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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  Just Fun - 2005 Acura TL
  By NEW - December 14 - 4:10 pm

  I have had the TL for 3 months now. Its been fun to drive and I look forward to my commute. The car is well put together. It drives like a lux sports sedan. It is quiet and you feel in total control.

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  Perfection - 2005 Acura TL
  By Chuck - December 14 - 3:58 pm

  The finest automobile I have ever owned. Better gas mileage than advertised at 32-34 mpg on trips, 25- 27 in town.

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  New owner... - 2004 Acura TL
  By Bill Cuthbertson - December 14 - 10:15 am

  Recently traded in a 2004 Maxima for the TL. The TL is a much better car for my age (26) but is definitely not as comfortable as the Maxima. Seats are cheaply made with sub-quality leather. Paint leaves a lot to be desired. No automatic headlights either. However, those are my only complaints. Everything else is amazing. It is a very fun car to drive and handles well for a front wheel drive vehicle. There is an issue with "torque steer" when starting from a stop making a turn (a right turn at a light, for instance). If you get too heavy on the accelerator you will lose traction. All in all a great car. A little overpriced, but a good value in terms of longevity.

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  ask lots of mdx owner before buying this - 2003 Acura MDX
  By unhappy guy - December 14 - 10:00 am

  Brake problem, click/clunk brake everytime you start this vehicle. Tranmission clunk when shift from drive to reverse, or from drive to park. Gas tank sloshing. It really annoy you with brake noise. Pay more than 40k and you expect these things to exist?. Scary thing is the dealer admit all these problems but cant do a thing to fix it?. THey said these are as "design" ????

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  Best value on the market - 2005 Acura TSX
  By jogee - December 14 - 3:33 am

  Save yourself some time. If youre looking for a higher-end vehicle that gets great gas mileage, is of outstanding quality, has great performance, and is a good value, get the Acura TSX. Im sure Lexus, Infiniti, Audi, and BMW have very good competing models. But you cant touch them for the same money. I researched vehicles for about 5 months before I bought my TSX. So far its lived up to my every expectation. Not sorry I made the choice. Engine noise is almost non-existent, even at high RPMs. This little car will really get up and go if you want it to. More that acceptable acceleration, even at low RPMs (considering its a 4-banger). A great car and a great value!

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  TSX Review - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Ginny Allen - December 13 - 10:43 am

  I absolutely LOVE my car! I got it about 1 year & a half ago but I still feel like its new. It looks great (mine is red!) & it drives wonderfully. I had a Toyota Solara before this (it was my first car- Im only 21). It was good but this car is GREAT! Buy one!!!

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  AZ Acura MDX Owners Comments - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Danno - December 12 - 6:11 pm

  Great handling pleasure to drive vehicle. OK mileage. Quiet, solid, spacious. Always wanted one, now I have one. Like the way the vehicle is appointed with leather seats, and wood trim. Fold down seats help and 3rd row conceals nicley. Safe, luxurious, sporty, good HP, performs well on and off road (within reason... not a rock crawler). Glad I bought it.

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  Its a Honda - 2006 Acura TSX
  By gt0279a - December 12 - 3:46 pm

  After driving an 04 TSX 6sp for 2 years, I was looking for a new car and realized how much I enjoyed the TSX. Adding the Navigation is a world of difference, and makes it a true luxury car. The Nav is easy to use, but the voice recognition isnt perfect. I compared it to Lexus, Audi and BMW and the Acura navigation is still far superior. The black leather interior is very classy, and the seats are much more comfortable than in the 04. The Auto is very smooth and the new steering wheel design feels / looks better. Bluetooth for your phone is nice, but lacks some extra features BMWs have. Overall, a fantastic car for the $$$ - a comparable 3 series or A4 is atleast 6K more.

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  Germany meets Japanese SUV - 2007 Acura MDX
  By JGumby - December 11 - 9:36 pm

  I have about 1,300 miles so far and do enjoy it. Tested RX 330, XC90, Touraeg and this is it. Acceleration a little touchy at start, maybe software upgrade to transmission needed. Ride is excellent, super quiet, luxurious interior. I purchased base model and has great features for price point. Mileage about 19 mpg with mostly suburb driving. Mine came with Bridgestone Dueler tires with B/B rating, I would expect best quality for this vehicle. You get Mich. A/A when you buy other trim lines. Shame on you Acura. Telescopic steering wheel could go another inch, Im 61" just to be safe.

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  Great car but 18 MPG - 2007 Acura RDX
  By drtimko - December 11 - 4:33 pm

  Great car and just bought it last week. I use it for business as a home care doctor, but 18 MPG is killing me. The ride is great and acceleration is awesome with turbo. The seats are a hard ride and wish they were softer. Great interior look. Best car in mini SUV category for the money. Drove a 3 series BMW last car and this car handles very well. Bluetooth not compatible with most Sprint phones. That needs to be updated because Sprint big in my area.