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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  smooth ride - 2017 Acura RLX
  By billy chambers - March 4 - 9:53 pm

  By far the best car i have every owned. Does all the bells and whistles in outstanding manner. Cons a bit pricey for most folks.

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  Awesome SUV - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Richard - March 3 - 11:48 am

  I purchased this vehicle with about 56000 miles a couple years ago. I have had no issues other than a small coolant leak which was covered under warranty. The car is smooth riding and fun to drive. I pulled a 20 ft boat with ease, I could not even tell it was behind me. I even took it on some light 4 wheel drive excursions and it performed great. Plenty of room for 7 passengers. Gas economy is about average on mine, clocking in at around 18 mpg. I do have a few gripes. Mirror weeps after washing vehicle causing serious water spots down the side of the car when you drive it after washing. Also, some annoying rattles which went away after purchasing new tires. Great SUV.

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  super - 2007 Acura RDX
  By acurardx2 - March 3 - 10:38 am

  Plain super, I love the vehicle. I was contemplating between fully loaded RAV4 and BMW X3. I am glad that I test drove RDX, within minutes I was certain that I was going to buy RDX. Turbo engine gives great accelaration, which I like better than v6 of RAV4. You get a feel of road while driving this suv which is very much like x3. RDX definitely score big points on style (interior and exterior). I have driven this car in lots of snow and icy conditions, Acuras SH AWD and Vehicle Stability Assistant provides super handling. I love driving this so much that I kinda want to be on road all the time.

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  2003 MDX (Loaded) - 2003 Acura MDX
  By gordon wheaton - March 3 - 10:00 am

  I was actually contacted by two dealers in Houston who wanted my 2001 MDX to meet used car MDX customer demand. I decided to trade mine in when a new 2003 load arrived. My 2001 sold the same day I picked up my upgraded 2003 (fully loaded). I was surprised at the improved performance/comfort/sound system since I really had great success with 2001. I researched and found MDX still the best SUV on the market bar none!

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  Love my MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By AnnW. - March 3 - 10:00 am

  I love the smooth and comfort ride in the MDX. I had to test the Break once, and I was pleased with its performance. There is much more room in the 2nd row than our other SUV. And the 3rd is very easy to use and getting into.

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  Love my RL - 2006 Acura RL
  By ssirl - March 2 - 10:29 pm

  Have had my Opulent Blue Pearl RL for 6 months & have just over 12,000 miles on it. No problems. This is my 4th Honda product. It replaced a Lexus GS 400. The RL has the best integration of tech on the market. Bluetooth, nav voice recognition all blow the comp away. Esp the nav that you can use while driving instead of just in park like the Lexus. The SHAWD is great I live in the south & did not think I needed it ut it works great. Car is a great highway cruiser.

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  Disguised minivan - 2003 Acura MDX
  By bmwguy - March 2 - 1:03 pm

  Bought a 1 year old used MDX with 14000k, drove about another 45k over 2.5 years. Roomy, mostly reliable, but NOT sporty. Closest to a minivan in ride and handling. Neither tough enough for offroad nor secure enough for sporty driving. Replaced starter under warranty, but scheduled dealer service pricey with frequent transfer case oil changes. Did I mention my dealer maintained creampuff did not hold value for a trade at an Acura dealer? Dont let Acura tell you this a a luxury car, just because it has leather seats. Mediocre stereo.

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  Great anA - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Kim Bloch - March 1 - 8:50 pm

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  Like it, but problems - 2003 Acura TL
  By Dave - March 1 - 6:07 pm

  I really do like this car. Great interior appointments, Nav is great because you can use it while you drive (good and bad, but you can find restaurants on the fly) and the car has excellent acceleration in the limited powerband. However, I am on my second transmission. The shuffling through gears is rough, and it has issues picking a gear from 45-55 mph. The seats are squeaking, and there is a rattle in the dash. I am going to take it to the dealer to have these fixed before I give it back to them at the end of my lease. Good car, but beware of the transmission and engine issues.

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  Satisfied - 2008 Acura MDX
  By RV - March 1 - 2:50 am

  Hello, Have had this car for three weeks, bought the tech/entertainment package (blk/blk). Car is beautiful inside and out. Navigation is easy to use, if youve had navigation before. HandsFree Link with our blue tooth phones is awesome. Car accelerates and handles excellently. We own an integra before this so we knew it was going to be a quality vehicle and are not disappointed. 10 speaker stereo is amazing. Kids can listen/watch DVDs in back while we listen to radio in front. Cant complaining about gas mileage, car is full sized SUV not a Honda civic!! Our MDX gets same gas mileage as our Pathfinder, if you want excellent gas mileage buy something smaller. Awesome car!!