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:

• 

  My Lucky Wife! - 2007 Acura TL
  By Jon L - July 13 - 10:09 am

  We were looking for a new car for my wifes commute and our weekends, something suitable for Wisconsin winters but attractive and sporty. No more minivans or SUVs - been doing that for years with kids. Came down to the BMW 328xi and the Acura, ultimately we decided to go with a fully loaded Acura for less money vs. a very basic BMW with no leather, power/heated seats, etc. We get lots of looks on the road - no Acura dealer for 100 miles, so its also unique here. So far she loves it!

• 

  Caveat emptor - 2003 Acura TL
  By skpjah - July 12 - 3:07 pm

  Bought it used - since then the Bose radio went out the drivers side heated seat element went bad the headlight lens leaked and the HID transfomer went out the dash lights went out the sunroof, dash and other components rattle. Almost all have been fixed but the repairs were very expensive and not what I expected to have to deal with on an Acura. This is the Honda Motor Car Co. premium brand vehicle and it certainly wasnt built like it!

• 

  Drivers Car - 2008 Acura TSX
  By roadwarior8 - July 11 - 11:36 am

  Fun to drive. Awesome ride. Very easy to use, yet comprehensive navigation system. Overall best purchase I ever made.

• 

  Racura - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Rajesh Marath - July 11 - 4:32 am

• 

  sandys TLS - 2003 Acura TL
  By sandy barron - July 10 - 10:00 am

  I love the navigation system -- onstar was superfluous--difficult to use and not worth the investment. The navi system is amazing. Doesnt do the shortcuts I can do in familiar areas, but it gets me to all the strange places, and I know Ill get there. The car is superpeppy with just about every convenience imaginable. I do wish it had a telescoping sterring wheel.

• 

  Legendary - 1991 Acura Legend
  By rosewood brown - July 10 - 1:00 am

  This has been in my family since new. It was my uncles before it was mine. I now have it past 205,000 and its still going strong. Some interior components are showing their age, like the leather is going and I have the same minor issues that crop up with Legends of age. Had to replace the CV joints and steering rack boots to pass inspection, a little rust is showing over the rear wheel well. Tuned it up and now runs like new. NO BAD HEAD GASKETS. Not bad for a 16 yo car. 23 mpg mixed driving. Any other 91 can pull that off with 200 hp V6? NOPE. Sometimes Im tempted to drive our Corolla instead to save gas, but I always grab the Acura keys. Love driving this car. Great car for DIY, too.

• 

  Nice SUV - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Tom - July 8 - 4:53 pm

  Compared with Lexus 350, BMW X5 3.0, Better than the ones compared to. You can carry lots of people and/or stuff and have a whole lot of fun doing it!! This 07 MDX is truly as good as it gets!!

• 

  Nice whip! - 2018 Acura RDX
  By Alex - July 8 - 10:00 am

  Very smooth driving, almost no road noise. Great SUV so far!

• 

  Best Car In Its Class - 2004 Acura TL
  By Celine Riendeau - July 8 - 2:10 am

  This vehicle is fun to drive. Excellent quality and handling. Long list of standard features is excellent compared to other models. Smooth and excellent engine power. 6 speed is close ratio. Very comfortable cabin and well appointed. Previous car was an IS 300, the TL is far superior in all areas.

• 

  Ive never loved a car more! - 2000 Acura Integra
  By JenJen - July 7 - 10:24 am

  Ive had my 2000 Acura Integra LS Coupe since April of 2002. Bought it as a certified pre-owned car with only 14,000 miles on it. Luckily my commute is short, so in 5+ years of my ownership, it only has 47,000 miles! Every time I get into my Integra, I feel like Im on a race track. Ive never loved a car more. I hope to keep it until it just wont drive anymore I cant even look at other cars. Also, its hard to find a 7-year-old car that still turns heads! Details: 2000 Acura Integra LS Coupe, Voltage Blue Metallic, manual 5-speed transmission, rear spoiler, sunroof, updated stereo (Kenwood).