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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  Looked at them all Acura best in class!! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By cdepaola - February 12 - 12:13 am

  We looked at and test drove all of the other midsized SUVs in the Acura MDXs class. We found the best deal and the best car to be the Acura. Fit was great, and we felt it looked to be the most upscale interior and exterior.

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  It must be love.. - 2000 Acura TL
  By Brina - February 9 - 11:39 pm

  I LOVE this car. I had a 96 Accord EX, took it in one day for an oil change... it was a wrap. I test drove the TL and bought it. I have never had a moments regret. It was a lease vehicle so naturally it was pristine when I got it. It can do with 6 cylinders what many cars cant with 8. Nothing to do other than scheduled maintenance and the occasional tweak. I swear by my dealer(Acura) service. Almost 3 years later my baby runs like she did the day I got her. :-)

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  Know what you are buying..... - 2006 Acura RSX
  By CarolinaRSX - February 8 - 4:55 pm

  I have over 1000 miles on my 06 RSX- S. Its a great car so far. Took it in once already with a known problem in the front springs. The gearing is very close so be prepared to change them A LOT. Unless you want to whine the car out to 6K-8K rpm everytime, in every gear, you will be shifting 4 times by the time you hit 45mph. The car does pull hard to 8.1K rpm, but who wants to rev the engine that high ALL the time. The seats, radio, controls, styling are all fantastic. The handling is close to the Mini Cooper, but longer wheel base makes it ride better.

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  Great Car! - 1996 Acura TL
  By Chuck - February 8 - 2:16 pm

  Without a doubt, this has been the best car that I have ever owned. I now have 197,000 miles on the car. The only thing that I have replaced on this car outside of normal wear and tear items, is the radiator and fan unit. Thats it! This was my first Acura but you can bet it wont be my last.

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  MDX Review - 2005 Acura MDX
  By George - February 8 - 10:26 am

  Car is quieter and rides better than I thought it would. New blue metallic color looks really great. This is truly a very high quality car. Also has storage compartment under floor in cargo area and many handy storage bins throughout passenger area.

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  This car is seriously underrated - 2018 Acura TLX
  By Jimbo - February 7 - 9:59 pm

  Just leased the 2018 TLX 2.4 with tech package. No money down sign and drive $420.00 per mos. The base engine provides great acceleration in the lower gears and not so great in the higher gears but still plenty of oomph for me. Seats are better than my previous car which was a Volvo. Handling is good but the best part about how this car rides is the tight chassis. Cabin is very quiet only if I am not blasting the ELS sound system which is fantastic. I went to Honda to lease a 2018 Accord and they wanted $550 a mos. For a Honda! I challenge anybody to find another car that will give you a luxury brand for this price and quality.

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  Great New SUV - 2003 Acura MDX
  By rixmax - February 7 - 10:00 am

  Some friends of ours have an MDX that is a few years old and they loved theirs s we thought wed look into them. Wow! What a great vehichle that looks great, tons of bells and whistles, great safety features... we could go on and on!

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  Below the Radar - 2003 Acura TL
  By platinum - February 7 - 10:00 am

  The TLS is just plain fun to drive and is the best deal for a car of its quality. I also like it because its not too flashy yet the performance (Boy does it MOVE!) is there when you want/need it. This is my second TL- the first was a 96 which I put nearly 100K miles on with NO trouble. Get the S type if you like performance over comfort as the regular TL does ride and steer more like a Caddy and less like BMW. One last thing: you wont pass 15 of them on your commute- pretty unique car.

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  Exceptional Value - 2003 Acura TL
  By toomuchfun - February 7 - 10:00 am

  Value... Value... Value! With the redesigned 04 coming out the 03s can be had for less than wholesale. Name one other car for $28,000 with these features! Comparably equipped the g35 approaches $40,000 and the bimmers... lets not even go there. It corners like its on rails and is so fun to drive.

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  Rays TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Ray - February 7 - 1:32 am

  I am thoroughly pleased with my Acura TL. The car has standard features that are optional on higher priced vehicles. Fit and finish is excellent as is handling and engine performance. The automatic transmission shifts quickly and I enjoy the sequential manual feature.