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:

• 

  One of the best - 2004 Acura TL
  By Tony R - April 21 - 2:00 am

  This car is even better than the older 3.2TL. For the money you cant beat it. It has everything the big car have.

• 

  Youll Love it - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Dan-Florida - April 19 - 9:23 pm

  I did an extensive research for almost two months in the mid-size suv market and never found anything that compared to the MDX. If youre looking in the 35k to 40k price range, make sure you check out the MDX. I had an Expedition for 5 years and this feels just as big inside, which I did not expect. I love the ride and the feel on the road and you will too.

• 

  2004 RSX - 2004 Acura RSX
  By jjthomas182 - April 19 - 6:13 pm

  Ive had my 2004 RSX for 2 years now and I love it! I have had several other sports cars in the past, the last being a mustang. This car is fast, but still managers to be practical, compfortable, reliable, and fuel efficient. It also has the more prestige name of acura with many luxury features, but was suprisingly affordable. definately best in class

• 

  MDX review - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Skip - April 18 - 9:41 am

  Always either a Jeep or Jimmy for years. Along with them had problems with the brakes on the Jeeps and wheel bareings on the Jimmy. All I can say about my X is...it is nice to know, if I do not want to purchase a new auto the rest of my life, I wont have to....thank you

• 

  Best car ever made - 1991 Acura Legend
  By David - April 17 - 7:54 pm

  Bought the car as the second owner and have never regretted it! Car has power and style. Never fails to get me where I need to go. Now has over 175k miles on it and still going very strong!

• 

  Acura 04 - 2004 Acura MDX
  By ACSInc. - April 16 - 10:00 am

  We took this vehicle from Coatesville, PA to Portland Maine right out of the box. It performed perfectly. The Nav. system came in real handy when our sons flight was cancelled and we went from Portland ME to Boston to pick him up.$41500 including 6% PA. sales tax. Not cheap but worth it. You sit higher than the mini van but the ride is stiffer.

• 

  2004 Acura TL A-Spec - 2004 Acura TL
  By ArielAir - April 16 - 10:00 am

  The addition of the A-Spec really tightens up this vehicle. Installing stiffer springs and struts lowers the auto approximately 1 inch, and thus the center of gravity is also redistrubuted (lower). This makes for outstanding cornering capability and a much more "solid" ride. There is not a significant difference in ride "feel" from the standard TL when traveling on straight and level surfaces, but the modified vehicle really shines in the corners and during acceleration. The fit and trim is outstanding and rear passengers report the ride and seating is ultra comfortable. Acura has a winner with this car!

• 

  Happy Acura Driver - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Happy Driver - April 15 - 9:17 am

  I was looking for a vehicle to replace my 2011 Lexus that had high mileage, and wanted a change. The new Lexus is bigger than my previous Lexus and I did not want that large a vehicle. I had test driven an Acura previously and went to the Acura dealer to check them out. I love the design, I bought the RDX Advance, it is larger than the Acura I test drove 5 years ago, it is a great size for me. It has a lot of bells and whistles that is, technology features. It is taking me a while to master them. But, I love the lane assist and blind spot warning, which takes no tech knowledge to operate. I have only had the car 3 weeks, but so far, love it. It drives so smoothly, with no noise. The seats are very comfortable, great lumbar support. I look forward to several years of great driving with this Acura RDX.

• 

  A great little car - 2006 Acura RSX
  By sundownlady - April 14 - 5:13 pm

  This car drives great has the handling capability and stability of a BMW. It seems its cruising speed is around 80 mph and is a real pleasure to drive. The fuel economy isnt that great, but perhaps if I maintained a "normal" speed it would be better. Bottomline, I Love IT!!

• 

  awesome vehicle - 2005 Acura RL
  By Brad - April 14 - 2:34 pm

  This is a phenominal car with all the extras you could ever want and the real time traffic is a must have in any big city in which you drive. The easiest nav system to use on the market.