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 in the Snow! - 2010 Acura ZDX
  By rgj21 - January 27 - 3:10 pm

  I have had the ZDX for six months and I do like it quite a bit. There are a couple of negatives but overall it is a very fine vehicle--well designed and built and great to look at. I particularly want to note that it is outstanding in the snow. Acura has been running commercials featuring its SUV line capering around on ski slopes. It is all true! This car performs extremely well in snow. When a very ugly 6 inches hit here in the Mid Atlantic, the ZDX handled it like a champ when others failed. The technology package is spectacular. The only criticisms are 1) seat comfort--very stiff, not luxurious, promotes fatigue IMHO 2) gas mileage: not good at all. That is disappointing

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  One of a kind - 2006 Acura TSX
  By lilvic - January 27 - 11:26 am

  I had a tsx for 1 year i had never had a problem besides wear and tear like brakes and tires. I work at a used car dealer myself where i get to drive all the similar vehicles like 3 series the Lexus Is and decided to go the Acura route because of the maintenance and better gas millage would recommend to anyone thinking about getting a 2010 model

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  2011 MDX Advance - 2011 Acura MDX
  By el_pic - January 25 - 9:07 am

  MDX = Multi Dimensional LuXover. Its not a rugged 4x4 SUV and its not a sports car but it is AWD and a luxury performance way to 5+2. Compared to 2011 others in its class (and be certain to compare the same class) ... Ten: Infinity FX - Nine: Grand Cherokee Overland - Eight: Land Rover LR4 HSE - Seventh: Volkswagen Touareg V-6 - Sixth: Volvo XC90 Sport - Fifth: Lexus GX470 - Fourth: Mercedes-Benz ML350 - Third: BMW X5 3.0si - Second: Cadillac SRX AWD V-8 - First: Acura MDX. Better price, handling, dependability, fit, finish. Enuff said ! Pros: Luxury Performance Value Dependability ! Cons: Single engine drivetrain choice - no Turbo, diesel, hybrid.

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  A Tribute - 2007 Acura TL
  By scatback - January 23 - 12:41 pm

  Just traded my 07 TL with 50,000 miles. What a marvelous combination of machinery, imagination and execution. It was always eager to run. GM engines still sound like theyre doing you a favor. German engines (and the rest of the cars) will empty you wallet. But here was real value, comfort an reliability in a package that was responsive, lithe and doesnt spend more time with the dealer than with you. Only a fool ever kept a BMW beyond the warranty. The previous entry got it right. Quit the sniffling this is a great car and a victory for the unpretentious.

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  Excellent Value Packed Sports Sedan - 2007 Acura TL
  By zippy69 - January 20 - 3:10 pm

  Whats with all the whining? Enough with the complaints about turning radius..... Please. Learn how to drive and execute a 3 point turn. The day I base my decision to buy a car on turning radius, please shoot me. As for rattling, my 07 has none. Everything works perfectly. Nothing ever breaks, and its got 73,000 miles on it! You shant find another car with all the features of the TL in its price range, or even higher.

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  My first, but definitely not my last Acura! - 2011 Acura MDX
  By suitespot - January 15 - 2:05 pm

  A most impressive vehicle. Mechanically superior to any other comparable tested. Great ride, terrific fit and finish. Traction -- starting and stopping -- with Michelins in Michigan winter is great. That tuning of the suspension at Nurburgring made a great AWD even better. And, its made in North America! Can see why Motor Trend and Car and Driver have rated at top of class!

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  So Far So Good - 2011 Acura TSX
  By borntobewild - January 7 - 4:05 pm

  Have only had the car 3 weeks now but so far very pleased with everything. The 2011s were advertised with improved sound insulation, improved DVD and a few tweeks here and there. We owned on 03 TL and my first TSX but very happy with our choice. Much sportier, and yet still oozes quality and upscale. Will update in a few weeks or months.

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  I love this car - 2005 Acura MDX
  By desertmom - January 4 - 7:07 pm

  I have had my MDX for over 5 years it now has 126,000 miles. I have not had any problems and it runs great. I definitely would buy another.

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  Worried after reading...... - 2002 Acura MDX
  By hdavis39 - December 28 - 11:21 pm

  I love my MDX. I am worried now that I have read the significant issues people have had with their transmission. I pray that I will not. I have over 163,000 miles on my car now and have never had any major issues. I changed the timing belt just to avoid future problems when I did a major maintenance. I will say with regard to safety that this vehicle has been safe. I have six children and I have had several people hit me and I rear ended someone once. The only damage to my car were mere scratches. It is built like a tank. Maybe I will be one of the lucky ones but so far I cannot complain. This is the best car that I have ever driven.

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  Exceptional without question - 2010 Acura TSX
  By jazzwarrior - December 21 - 7:29 am

  Just coming up to my first week of ownership of the TSX. This is my first foreign car as a owner. I worked at General Motors for more than 25 years and drove/owned/leased virtually every luxury/sports car the automaker made since 1981 - including Saab. Without question the TSX is a very fine automobile measurable to any luxury sports sedan on the market. When you compare the technology, creature comforts, the TSX is very price competitive. Mileage is close to 26MPG city 30-31 mpg on the highway. Contrary to other reviews, the 4 cylinder engine is extremely powerful and accelerates quickly in highway traffic. Reminds me of the turbo charged Saab 9-5.