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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  RSX - 2003 Acura RSX
  By jack zhang - June 26 - 10:00 am

  I think it is very good 4 racing

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  Smart Attitude - 2006 Acura RL
  By Mañuco - June 25 - 1:27 pm

  this is the type of car we get to appreciate for talented appeal and sturdy construction. It is authentically beautiful and acute in driving and looks, it is a looker no doubt, congrats on designers. This is a goody.

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  Great car but still has some wrinkles... - 2005 Acura TL
  By CC - June 25 - 10:26 am

  Comfy car and great design. After a few weeks had some sound coming from the accelerator like a thumping, I took the car into the dealer at least 3 times and they never found a thing. It still has that thumping sound but very slightly now. Other issues, windows are making sounds, had it fixed they said it was "dry" but it came back and is on the passenger side now. A lot of rattling sounds from visor & other areas of car. This is a great driving car and luxurious, I wouldnt trade it for anything, they just need to correct these minor (thumping not included) issues.

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  Great car for the price. - 2016 Acura RDX
  By 2nd RDX - June 25 - 3:31 am

  Got my 2016 white rdx fwd advance package. With 2 miles on it.. I got a killer deal.. 42k. Out the door.. 2.9% interests. 5 years. 0 down. N free all season floor mates..no one was willing to lower the price but one dealer did.. No up sale no add on. In n out took 2h because the car just arrive on lot.

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  Built with quality - 1999 Acura TL
  By Carputz - June 24 - 9:52 am

  Bought this car with only 30,500 miles on it and 7 years old. Cost less than a comparable milage Accord. What a value. Rides and handles like a dream, nice power. Never thought I would own a car like this. A luxury car with Honda depenability and serviceability. Check engine light came on after having it a month. Acura took care of it under a warranty memo they had for the problem. Expect to have this one for a long time. 7 year old car makes any newer car I have owned look bad.

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  Acura fun with value - 2003 Acura CL
  By Bill - June 23 - 6:37 pm

  While Acura has a great reputation for reliability and resale I have been extremely disappointed with the Honda Motor Company in customer service. When given an 800 number it appears to only go to the Honda customer service and most of the time the assumption on the part of the phone operators is that Im a Honda owner. The dealership is not very good considering my experience in the past with a premium vehicle. Acura while being an excellent well engineered and fun car to own, does not measure up on the critical aspects of service and followup with owners when compared to Toyota Company.

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  M D X - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Edgardo - June 23 - 5:33 am

  This is a great every day car, high, responsive and safe. 3rd seat is great if you need it, but you are taking away confort in the 2nd seats. Navigation system is awesome, worth the extra money and so is the quality of sound.

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  MDX Review - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Cathy and Frank - June 23 - 5:30 am

  The Navagation System has come very handy during some of trips to unknown places. The system always knows where we are and provides excellent directions.

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  A FAN - 1996 Acura TL
  By John - June 22 - 6:54 am

  Owned four Acura over the years - all were great. Bought this TL and have put over 150,000 miles on it. Its a classy looking car w/o being over the top. Its amazing that the car is over 10 years old and people think its a newer model. Acura created a design with some legs on it - it stays contemporary looking well beyond the norm. Only repairs in the last 10 years is a new starter(very expensive $600) and new rear calipers. Everything else has been normal wear and tear maintenance.

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  Can I have my TSX Back Please? - 2016 Acura ILX
  By Don Sutton - June 21 - 4:25 pm

  This is my 3rd Honda and my 2nd Acura. After 300K+ miles and 11 years, I gave my old 2004 TSX to my son who is still driving it. I decided to lease a new 2016 ILX after Acura did the redesign of the exterior and put back the peppy and quick VR4 that was in my TSX. On the plus side, the car is just like the TSX: great handling, terrific on corners and curves, super reliable, solid feel, awesome braking, beautiful long drive on the road touring vehicle, takes 5 passengers around town comfortably with room for luggage, and gets lots of compliments on the styling and interior design. Gas mileage is okay - but not the 29 mpg average promised. Only getting 27 consistently when 1-2 passengers, much less with a full car. On the minus side, I wish the car was like the TSX: the dual screen technology seems redundant and is very distracting compared to the single touch screen the TSX had, the acceleration is hesitant - the car seems to think about moving faster before it actually goes into gears. Gas mileage sucks in city driving. Freeway is 31mpg only, not the 35mpg promised. UPDATE after 1 Year: Exterior pain gets stained easily. Design flaw. Looks like the clear coat is easily damaged by on road flying liquids. OVERALL: Great car, just wish Honda/Acura had not removed the fun and simple aspect of the TSX. Sadly, sometimes I want to take back my old TSX from my son and give him the ILX....