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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  Acura RL -- ultimate intelligence - 2007 Acura RL
  By Daryl Miller - October 20 - 1:14 pm

  Truly have fallen in love with this car, because of its intelligence. The german offerings do not have the creature sensitivity the Japanese can create. The driving experience includes more than just speed or performance. Integrated with its performance is driver comfort and assistance. If you appreciate deep intelligence in design.....get this car and you wont want to ride in any other car when you go places.

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  Too many front suspension problems! - 2014 Acura RDX
  By Vern Boyce - October 20 - 2:23 am

  Weve owned Honda vehicles for over 20 years. MOST impressed with every one - with the exception of our RDX. We absolutely loved the car when we first saw it on the dealership lot. Never having had any major issues with the previous Honda vehicles weve owned(2 Accords and 3 CRVs), we thought wed add a "touch of class" in vehicle ownership. We purchased our RDX about 2 and a half years ago, and now have doubts in our decision. MOST disappointed in that we have had one issue and then another. Our most serious complaints are that with the front end suspension!! As mentioned, in a little over 2 years, we just had our third front end strut replaced. And trust me, being a senior citizen and ex-police officer, were NOT ones to abuse our vehicles in any way nor neglect what need be. As I say, other than that, its a Honda. We love the handling, style, economy and performance. The last time we brought our RDX in for strut replacement, the dealership shared our views on our frustration and disappointment, but sadly, thats the way it goes sometimes. Therefore, now that we have our car back home and cleaned up, well be trading it in - for a Buick. No longer bothering with Honda. Again, its too bad for us as we have thoroughly enjoyed MANY Honda cars and other Honda-made products(Honda Shadow motorcycle, boat motor and two 4-wheelers) but will no longer deal with the company. Calling customer satisfaction made NO difference - other than "lending an ear". Oh well, thats the way it goes sometimes.......

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  So much fun to drive! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Mike - October 19 - 9:30 pm

  I test drove everything in this class before buying the TL. After a 3rd test drive, I bought it and never regretted it. It is so much fun to drive and met all my needs for a luxury performance sedan.

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  Nice ride, poor shift - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Ed Lee - October 19 - 12:07 am

  It isnt the Lexus ride that I traded,. Then again, it was $12K less expensive. Life is a series of tradeoffs and this was one. The transmission shift is clunky. I expected much better gas mileage but the around town is a Killer. Looks good, easy to get around in and park. When you get out of either side, your foot hits the threshold and it gets dirty and stained really fast. Mine is a light color and looks nasty already

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  Great Value - 2006 Acura RL
  By JP-Naples - October 18 - 11:56 am

  Just picked this up a couple days ago. Was looking at many others. I always went back to Acura RL. Has every option one could ask for in the best price. Looks great, sound system rocks, nav looks good. Need to spend some time on learning how to voice activate all options.

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  Great Car! Top in class! - 2003 Acura TL
  By mevande - October 18 - 2:00 am

  I have onwed many luxury cars (BMW 5 and 7 series). This car is by far the most fun to drive and the looks are underated . Have been "stopped" many times with comliments about the cars "look". The engine is a jewel. 260 HP and buries the BMW 3 series. BMW overated, smallish and overpriced.

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  Great Car! Top in class! - 2003 Acura TL
  By MrBeemer789 - October 18 - 2:00 am

  I have onwed many luxury cars (BMW 5 and 7 series). This car is by far the most fun to drive and the looks are underated . Have been "stopped" many times with comliments about the cars "look". The engine is a jewel. 260 HP and buries the BMW 3 series. BMW overated, smallish and overpriced.

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  Best choice for third row seat 4wd SUV - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Marc - October 18 - 12:00 am

  I have 3, soon to be 4 kids. But this is the secondary kid hauler to the minivan. The MDX is incredibly comfortable with just the right amount of refinement to be attractive but not overdone. All my kids are comfortable in the third row (tall 6 and 8 year olds) with moderate room behind 3rd row. Gas mileage has been 17 city and as good as 27 on the highway. Fold down seating is quick and easy. Stereo is good, not great. Runs fine on 87 or 93 octane.

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  Fun SUV, but gas milage could be better - 2007 Acura RDX
  By rskdsk - October 17 - 3:26 pm

  It is really to early to tell alot, however my first tank of gas seem to yield me only 13.5MPG ... and I did not dog the SUV. This may be because the engine needs to break in, but with my last acura (MDX) getting poor gas milage, I am starting to see a trend. This vehicle is very confortable and the handeling is great (for a SUV). The exterior could be better, but still very nice. I paid just over sticker ($150) ... not bad so far. The brakes seem a bit weak, but again they may need to seat and the intial take off torque is nonexisitant, but once the turbo spools, it has a good punch.

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  Excellent Value Near Luxury/Sport Sedan - 2006 Acura TL
  By Allen D. - October 17 - 8:09 am

  I shopped several cars within the luxury and near luxury class. I can break the survey down four ways: Price Dependent, Price Independent, Performance Real World and Performance All Out: Price Dependent: Excellent Price Independent: Very Good Performance Real World: Excellent Performance All Out: Very Good Roll in resale value and maintenence, and the TL should be a "must drive" for anyone shopping in this class.