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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  Not my favorite car at all - 1997 Acura TL
  By Eric - July 11 - 1:32 am

  Lets see when I bought this car ay first I loved it had no problems at all until the ac idler pulley went. Got that replaced. Then no more then a month later that belt Burns off, then the ac compressor went. Like a 600dollar job. My catalytic converter and flex pipe go. 700 dollar job. Back brakes plus calipers both sides. Front ones need to be done now. Passenger window gettin ready a blown speaker. Also the d led light is out for drive. Left front tierod too. And this is all happened in about 5months. Theres more Im sure but this car is horrible for things going wrong between 89,000-100k miles. Ridiculous. Was wondering if anyone else has probs like mine.

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  Rampant Electrical Problems - 2006 Acura TL
  By KC - July 5 - 11:14 am

  This is my second Acura after an exceptional 1998 Integra. Sadly, the TL has not met expectations. The cruise control broke in 2009 the battery has died twice for no apparent reason (remote entry doesnt work w/o battery) and the hands free link broke. Of course, these issues all occurred after the warranty expired. The turning radius is atrocious. After waiting three years, we finally purchased an "update" to the Nav system for $150 only to have Acura come out with a new version 3 months later. (A little notice would have been nice.)

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  Best in class but - 2010 Acura MDX
  By luvCARZ - July 4 - 1:35 pm

  We bought it b/c MB gl450 lease ends in 4 months and my wife doesnt want to keep paying 2 car loans (leasing MB amg e63). Before gl, had 07 ml, 05 rx, and 01 mdx. Test drive all usual suspects. Mdx has best quality (as good as MB) and tech for price range. But I have 3 complaints. 1. Feel under power for 300 hp feel less power than 07 ml (263 hp) and hwy wind noise. 2. Questionable fuel economy. 19 mpg combined in mdx. 18 mpg for my gl450 only 1 mile diff. Hmm? 3. Quality of back-up camera is worst than my Prius. Whats up with that !

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  Bad transmission - 2002 Acura TL
  By cp - June 26 - 3:50 pm

  We purchased this acura from a private ownership @ 47,000. It performed beautifully until the transmission went on @ 116,000. I had it serviced at 104,000 and nothing was wrong with it. I have learned that a rebuilt one from the acura dealership would cost $4900. Hello, anyone in there! I paid over $14,000 and still owe $8800. This is truly a LEMON of the technology aged vehicles.I have been told I can build a case with acura that is so far a joke because they told me that I will not get enough credit because I take it to another service provider for the car serviced. If I took it to an acura dealership, I could receive more credit for a new rebuilt transmission. Discrimination?

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  Why did I do it? - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Bob D - June 24 - 4:59 pm

  Have had my TSX for 2 months. Already in the shop twice for noise emanating from right rear. Dealer could not find the first time. Had better luck second time, but not totally cleared up.In general, the car rides choppy and lets considerable road into the cabin. If I had it to do again, I would have opted for the G-37 or just a sporty version of a family sedan(Fusion, Mazda 6). If you want a 6 cylinder--dont settle for the 4 on this car. Its economical-but its still a four. Also, the sheet metal is pretty thin.

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  Transmission vibrates/grinds at 35-40 mph - 2005 Acura MDX
  By kpsmith - June 24 - 1:19 pm

  At approximately 30,000 miles, upon acceleration, the transmission would vibrate/grind until 45 mph. I have found this to be a common problem on many Acura forums and there are 11 reports of this exact same problem on the National Highway Transportation and Safety (NHTSA) website. The problem seems to be the transmission torque converter.

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  Great SUV - 2005 Acura MDX
  By jbgraw - June 22 - 6:41 pm

  Great car. Plenty of room, hard to fit seven passengers and luggage. excellent fuel economy. 15-18 in town, we consistently get 25-26 on the highway. Average tank is always around 21. Super comfortable on the inside. Great in the winter.

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  Rides like a truck - in bumby cond. - 2009 Acura TL
  By Fran L - June 18 - 3:33 pm

  Do not try to contact customer service - they just say well thats the way it is or we will note it. Not try to fix a $40,000 car. By the way you have to call California time to a 800# to a six digit ext. To get voice mail. Send them a letter they get it. Send a letter to the pres of Honda they get it. Tell them you own three of them they say sorry not nice

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  Very Nice - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Lhern48 - June 17 - 9:57 pm

  This is the 2nd Integra LS coupe Ive owned and it is what youd expect from Acura/Honda. Very reliable, conservatively styled, and underpowered. If you can find one that has never been molested, then youve found a needle in a hay stack. Although it has been discontinued, the RSX has taken its place with a more liberal approach.

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  Good overall value for the money - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Ed - June 15 - 1:13 pm

  This car has a nice combination of fuel economy, reliability and performance. That said, it does have some negatives. Mine came with red paint that after 4 years was severely faded. Had it repainted. Im 6 and of average build and weight and found the seats very uncomfortable. Im also an upholsterer. I rebuilt and reupholstered the seats in a faux suede (were leather). They are now comfortable. Like most Hondas, excessive road noise. I completely removed the interior and applied sound deadening materials. This insulated the cabin to outside noise, but road noise will still be transmitted into the cabin. The project goal: create a luxury sport coupe. Goal shortfall: road noise.