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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  Near ...Perfection. - 2004 Acura TL
  By fastone4 - June 20 - 12:48 am

  The Acura TL is a near perfection automobile. It handles nimbly and has great power when needed. The dashboard navigation is fantastic and loaded with XM and very good (not Bose) sound. If you are fortunate enough to find one in good shape get it!

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  Surely NOT just a "glorified Civic" - 2013 Acura ILX
  By boudouris_3 - June 19 - 9:10 am

  Just upgraded from my 5-spd Saab 9-3 sedan to a brand new Acura ilx w/premium package and the 2.4L 6-spd engine. The premium package comes with nearly everything that you could ask for minus navigation. Very nice engine note that gives the car some personality without sounding like a cheap tuner. The only knock I could say about the ilx is the interior space which is expected to be small due to the price point and market that Acura intends to target. If youre in your 20s or early 30s and are looking for something fun to drive without sacrificing the luxury amenities, look no further than the ilx. Oh and by the way, Im getting 35-40 highway mpg.

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  Another quality Acura product - 2011 Acura MDX
  By jrm1955 - June 19 - 7:37 am

  This is one of many Acuras I have owned over the past 20 years and I could not be happier with this vehicle. It is roomy, comfortable and provides a level of performance that I was not expecting from a large SUV. The adjustable suspension has proven useful by giving the choice of a comfortable ride or sportier handling. Gas mileage is par for the course in this market segment. Resale value is also strong which was another factor in my choosing this vehicle. Love the sound of that big V6 too when you pull out to pass. Much more entertaining than a Lexus RX350 to drive.

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  Honda made a jewel - 2004 Acura TL
  By dspau122 - June 8 - 7:54 pm

  I was torn between the g35 sedan and the tl. I am so glad I chose the Acura. It has been an outstanding vehicle to drive. It has every bell and whistle you could ask for. The engine is very responsive and it has plenty of power. The only thing keeping this car out of perfection is the front wheel drive. I think 270 horses would feel better on the rear wheels. Aside from that it is an awesome investment and Honda made a good product

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  Love this car! - 2004 Acura RSX
  By anhdao - June 6 - 6:05 pm

  I owned this car for 8 years and loved it. Such a great value for a car with all of the main luxury items you would want. I never had any major mechanical problems and always had fun driving this even though it was a stick and I lived in LA. Had to trade it in for a more family friendly car last year, but still miss driving it!

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  Basque Red Base - 2013 Acura RDX
  By dorse - June 3 - 1:24 pm

  Very pleased to find this much power with good gas mileage. Quality is excellent and the car looks great - I especially like the basque red. The cylinder deactivation system is flawless - you can only tell when it is in use by watching the digital bar graph for mileage jump from 20 to 30+. Initial impressions on gas mileage are 19-20 in pure city and 27-28 for all highway. May get a bit better with more miles on it. Car is too new to evaluate reliability - I gave it a 5 since my 98 acura integra has 212k miles on it and has been reliable.

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  Very satisfied - 2013 Acura ILX
  By ajwhitesox - May 31 - 8:28 am

  Just purchased this car brand new... black on black tech package. Love all the tech features! Nav, weather, bluetooth audio, backup camera.... Average gas mileage combined is 30 thus far. VERY quiet on the road. I really like the way the car looks and the keyless entry on the door handle makes life easy. LOVE IT!

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  Excellent Value! - 2013 Acura RDX
  By cohermit - May 30 - 6:42 pm

  Acura has put in alot of effort to make this thing fun to drive. It has plenty of power to go fast or you can throttle down to conserve fuel. I have fill up this car 4 tims and average over 25 MPG (from real calculation). I also own a honda pilot. And I have to say this RDXs second row is just as spacious. Aside from all the quality others already mentioned I feel this car is a great value. I have cross shopped and test drove X3, Q5, XC60 and GLK. Any of those car equiped to this package will be $7000 to $15000 over. Some might have a frew extra features, but the bottom line to me is, does it beat Acura reliability? Always thoughtful accesories no other brand name car will offer.

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  2nd MDX - 2012 Acura MDX
  By dc12 - May 30 - 12:29 pm

  This is our 2nd MDX and we are very happy with our purchase. The car drives and handles very well and comes with a laundry list of standard options. I wanted to check out the new Explorer before we bought this one but the Ford dealership was too difficult to deal with. A relative of ours just bought the Toyota Highlander which I also like but the MDX handles better in my view. I was also able to get a better deal than the Edmunds True Market Value. Our kids love the car.

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  2013 RDX AWD - Great Crossover! - 2013 Acura RDX
  By blackdogrdx - May 29 - 11:05 am

  This 2nd Gen RDX is awesome! The room of a crossover/wagon, AWD, 25ish MPG overall, excellent driver comfort, very roomy rear seat, high quality base audio, standard rear view camera, reliability of Honda/Acura, smooth 6 speed auto transmission, and a strong and quiet V-6. It is definitely a must-test-drive if you are in the small to mid size SUV market and willing to spend $35-40k. It matches up well against the X3, Q5, even Touraeg. A word of warning - do not test drive if it is out of your price range. If you are considering a CR-V or Rav 4 and dont want to add $10-15k, dont make yourself miserable.