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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  Type S - Happy So Far - 2003 Acura RSX
  By RobE - June 8 - 10:00 am

  Previous car was a 99 Integra GSR, and this car is a huge improvement. Really feels and drives like a sports car in comparison to the GSR. Test drove the Celica GTS and GTI VR6 - both nice cars, but I think I made the right choice and every review Ive read confirms that.

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  Stay away from the TL Type S - 2003 Acura TL
  By phatgroove - June 8 - 10:00 am

  I would not buy again or recommend buying the 2003 TL Type S. It is a piece of junk. Ive had the car for one year and needed to have the sunroof resealed (leaking), the brakes and rotors went twice (first time after 5 months - resurfaced - 3K miles, second time - completely replaced - 12500K.). These are just some of the major issues Ive had with the car. Initial quality was great, but wait two months and the car will start to rattle and squeak.

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  Has it ALL - best value on the road - 2005 Acura RL
  By Bob D - June 7 - 10:56 pm

  Picked up my RL 2 weeks ago... first impressions - the SH 4WD is the real deal. I just came out of a C5 after 6 years of ownership.. this RL handles incredibly on the curves at high speeds. The build quality is superb. Ive had 2 legend coupes in the 90s and an RL and this one is by far the best quality Acura has ever produced. The best combination of power, fun 4-wheel drive, super dependability, style and great dealer support. Seats are terrific and the car is as quiet as any Lexus Ive ever been in - but this car doesnt isolate the driver - the steering gives you great feedback while being both quick and light. The stereo is THE BEST OEM UNIT IVE EVER HEARD in a car.

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  Best Sports Sedan for the Price - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Marcello - June 7 - 10:01 pm

  Its mother is a Honda Accord (European size), its father Id swear was a BMW 3-series (last model). This car gives you the best of Japan along with the handling of Germany. You cant beat it for the price. My favorite car out of the ten Ive owned including my BMW 3 series, Infiniti Q45 and Nissan Maxima. I cant wait to see what they do with the next generation. This is my second Acura and Im sold on the brand.

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  Mid-luxury and good value - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Gerald Gruber - June 7 - 2:58 pm

  Cost of ownership is excellent

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  GREAT car - 2007 Acura RL
  By Watson - June 7 - 1:42 pm

  I drove a BMW prior to this, and loved it, but I am thrilled with my Acura RL. It is so smooth, very responsive, comfortable as it could possibly be, and has every possible bell and whistle for thousands less than its Teutonic competition. I chose it over Infiniti M35 because, in my test, it handled better, and I much prefer the looks. GREAT car so far.

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  Sunnyside Acura hit it out of the park! - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Anthony Piacenza - June 7 - 5:48 am

  Bluetooth is crap. Otherwise fantastic car for the $

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  New Acura 1 month old - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Jim Andrews - June 6 - 8:50 pm

  Prices vary greatly among dealers, negotiate.

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  Best bang for your buck - 2007 Acura TSX
  By 2007TSX - June 6 - 3:22 pm

  Spent 3 months shopping around for a new car. Looked at a long list of cars (TSX, TL, G35, IS 250, Camry, Altima, Mazda3 5-door). In the beginning, I was looking at the TSX and came full circle with it. The car is great, definitely a good and reasonable investment. I was willing to give up the performance for fuel economy. Even with the inline 4, the car moves its not like a TL-S or G35, but its enough for everyday driving. The car looks a lot better in person than in pictures. I love the car more and more everyday!

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  My RDX - 2007 Acura RDX
  By cnmec - June 6 - 10:19 am

  The turbo is peppy, but takes a second to kick in. The road noise is a bit more than I would like and it is a stiff ride, which some people dont like.