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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  Great Value - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Artie - December 24 - 7:53 am

  Great car for the money, great gas mileage and power, great stereo.

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  Love it!!! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Deanna - December 23 - 9:02 pm

  I was waffling between a top of the line Camry and this car. Although I paid $2K more for this car - it was worth it. I love my TSX! The best feature is that they only come two ways...with or without navigation - everything else is standard. There was no negotiating all of the options, just the car as a whole. Made the purchase go much smoother also...no pushy salesman trying to sell you extra options to boost the profit margin. Bottom line is that a car is worth exactly what youre willing to pay for it. I didnt pay MSRP, but I can see how others would...the car sells itself. This is an easy way to step into luxury cars without being married to your payment.

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  Very Nice Care - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Yol - December 23 - 8:23 pm

  Since I picked it up I love the car. Its fun to drive and a lot of people talk about how nice the car is. I love the bluetooth and how easy it is to talk and for people to hear you. I think Acura really did a good job.

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  Great vehicle - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Frank - December 23 - 4:24 pm

  I hads a 2003 MDX. This model is very similar and still has the same reliability. I love the voice activity NAV system. Also the blue tooth capability.

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  Love It - 2004 Acura TSX
  By My TSX - December 22 - 10:20 pm

  I drooled over this car for 2 years before I bought it, and it was worth the wait. I absolutely love it. Its a light feeling car, very nimble and comfortable, even good so far in snow even though I havent driven it a whole lot in snow yet. The exterior is very sexy, interior is too. Everything is laid out well in the cabin. My first foreign car is turning out to be a truly wonderful experience. Plus its the first car Ive ever owned myself (always used my parents cars). Had it for 8 months now and its been great. Very classy!

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  Stellar Sportscar!! - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Adrian - December 22 - 8:09 pm

  I maintain my RSX and it has never left me stranded. Its performance increased by using the highest octane gasoline. It handles well on curves, corners, turns, etc. It is a quiet ride and moreso its comfort. The shape of the car is out of this world. When I drive, people look at my car and think of it as you would a Ferrari!! I love it...my RSX is my baby and gets rewarded for its quality and superb handling!

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  Ten Years Old.... - 1995 Acura Legend
  By harsiese - December 22 - 4:27 pm

  I bought my Legend recently and I cannot stay out of it! For a ten year old car, I was surprised at how new it felt. Aside from some slight wear on the drivers seat, I would not be able to tell its as old as it is. Coworkers keep asking if its a 2006, which feels nice. Aside from the rough shift from 1st to 2nd gear in the auto trans , which Ive been told is how this trans always has worked, its fine. Except the cupholder [singular!], which also leaves much to be desired. Ive always owned American cars, but my mind has definitely been changed. Im going to drive the wheels off this one, for sure.

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  Outstanding! - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Christopher Cromer - December 22 - 1:16 pm

  Best purchase ever, love it!

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  At 1000 mi - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Fred - December 21 - 3:30 pm

  Review at 3 weeks and 1000 miles: Overall, this vehicle is a home run, not even a stand up triple. It has been challenged on mountain passes,with snow and dry pavement, the handling is like no SUV or car I have driven. The control, especially in sport mode, removes almost all insecurity and white knuckles. MPG: overall 21.6 at 1000 with a mix of 60% hwy and 40% city. Snow performance 8/10. Marginal tread design of the Michelin all-seasons is the reason. Light off road duty is very good. Nav system is slightly superior to Toyota. We have both. A bit difficult to negotiate in a tight parking lot. Flip side is plenty of room for kids and cargo.

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  The car I thought I woudlnt be able to afford! - 2009 Acura TL
  By Chris T - December 20 - 4:40 pm

  This car is a great car, it gets good fuel economy for the size of the car. Car and Driver website Calls it the "Bruce Wayne Mobile" for 7 year old car everything has held up with little wear on the front seats. the car is glued to the road and is far ahead of its time for being a 2009. People think the car is brand new I bought used with only 56k miles under 16k.