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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  Still Going - 1999 Acura TL
  By lsmac - June 15 - 9:51 am

  Bought the car new. Now has 220,000 miles! No trans or engine issues. Have replaced the power steering pump, otherwise no repairs, only scheduled maintenance. 25-28 mpg all the time.

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  Acura TLX review - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Sam - June 14 - 9:43 pm

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  Disappointing - 2005 Acura TL
  By JP41 - June 14 - 11:15 am

  I really love the interior and exterior looks of the car but the build quality is less than stellar. My tires wore out after 20K miles, my dash is faded and looks 20 years old, leather is wearing away, and I have numerous squeaks and rattles. It is too bad because I really want to like the car and the features for the money can not be beat. However, I am angered everytime I drive it listening to the rattles in the dash, door, and steering column.

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  After 5,000 miles still best SUV for $$ - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Tony - June 14 - 9:49 am

  I had written a previous post about the MDX but wanted to reserve judgement until I had more miles on it. We just passed the 5,000 mile mark and the MDX is still the best SUV on the market today IMHO. MPG=20.3, great reliability, comfortable and stylish interior. Plenty of room for kids. A lot of fun for road trips. I have heard people say that the car is too advanced, and I dont really understand that as a negative. The car is very intuitive. I am no computer geek but I have had no problems learning the tech features. If you pay this much for a vehicle, I want all these features!! Get a lot of positive comments about the car. Really breaks the mold!!

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  Outstanding - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Geo - June 14 - 9:36 am

  Great car. It has fuel efficiency and its amazing to drive. I have owned it for 4 years now and I wouldnt change a thing.

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  Great car - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Jools109 - June 14 - 2:00 am

  I switched from lifelong ownership of GM vehicles to the foreign market just for a change of pace. I dont believe I will be going back ever again. I have never been more pleased with a car, its value, or the general ownership experience ever.

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  Acura TLS Type - 2002 Acura TL
  By Paul C. Daily - June 14 - 2:00 am

  Problems w/ air and brakes were minor. Dealer service is abhorant. Worst I have experienced in 18 new cars. Sales personnel, however, are helpful but have no control over service. Bought new BMW just to avoid going to Bradshaw Acura for service on 3.2 TLS

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  Finally got my MDX!! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By KathyV - June 14 - 2:00 am

  Drove all the others, then put my name on the list for my MDX! Love it- comfy, sporty, great looking, wonderful handling and oh, so roomy! Have driven a Toyota since 1981...but Highlander, Sequoia, and RX didnt compare..had to move on to Acura!

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  TL-TypeS Rules! - 2003 Acura TL
  By mrosett - June 14 - 2:00 am

  I was considering the Nissan Maxima fully loaded w/Navigation. They were going to wheel and deal, then after getting a price and going to drive the TL-TypeS...there was no question in my mind. The 2Gs extra for 260hp and 2Gs extra for the navigation was the smartest thing I ever did (well...pretty smart)! Anyways, I love my car, it fun and sturdy. You can just tell by the solid sound the door makes when it closes that this car is well built. When you go test drive it, you wont even hesitate.

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  2007 Acura RDX w/ Technology Package - 2007 Acura RDX
  By T. Gray - June 13 - 10:24 pm

  The is my first ownership of an SUV, a term I generally despise being somewhat of a car snob. Ive owned Acura sedans before, the last being a 2004 TL, so I was mildly skeptical that the RDX could provide the comfort and performance of the TL. This vehicle redefines for me the term sport ute. The straight line performance, particularly while using the paddle shifters, is the equal of the more powerful V6 TL once you get used to the mild turbo lag on initial throttle tip in. And the RDXs handling actually outperforms the TL on my favorite two-lane country roads and city round-abouts.