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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  Great Engine - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Bison - November 20 - 10:00 am

  This is probably one of the best 2.0 liter engine in the world. Even with an automatic it has enough power to move the car, and its smooth until you get close to the redline. Unfortunately, Im to big to fit under the standard sunroof. I spent about an hour in one, but finally decided it was a no go due to the lack of headroom.

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  20K Miles - Little Flaws - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Norcal221 - November 15 - 9:04 am

  After 20K miles and 24 mos of owning the base model, still a blast to drive on dry, wet or snowy roads. SH-AWD outperforms my 4wd 08 Tahoe. Had electrical glitches that the dealer had to fix: CD player failed, exterior temp. thermometer failed, sunroof failed. 2nd stage clearcoat not premium-needs to be detailed every 6 mos or so to restore the like-new luster. Forget the 3rd row seating unless you have little kids no legroom. 2nd row fits 3 adults comfortably. No other problems! Currently averaging 18 mpg & tires starting to fade due to aggressive driving. Worth every penny!

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  Dependable but boring - 2005 Acura RL
  By Chris - November 14 - 6:53 am

  I wish the Acura RL could use "real looking wood" like my 05 Acura TL did... its so plastic looking. It is a great car though. Seems not as sporty as a car like a 5 series, but reliability is its strong suit. 80,000 miles on it and plan on keeping for long term... only issue is it is boring (true disclosure most cars after a while bore me:).

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  Zero Problems - 2004 Acura RL
  By Michael - November 10 - 4:52 pm

  This is my 5th Acura: Integra, Legend, RL, TL, & RL. All of them have been problem-free. Nothing seriously has ever gone wrong: One driving light and one horn in all these years. The ride and comfort of the RL is outstanding. I get much better mileage than reported here, circa 24/27. Yeah, parts are expensive, but if nothing ever goes wrong, who cares? Theyre not much to look at, but I spend my time driving it, not looking at it. If you can get one of these used, go for it. You wont be disappointed. Mine has 80K miles and it is like new.

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  Not so good - 2003 Acura TL
  By jpr - November 2 - 2:00 am

  This is my first Acura and probably last one. Mileage is very low. I believe there is something wrong with the transmission.

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  Really like, but disappointed - 2004 Acura TSX
  By livin to the fullest - October 30 - 9:45 pm

  Have owned my blue 6spd TSX for a few years and up until the last couple months everything has been fine expect chipping paint which started shortly after purchase > 20k and acura refused to fix. Within the last 3 months I have replaced rotators, pads, ac condenser and now a clutch totaling approximately 3500.00. Granted my car does have 94k but its housed in the garage and well taken care of. Expected to get over 100k before and major problems have arose and have had 2 within a short time. Gravely upset really wanted another acura but it definitely has made me think twice.

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  Its so hard to say goodbye... - 1996 Acura Integra
  By GS-R Lover - October 26 - 3:29 pm

  I bought my 1996 Acura Integra GSR (5 sp manual) used in the fall of 1998 right after I graduated from college. I was 22 years old and had just landed my first job in the real world. At the time, the purchase price of $18k nearly broke the bank, but I loved the car and wanted to make a long term investment. Well, it is now the fall of 2009, I am 33 years old, and I still have my GSR and I still look forward to driving it every time I get in! Unfortunately, the time has come for me to get a new car because it is now impractical to own a 2-door due to all of the trips I have to make with my young children. I have loved owning my GSR and I will miss it very, very much. This car will one day be a collectible.

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  2500 hundred miles - so far so good - 2009 Acura MDX
  By BRV - October 26 - 10:52 am

  I have logged just under 2,500 hundred miles since August. W/tech pkg I paid 40k + tax & title. Vehicle handles well on dry and wet roads (no snow in our area yet). It is fairly quiet and very comfortable. Overall great vehicle and best value in the "upscale" SUV class. Beats others in its class for the same money. EPA 15/20. Im getting 20 to 21 overall in mostly country driving where I live and commute to work. Best feature: performance/handling/comfort combination Worst feature: roof rack wind noise. I removed the cross bars and will just put them back on when needed. Very easy to just unscrew 2 screws per bar. Takes 5 minutes.

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  Nice car for the money - 2009 Acura TSX
  By dcb - October 24 - 12:42 pm

  Have owned the car a little over 4 months and have put 4600 miles on it. Researched quite a bit and chose over an Audi A4 based on expected reliability and price/feature content. Former 04 Accord coupe 6 speed owner. Gonna buy another new Accord coupe, but drove an automatic and hated it. Drove the TSX and TL after driving the Honda coupe and Acura much better car to me...less road noise, better interior, etc. Accord never went back to the dealer for service in 5+ years...that sold me on Acura over Audi. However, have already been back with break squeal and now have a blown front speaker...not happy about this. Ride is firm, but about right, quiet, refined, handles very well.

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  TSX is not a 3 series wannabee - 2006 Acura TSX
  By gt0279a - October 24 - 8:20 am

  Crossed shopped BMS 325i, Audi A4 and Lexus IS. The TSX is a fun car to drive and comes with just about every feature you need. The exterior design is not the most exiciting, but I spend most of my time inside the car and the 325i and Audi A4 are just bland and not quite as intuitive as the Acura. The Navigation is tops on the market, the BMW one lags and the Audi is confusing.