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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  Best vehicle Ive ever owned! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By jtwcol - May 19 - 2:00 am

  I test drove the Acura RSX-S, Mini Cooper, VW GTI (1.8 & VVR)& Subaru WRX. Each car had its own set of positives and negatives. I felt the best vehicle is the RSX. It is a good looking car, has gobs of power, handles very well and is built better then any car I have ever driven. My decision fell to either the GTI 1.8 or the RSX, in the end, I could not ignore the top notch quality and value of the RSX Type S.

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  Great Car!!!!!!!!!1 - 2003 Acura RSX
  By SPeedFreak S - May 19 - 2:00 am

  I am 16 and i purchased this as my first car. I was looking at the Lexus IS300 but in the end i decided to go for pure performance. This car is just that. The shifiting is great, it looks like a ferrari from the back, and has a beautiful interior. Its price is also excellent. This car is about 5 thousand dollars less, than it probably should be. Great Value, Great Car.

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  After lots of research...a happy driver - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Hiker23 - May 19 - 2:00 am

  A great deal of time was spent in researching and comparing vehicles (thank you Edmunds!). During our "quest" we looked at the Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Nissan Pathfinder, Acura MDX, BMW X5 and Lexus GX470. All have great build quality but the value equation for the MDX was the best. It represented the perfect blend between family hauling, luxury, and "sportiness" for us. The 260 hp certainly gets it moving in a hurry (unsuspecting drivers are quickly dispatched to the rear-view mirror)but this is no Boxster S. Needless to say I expect to get atleast 10 years of faithful service from this great machine.

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  In love w/ my TL - 1999 Acura TL
  By Crane - May 16 - 7:48 pm

  Unquestionably the best car Ive ever owned (Ive had over 25 including company cars). I have over 180,000 miles with only expected maintenance. Still cruises effortlessly at 80 mph, is quiet and solid. Will probably spend more than I should to keep it since I love it so much (leather seats need repair, lots of dings and nicks from high-speed driving).

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  The best car I have ever owned! - 2005 Acura TL
  By Christopher A Wolter - May 16 - 6:53 pm

  The quality of workmanship is far above that I have experienced in any other car. Everything fits perfectly and works perfectly. My new Acura was totaled on 6-4-05 by a Chevy Suburban who smashed into the rear while doing 50 mph. When the insurance pays off, I plan to buy ANOTHER Acura TL. I have no interest in even looking at other cars!

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  Best value in its class - 2005 Acura RL
  By RL in Chicago - May 16 - 2:32 pm

  Coming from a 1997 Mercedes E420, the Acura RL is a "downgrade" from a V8, but its an upgrade in every other way. I was sick of the repair bills on the Benz ($500 to fix a outside mirror motor!), and so far, the RL has been without fault. I miss the torque of a V8, but I appreciate the improved fuel-economy, and for 90% of driving, the RL has plenty of power. However, if they had offered a larger version of this car with a V8, I would have bought that. One of the biggest reasons I bought this car is price. I paid $44,100 for it, before taxes, which is a bargin for all the content the RL includes as standard. With the same features, BMW, Mercedes, and even Lexus are much more $$$.

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  A Fine SUV, this MDX! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Gene - May 15 - 5:06 am

  We have a 3 1/2 year, 84000 mile lease on a 2005 MDX, and more than half way through the first year, I am not disappointed. I love how accuras navigation gets me there, even though I do not understand why the "now time traffic conditions" unit found in the RL Sedan is not even an option. But lets not be picky. This SUV is a dream to drive ON the road--I would not go to the beach or offroad with it. If you do not need the biggest SUV on the planet, this will satisfy.

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  Best Value on the Road - 1999 Acura CL
  By Roger - May 14 - 11:33 pm

  I was unemployed when I had to buy a car. For $17K I bought a car with 19K on it, which has leather and heated seats, a spoiler, good acceleration, a moonroof, fantastic reliability, and holds its value. No other car has this combination for that kind of price. To think that I could have bought a new boring Corolla for the same price! Its so reliable that I did waste the extra $800 I paid for an extended warranty. I put in 64K miles on it. Only problem was an alternator that had to be replaced after it suddenly died on me. Not one other thing went bad.

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  The anti-mini van! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Erica - May 14 - 11:32 pm

  Traded in a 2002 Expedition Eddie Bauer for the brand new 2004 MDX and havent looked back! I am not a believer because I have 3 kids I need to be driving a mini van! We have hauled wood, furniture, and kids stuff with our luxury SUV. I get many great comments about my truck from all ages! I still save money on gas regardless of having to buy premium gas vs. the regular gas my V8 Expedition used. The 5 of us drove to NY from GA and was comfortable the entire trip. As a prior Honda owner, I have always wanted an Acura and am happy I made the decision to buy one. The one regret I have is not getting navigation. My husband now is considering selling his precious Mustang GT convertible for a TL.

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  Too much fun! - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Joe G - May 14 - 8:05 pm

  Until the RSX-S, I was not a fan of 4cyl coupes. This car has changed all that! It is quick, agile, great looking and gets you noticed! The car feels like a much more expensive vehicle and offers just the right amount of ammenities. The hatchback design also makes it very practical, in short, it is a great car to own and drive!