and longer. If you need or want an SUV-shaped minivan, then this is the vehicle for you. Also, if you like navigating touch-screen menus while trying to stay on the road, youll love the new MDX.

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  Great Roomy Ride- Silent Cabin - 2014 Acura MDX
  By mt5670 - February 3 - 12:42 pm

  Traded in the VW Passat wagon for the MDX in September. Its been 5 mos. with the MDX and weve had no problems. We have 2 big dogs so theres plenty of room for them and our gear when we head out of town. We live in the city (SF), so I try keep the driving in the city to a minimum. Cabin is quiet and ride is smooth. Prefer Sport mode since I like the tighter steering feel similar to my last car. We keep the 3rd row seats folded down for more room. Its a very roomy cabin and cargo space. Much more storage than the Toureg and some of the other mid-size we looked at. Im glad they rounded out the beak since that was always an eye sore for me.