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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  Honda with leather seats - 2002 Acura RL
  By aa1234aa - June 3 - 2:00 am

  A fair price for a 2002 RL is about $27K. Power is too low for weight, engine is noisy & sounds cheap. The Bose stereo has 4 speakers and no CD player (slot) in dash (trunck CD changed), and wont scramble songs! Door speakers intrude into the small door map pockets. There is almost nil storage room in the cabin. There is no compass, windows dont retract with the key switch for ventilation, there is little rear leg room, rear seats dont recline or fold down, trunk hinges are luggage crushers out of Accord, there is no trunk organizer, there is no alarm system, & orange-peel paint job. I sure feel like a fool because I got one.

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  Avoid - Poor - 1997 Acura RL
  By Mark Olson - May 28 - 2:00 am

  During the 5 years that I have owned this vehicle, the 5th year has been a MONEY PIT. I have replaced both arms at $686 each, both rear window motors and now have an emmission contol problem. I now have to take the vehicle in YET AGAIN because of a revving engine. I would avoid purchasing an Acura 3.5RL

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  Serious Raders only - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Maneesh N Patel - May 17 - 10:00 am

  This brand new SUV has been to garage twice.Very poor service.They drove the car for 100+ miles.No loaner.You have to fight for it.Rude staff. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF THIS ACURA>

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  Deserves one more star but please read it. - 2016 Acura ILX
  By PJ - May 16 - 3:55 am

  I got my car back in April of 2015. Reason I took off one star is squeaky front brakes issue. Its factory defect and acura is aware of it (Please google on tgat issue if you are interested). Acura did not want to change my brakes at time I came in and I dont have any more time to waste with them so I live with it. Its a huge disappointed especially for a brand such as acura. Another star I taken off because I believe few other things could have been better. Such as, very rough ride over uneven pavement and especially potholes. No 40/60 rear fold, whole rear seat just folds. Steering is a little numb as well. Not too much headroom for tall drivers. Never the less its an enormous value. For $27k you get compact (a plus for some) 0-60 in less than 7 seconds, great fuel economy, decent handling, sunroof, keyless entery, duel clutch transmission, full Led head lights, Adaptive cruise, crush prevention system, auto dual climate, heated seats and mirrors, back up cam, Acura badge (Might matter to some.

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  Car Gone to Junk - 1991 Acura Integra
  By Mrs.Baltimore - May 9 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car in the summer August as soon as the winter rolled around the car was junk. It took so much to get the car to start and I had to replace so many parts after a while I had to junk it. I wish I could get the dealership on the lemon law.

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  Good Car - 1998 Acura Integra
  By AcuraDriver - April 25 - 2:00 am

  I like the GS Integra, but if I had another choice, I would probably choose a better performance car. 140HP is fine for driving, but going fast (eg. racing), its not what you should be looking for. Look at the 320HP Ford Mustang or the 325HP Chevrolet Camaro. Acura is a good car company and they make great cars, but GS is not fast enough for me personally.

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  Supprt and transmission - 1999 Acura TL
  By rom - March 31 - 2:00 am

  It is a good car. However, considering power train performance, Maxima can "make circles" around my TL. (Yes, I also have 95 Maxima.) Transmission is the "weakest link"... especially between first and second gear. Windshield glare is very bad (I have tan color dashboard). Put something black to prevent eye strain -- it works. Attention to customer problem doesnt exist. And this is not about my dealer (I think they were sincere) but Acura technical reps. After numerous phone calls, and even, an apparent, visit of the regional technical "specialist" my problem still exists -- intermittent (!!!) operation of the remote control. They just tired me out -- I gave up.

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  Transmission the Worst - 1999 Acura TL
  By Marty Fried - March 21 - 2:00 am

  The transmission has always hesitated between first and second gear. I was told by the dealer that this was normal. At 74,000 miles the transmission went. I then found out that the extended insurance on the tranny was covered by AAMCO, not Acura. The California customer service division never followed up never floowed up with their supposed investigation. Honda can keep their luxury line. Im going to Lexus.

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  Not satisfied for the money - 1999 Acura Integra
  By redcent - March 17 - 9:44 pm

  My experience was fun to drive if your speeding around wasting gas, but lacking in fun to drive if you are carrying passengers or taking a trip longer than an hour.

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  1st time acura buyer - 2004 Acura TL
  By maddie2 - February 27 - 3:46 am

  Acuras reputation sold me on this car. However, I have been disappointed with several items but been pleased with other features. I think it is true that you should wait a year after a model change so they can revise all the defects. Ive had so many problems with the trunk seal leaking. If water is on the trunk lid and you open the seal does not prevent the water from entering into the trunk. Ive taken the car in 4 times for this problem and its still not repaired. The tires are awful on this car. I noticed the vibration within the first few weeks of ownership. I spoke to the dealer and they said they could not do anything about it. Its worse when the weather is cold.