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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  Solid a a Rock! - 2007 Acura TSX
  By triniacura - August 6 - 4:48 pm

  Just rolled 100k in my 07 Tsx and I couldnt be happier! I picked the car up 3 years ago with 30k on it! I drive ALOT! And have put over 20k a year on the car including 2500mi round trips from Orlando to Toronto! Car has NEVER skipped a beat on me! Regular maintenance performed only! In the past 3 years I have spent around $500 in maintenance? Oil changes only and a brake job performed by Sears. The car is bone simple to work on! ( Honda core ) Dont even bother taking it to the dealer! Sears, Jiffy Lube, Mobile, Just about anyone can work on this car. The way it drives you wouldnt know it had 100k on the odometer . Shes itching for another 100k problem free!

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  Only 700 Miles on the 2014 RDX and Transmission Problems - 2014 Acura RDX
  By billy411 - August 6 - 1:42 pm

  Transmission was slipping badly. We had to have it towed to dealer with only 700 miles on the car. Quality was the reason I bought Acura and lack of quality will be the reason I sell my Acura.

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  Disappointment - 2013 Acura RDX
  By tinpyro - August 5 - 12:26 pm

  I have owned many luxury vehicles over the years, when I initially came across the 2013 RDX I thought that I had discovered a true bargain. This , however, was not the case. The reason TRUE luxury vehicles cost more is because they are worth it. The RDX has flaws that I can over look but the wind noise from the doors and b pillars is simply unforgivable in a vehicle in this range. The dealer has done what it can but they cannot redesign the vehicle. Acura must be aware of this issue and I believe is simply choosing to ignore it. Had I taken a more extensive test drive I would not have purchased the vehicle, so...shame on me. I will unload the vehicle asap and accept the loss and move on.

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  unbeatable - 2001 Acura Integra
  By cglaw - August 3 - 4:02 am

  I have over 214,000 on my gsr and it still manages to just keep on going! I drive it hard and I admit it takes a few years to get used to having to push it to the limit, (at least for me, Im 42 years old) but the car never fails to drive hard and be as reliable as heck! Small things are starting to go on some of the switches, everything works, but I have put some miles on it and it always starts in the morning and keeps on going. GREAT car for your teen to start driving on. I only wish the had made them longer.

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  What a great vehicle - 2014 Acura RDX
  By cman7 - August 2 - 7:58 am

  I am so happy driving this car. You can feel the quality. Acura did a great job on the redesign.

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  UPDATED REVIEW w/MILEAGE DATA - 2014 Acura MDX
  By joeag8 - August 2 - 6:38 am

  Now that I have 1700 miles on the car, I thought I would provide an updated review to include mileage data. My overall driving habits fall around 65% highway, 35% city, and I currently average a total of 23.9 MPG. After 22,000 miles on my 2012 MDX, the best I was able to achieve was 18.6 MPG, so this is a huge improvement. Many of us have seen reviews with significant MPG stated -heres why. The 2014 has a robust online computer that not only provides total MPG, but per trip MPG as well. I drove from Central NJ to Newark, Delaware twice last week (78 miles each way, 80% highway, 20% city) and averaged 30.9 and 30.7 MPG on each trip, which is impressive for this type of vehicle.

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  Quality build but lacks technology updates - 2014 Acura RDX
  By donsmy - August 1 - 1:52 pm

  I recently purchased a 2014 RDX with the Technology package. The Build quality and power are very good. - is the steering wheel extra small? I am extremely disappointed with the technology of the vehicle - even after purchasing the technology package. Big rip off. the GPS is the same hard to use out dated GPS they have been installing since 2004. Hello Acura!! Has anyone there ever used an iPhone?!. You cant use the steering wheel controls to activate Siri. You can upload your songs to the hard drive but its just a big list of music files - you really cant select songs or artist. Very disappointing.

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  ACURA RDX NAVIGATION, SPEEDOMETER, ODOMETER, TRIP OVERSTATED MILEAGE - 2008 Acura RDX
  By elizabethok - August 1 - 1:27 pm

  This car has an overstated mileage problem approximately every 10 miles adds 5 miles in turn uses the gas. Acura dealer service depts. will not acknowledge the problem, test or accept responsibility. In my own car I have been lied to. I log near every mile I drive to check the discrepancy. This car has been refused to be serviced by dealer service depts. Client relations does nothing for me except log and ask to accept apology.

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  Acura got it right this time - 2014 Acura RDX
  By ride50 - July 29 - 5:17 am

  Test drove BMW X3, Lexus RX300 and Audi Q5 2.0. I can say the RDX was a winner hands down. Powerfull engine, luxurious interior, quiet, smooth and comfortable ride, excellent navigation. All that for at least 10k less than other 3 brands. I liked the Acuras straight forward pricing. FWD or AWD with technology package or without it. BMW, Lexus and Audi starts at the similar base, but by the time you ad few essential option packages, the price skyrockets to 50k. Audi tries to make you believe that theirs is the only luxury SUV, so you should not even think to pay below the sticker price. what a joke. The Acura RDX comes fully loaded, no confusing packages and pricing. Very pleased.

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  So far so good - 2013 Acura RDX
  By newro - July 26 - 2:21 pm

  Got it new in February 2013 and while my wife drives it daily, I do drive it on weekends. It is solid, ride if good, plenty of power and gas mileage has been pretty good. The blue tooth is not very good, in fact I have had Acuras since 1996 and the one that I just traded, a 2010 TL had a blue tooth that was lots better. Cannot speak a phone number unless it is tagged, makes no sense, especially when you only get 15 tags. Giant step backwards on that one. Car is very good in the snow/rain. Have never driven a Lexus or BMW X3 but I would have to say that this Acura seems perfectly fine with typically Acura build quality