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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  Comfotable, fun to drive and very smart! - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Laurie - February 16 - 4:56 am

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  The Best Ever! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By CJ - February 15 - 7:11 pm

  This is our 3rd Acura & is the best and our favorite one to date! This car is simply awesome! The AWD in the snow and ice is amazing. The features and comfort of this car are excellent. This car is luxury, drives like a sports car and has the utility of a SUV.

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  Built to last - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Redfern - February 15 - 10:00 am

  This is my second MDX. My first one performed exceptionally well. Interior road noise was evident. The 2004 has improved markedly in many respects. Handling, ride, and horsepower. Better fuel economy is edvident. The vehicle is superbly engineered. While the brakes are excellent, The 2001 wass superior.

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  What a Great Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By jrmccarter - February 15 - 10:00 am

  I had a 2003 tls and thought WOW what a great car. But Now with the 2004 its what a Amazing CAR.

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  Love It! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Stacie - February 14 - 7:37 pm

  I purchased my RDX this week, the day before a large winter storm hit our area. I thought the vehicle performed very well on the icy, snowy roads. The roads are dry today, and I love the handling and feel. The turbo engine has a lot of pep. The interior and exterior are very sharp. Ive gotten lots of compliments already from admirers whove noticed the vehicle. I also love all the things that Acura has made standard on the RDX that are options in vehicles from other automakers. Overall, Im very happy with the purchase and would recommend this vehicle to anyone interested in a smaller SUV that drives more like a sportscar.

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  Love it. - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Nancy Perry - February 13 - 4:10 pm

  We traded in a 2004 Acura TL for our new 2016 Acura RDX. My husband and I are Senior citizens and found that the RDX was easier to get in and out. It has the Acurawatch feature which helps us drive our curvy back roads where we live. All and all, its beautiful!

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  Loving Acura - 2002 Acura TL
  By happywithacura - February 13 - 10:00 am

  We are extremely pleased with our new Acura. If you are not prepared to buy the Type-S model, dont test-drive it. If you are looking for a luxury sedan with sporty feel, excellent handling, premium sound, and comfortable ride, you have found the right car. The Type- S is a slightly tighter ride with improved handling over the regular TL model. However, the smoothness of the ride does suffer some. We are extremely happy with the car and would love to buy another to put next to it in the driveway.

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  Reliable but rattles are annoying - 2003 Acura RSX
  By SFarchie - February 12 - 1:08 am

  This is a great car for young people under the age of 30. Older than that you probably would want more comfort and luxury. The car has never failed to start up or have had any mechanical issues. Handles beautifully. Now the bad stuff: the car rattles around the dash and hatch considerably. Multiple visits to the dealership did not rectify this problem. Also, I do not get very good gas mileage. Approx. 25 mpg overall. Another complaint is the cheap leather seating and easy to scratch up interior plastic trimmings. Oh yeah, and the car is loud (tire noise) when driven on the highway.

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  Oh my God!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By acuralover85 - February 12 - 12:09 am

  I love my 2003 Acura TL Type S. This is the car of my dreams. Its fast, gorgeous, and reliable. I cant say anything bad about the car really. I have a great amount of head room (Im 6 feet), excellent power, and good gas mileage. The car gets so much looks its outragous. I get compliments on the clean leather interior all the time, and the car has an excellent paint job. I just love how the car came fully loaded with everything. I think I will drive nothing but Acuras from now on.

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  Good car... but a little overrated - 2004 Acura TL
  By Dan - February 11 - 8:05 pm

  I bought this car in early 2004. I like the car very much, the bluetooth functionality is great and I think everyone should have the navi system. I think the sound system is the most overrated feature. I dont listen to DVD-A discs, and dont know anybody that does, so it is completely useless to me. The stereo is grossly underpowered. On the highway, I crank it up as high as it can go without distortion and it is just barely audible. I had a Bose system in my previous car and it was much better sounding. Im surprised it is missing some basic items that a car in this category should have: automatic lights, side mirrors that angle down while in reverse, and a few others.