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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  Denver 2002 TLS - 2002 Acura TL
  By Denver Guy - October 8 - 11:59 am

  Im the original owner and have been thoroughly pleased with this car, so much so Im having a tough time deciding on if to sell and which new car to buy to replace this one. It would be logical to purchase another TL but I dont care for the current body style. MY TLS has been very reliable and economical with only routine maintenance and just a few recalls (tranny). It also still looks great inside and out! Suggestions for Acura: put better tires on the new cars. This car drives so much better after the original tires were replaced.

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  Very satisfied with our choice - 2005 Acura MDX
  By JDog - October 8 - 4:40 am

  We looked at the usual suspects in this category. Ultimately, we went with the MDX as the best overall combination of drive quality, convenience and comfort - its a great car.

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  Disappointing for a Luxury Automobile - 2017 Acura TLX
  By Dimitri - October 8 - 2:36 am

  This is my 6th Acura. 2017 TLX, 6 cylinder with Technology package. I turned in a 2013 TL, which I really liked but the lease had been extended three times. The 2013 was a superior automobile to the 2017. In more detail: The road handling is very good. The steering is precise and communicative. The road noise has been improved considerably. The stereo is the known ELS which is very good. The bad news: The technology is archaic, behind the times, totally disappointing, head scratching, how ACURA allows their automobiles to be designed and sold this way. The Honda Civic and the Hyundai Elantra (!!) are years ahead in terms of technology than the TLX. The menu selections are awful, a lot of duplication. The response time is amazingly slow, to the point that one does not know whether it works. The software did get "hung up" once, during the first week but it recovered. If technology is not important, it is a very solid car and fun to drive. But since technology is an integral part of the driving experience, it is a rather disappointing car.

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  This one is a keeper - 1994 Acura Legend
  By joey - October 7 - 11:08 pm

  Great car and comfortable to ride. I bought the car mainly because of its reputation for reliability, and so far so good.

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  Excellent car to own and drive - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Midlifemom - October 7 - 7:20 pm

  I drive 40K a year. Perfect vehicle. Decent mileage (20.5 on highway). Will not tip like Sequoia, 4Runner. Excellent in rain, snow. Excellent sound. Very perfect vision all around for driving safety. Good in curves, swerving. Mirrors great, melt snow. Tows my boat great, out of steep ramps. Windshield banked so no chips from rocks. Fog lights catch deer on dark highway at night for you, safer. Passes fine. Pick up fine. Looks pretty. Never, never, never screws up. Have never had to have it fixed. I have 113,000 miles. Very fine car, recommend it. Others I have had are Yukon, Sequoia, Mercedes, Volvo.

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  Had questions initially - 2007 Acura RDX
  By CAS - October 7 - 3:43 pm

  Had initial questions primarily due to problems with bluetooth, poor gas mileage and limited carrying capacity. But now after several trips and three defective cell phones, believe I made the right choice in the RDX. Gas mileage on last trip was over 24 mpg, seems to improve with each trip. City is routinely 17 mpg. 4th cell phone was the charm, bluetooth now works flawlessly. Love the hard rear deck when using as a sedan, and sport handling is terrific. Wifes Infiniti M35 screen graphics for navigation and rear camera is sharper and clearer, but after looking at several competitors, all have some compromises, but like RDX the best.

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  Amazing Vehicle! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By schnell76 - October 7 - 5:40 am

  Bought an aberdeen green the weekend before Thanksgiving and could not be more satisfied with it. Great power once you get the rpms up. The 5 speed should have been a 6, but its not a deal killer at all. For me the transmission has taken a bit of time to get used to. I think it is geared more towards gas mileage until you get on it and then it really moves. Gas mileage has been between 18 & 19 mpg and that is mostly in town driving. Good for a 300 hp midsize suv. The lack of a dimming rear view mirror is no issue at all. The rear windshield is so dark that it is not necessary to buy the dimming mirror. Love the way the AC/fan speed adjusts based upon the location of the sun!

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  Im In Love With My Car - 2006 Acura TL
  By Brian Watters - October 6 - 3:45 pm

  We bought this car as a "weekender" for leisure driving, and let me tell you, the weekend cant get here fast enough. This car leaves virtually nothing to be desired in the driveability, power, and handling departments for cars in this class. It handles curves like a dream. The more you push it, the tighter it seems to grip the asphalt. The term "fun to drive" is clearly an understatement for describing this machine.

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  Road Tripper - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Ryan - October 6 - 9:17 am

  We bought our MDX in May 2007 and immediately took it on a 4 month, 12,500+ mile road trip through the USA and Canada. Mountains, deserts, bad roads and good - we really put this car through its paces and have been very satisfied. The MDX drives like a car on twisty roads even without the sport suspension and the manumatic was very useful in the mountains. Interior space is excellent - we traveled with a baby & all associated gear. The nav system is accurate and easy to use. Highway gas mileage is better than rated (about 25 mpg), but city is worse (about 17). Only mechanical prob is a "clicking" noise when steering at low speed - dealer says they have a fix - have to see.

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  Most Fun in an SUV! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By FitnessCC - October 5 - 2:18 pm

  This vehicle is incredibly fun to drive. I traded up from a TSX and the RDX actually handles/drives better! The SH-AWD system is amazing: I feel glued to the road, no matter how hard I push the RDX. Acceleration is great, and fuel mileage (for me) has been adequate (21 mpg) - not great, but decent for a SUV with this kind of acceleration. The interior is wonderful - comfortable, tasteful, high-tech, full of useful information. Awesome stereo system. The nav system is very user friendly, if a little outdated in its database - but I absolutely love the XM live traffic display, which saves me time every day. Great vehicle!