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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  Hot Car! Buy it! - 2004 Acura TL
  By gzing2 - September 16 - 10:00 am

  A real eye catcher, nothing but compliments from friends and general on-lookers. Im extremely happy with the purchase. High performance driving experience.

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  2005 TSX - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Sean - September 14 - 7:03 pm

  The car is very fun to drive and noticibly more rooms than the 2006 IS250 or 350. I put a lot miles in one year. However, the car has a lot road noise and high vibration. And some parts start to rattle after a couple month. A high end car shouldnt do that. Also the moonroof has some squeaks which the dealer said it was a common problem. Car is missing a couple features and the voice command doesnt really pick up the voice well due to road noise again. Overall, I give it an eight.

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  Awesome car, some suggested improvements - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Davispandk - September 13 - 4:11 pm

  First the positive - this is by far the best vehicle I have ever owned. It is an awesome vehicle for sure. The technology is like a science fiction movie, at least for someone like me who has never owned a luxury car before. Everything is easy to use if you take the time to read the manual and practice. There are so many minor details that Acura does right to make this car so much more than just a car. I do have some complaints, though, and they mostly relate to practicality: 3rd row legroom could be better based on experience in similar size cars 2nd row seat buckles are poorly spaced for booster seats 2nd row climate control vents do not adequately reach the 3rd row.

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  Lemon. - 2006 Acura RL
  By Bryant N - September 13 - 12:54 pm

  This is my first car, bought it used from a BMW dealership down the road from me about 3 years ago. From the instant we bought it I knew I was going to have major issues. It started with a ticking from the right front passenger wheel which turned out to be a loose brake pad. Next came the real isues, oil leaking. From everywhere. Brought it into the mechanic and he said that the entire engine bay and the passengers front wheel well are covered in motor oil. Major issues, basically had to rebuild the top half of the engine. I got it done and off I went. Next came the transmission.... I could stop at a stop sign and not be able to engage the transmission anymore, I was dead in the water... Only had reverse. So once we got it to the mechanic he said that a piece broke off my radiator, there was radiator fluid and engine oil in the transmission, and tranny oil and engine oil in the radiator. Boom! Brand new radiator and the transmission literally exploded so thats brand new. On top of all that comes the regular oil changes, spaek plugs, tires, etc. This car is a MONEY PIT! It will not make it over 100,000 miles unless you basically buy the car again! I will never buy another Acura or Honda in my life after my experience with this car.

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  2016 TLX v4 transmission jerk nightmare - 2016 Acura TLX
  By zack - September 13 - 10:14 am

  A long time Acura owner loved my TL. Car was totaled and decided to buy a new car between TLX and mazda 6 GT. I heard the 2015 transmission problem and was told by dealer the problem has fixed. Searching online found no report on the 2016 model and people talking about the problem has been fixed by updating software (I was wondering if they are hired by acura!!). I did tested the car I want to buy for 30 min stop-go many times and noticed nothing (at 65F). After 400 miles or so the car started to jerk at 0-30 mile/hr at all first 3 gears 80% to time (between 32F to 50F temperature). Now at 700 miles the car started to jerk when slowing the car from 30 - 0 miles/hr. What a nightmare to drive the car. I hope Acura come out a real solution to the issue and fix the problem.

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  Transmission bad!! - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Debbie - September 13 - 7:35 am

  I purchased a 2016 Acura MDX from Jay Wolfe Honda in Kansas City, MO and so far my total overall experience is a "0" I have had my car in the shop for about 20% of the time I have owned it and my last repair was to replace the transmission with 10,000 miles on the vehicle! It still shifts jerky at low speed but I havent taken the car back because I am going to pursue the lemon law and/or Acura arbitration. I had a loud noise in the rear end, after they replaced the struts (after 3 repair attempts) and it is better. There are 3 Service Bulletins out there for those of you who want to try them TSB No 16-035 replace rear suspension dampers and rear upper mount bushings. TSB No 15-039 Replace transmission end cover gaskets TSB No 15-054 Software update in powertrain and transmission control modules. I called Acura and none of these were linked to my specific vehicle VIN #. Had they replaced the gaskets, I may not have had a fluid leak which supposedly caused the transmission replacement. The module update is supposed to correct the shifting - that is questionable. The rear end work did help the noise in the rear end. I could continue with minor detail issued but suffice to say I WOULD NOT purchase nor would I recommend anyone to purchase an Acura MDX!!

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  In love with my Acura TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Dionne - September 13 - 7:08 am

  I absolutely love my car. It has so much power along with so much beauty. I will update my car every 4 yrs. to an Acura. The colors available can not be better than what color I have. My car is like a pearl white. Beautiful.

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  90% of Porsche 918 at 80% discount - 2017 Acura NSX
  By T. F Malik - September 12 - 4:53 pm

  Super handling super car that blends the qualities of Ferrari and Porsche nicely in a relatively affordable package if ordered with the only essential option of Carbon Ceramic disk brakes. Can be a daily use car except in snow and ice unless equipped with proper tires and clearance issues with snow as it has pretty low clearance and no option to raise the car to clear the snow. Acceleration is instant, thanks to electric assist that takes away the turbo lag, torque vectoring with the front electric motors works transparently to assist in carving turns at any speed.

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  Best Luxury - 2001 Acura RL
  By Gwen Titsworth - September 12 - 2:56 pm

  I have owned many different luxury cars Lexus, Jag, etc., because I like to try out the different varieties and to say I have driven them, but my Acura has beat them all hands down. I went to buy a Mercedes and was disappointed in the test drive. For the heck of it I tried the Acura RL and bought it. I usually buy a new car every two years but I hated to let this one go. I am planning to buy another one though this year. The car I would buy beyond the Acura is a Bentley Cont. GTS.

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  2008 RDX - 2008 Acura RDX
  By lwfineny - September 12 - 1:53 pm

  Ive had the 2008 RDX for just a few days - very impressed so far. Handling and acceleration are great. Im 65" and have over 3 inches of space between my head and the roof - pretty amazing for a car with a moonroof. Initial fit and finish seem perfect. All in all, its a lot of fun to drive.