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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  Borrow some minivan features - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Ed - December 7 - 5:26 pm

  Not bad for driver, but third row passengers are very limited. Need more leg room and easy to get in/off. How about power sliding rear doors instead of traditional wings and power lift gate would be a good features to borrow from minivans. Automatic doors locking feature at the speed greater than 20 mph.

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  Excellent Car - 2008 Acura RL
  By RL Driver - December 6 - 12:47 pm

  I cross-shopped the Lexus IS/GS, BMW 5 series and the Acura RL. Stayed away from Mercedes due to past experience. RL provided the most rewarding driving experience combined with the most features for the money. It is also very reasonable to insure. Fuel mileage has been in the 17-20 mpg commuting in traffic.

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  GSR Sold for 3960 - 1995 Acura Integra
  By 71 - December 6 - 5:19 am

  Great car, sold as stock. Hard to find stock for these old rockets. I had to replace, in order, the radiator, clutch, alternator, starter, brakes, from 114K to 157K. Still didnt break the bank with updates, well worth it for the power and handling and gas mileage. 23/34

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  The vehicle thats gone from great to a total dud - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Peter K. - December 6 - 1:48 am

  I hardly ever write any reviews but figured I just had to do one on this vehicle. I owned a 2010 MDX Tech, which was a great car, that unfortunately got flooded during Hurricane Sandy. Then, I got an ML350 and when the lease was up, we decided that we needed another 7-seat vehicle. So, as wed already had an MDX before, we figured we couldnt go wrong with that one, right? Wrong! The first thing I noticed on my drive home from the dealership is that the car becomes ridiculously jerky while in traffic. The new 9-speed transmission just doesnt work well for daily city driving or when youre stuck in traffic on a highway. If you live in a rural area, chances are youll never experience this. But if youre in traffic every day, well... youve been warned. Ive adjusted my driving style since then and learned that switching IDS to "Comfort" makes it a little better. The problem, however, never went away and the dealer refused to acknowledge its existence despite the fact that Acura message boards are filled with similar complaints (I should have read those before I got the car). Then, theres the touch screen. Its very slow with a non-intuitive interface. Ive had it lock up several times while selecting a route. Ive always played my music from a USB flash drive and this is another area where this car is a total disaster. Once music is on, you cant switch tracks until the cars MP3 system is done reading the whole drive. So, it takes about 2-3 minutes in my case before I can switch songs or select another album/artist. It could be my flash drive but its the same one I used on the 2010 and ML350 - worked flawlessly there. We have two car seats installed in the second row (one behind the drivers seat and another in the middle). Its impossible to pull down the remaining second row seat and access the third row when theres a car seat in the middle. I had no problem doing that in the ML (needed the remaining seat pulled down sometimes to transport my bicycle). Finally, theres the cargo net or lack thereof. I kept the cargo net from the 2010 and was able to easily install it on the ML. I figured it would also fit on the 2016 MDX. Wrong again! Acura has changed that as well.

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  Repeat Acura customer for a reason - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Ellen Mansour - December 5 - 11:52 pm

  Cant beat Acura for reliability, safety and stability on the road. The technology package is easy to use, the sound system is impressive and it drives like a dream. I couldnt be happier.

• 

  Has it all - 2007 Acura TL
  By mmorFun - December 4 - 6:42 pm

  This car is great. I had a 2004 Infiniti G35 and this car tops it by far. The interior has more room (I am 64"). I have plenty of head room and ample leg room. The stereo and nav is top notch. And the seats are very supportive and comfortable. The power on the Type S is very solid. Though one thing I miss is the rear wheel drive on the G35. But, besides that this car is very fun to drive.

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  For Keeps - 1999 Acura TL
  By Harvey - December 3 - 7:02 pm

  I bought this car (99 3.2 Acura TL with navigation) really out of luck. I was looking for reliable vehicle as I drive up and down the coast (400 miles) almost every month. My experience with this vehicle has always been a possitive one. Its easy to maintain. Since the time I bought this car, the only maintenance I had to do was the usual oil change, break/tire change and the required 100k timing belt.

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  Great Handling Balance - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Burt - December 2 - 7:43 pm

  A great car for those that need the third row but love to drive. What really sets the 07 apart for us is the handling on the Sport model. Power is good enough, interior is beautiful, exterior is nice in black. But this thing has fantastically controlled body motion, very little lean, good steering. And the SH-AWD really works, rotating the car even at moderate throttle. None of the ponderous SUV feel, understeer, etc. We are coming from a BMW 528i wagon with a sport suspension, and the MDX is very pleasant surprise.

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  Awe inspiring - 2003 Acura RSX
  By bauhaus - December 2 - 2:00 am

  Although I have only owned this remarkable little rocket for 3 days and 250 miles, it is far and away the most complete car I have driven. The feel of all the controls is crisp and clean, no slop here. The engine, although loud at higher RPMs is quick, reponsive and silky smooth. The clutch, shifter and transmission combination is flawless. The handling is responsive, tight and nimble. Point it where you want to go and there is no hesitation or arguments. Readers of this review should take a look at Car and Drivers "Four wedges and a Bubble" comparrison review.

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  Last honda product Ill own - 2003 Acura TL
  By badacurainsacto - December 2 - 2:00 am

  I was very excited to get my Acura, but have had it in for brake rotors twice, and for an engine ticking noise twice which they say is normal. Sunroof squeeks, radio squeeks and navigation system is often incorrect. I am very dissapointed in this car and will not be purchasing another Acura product!