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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  Running the tranny - 2002 Acura TL
  By Nancy - September 16 - 4:16 pm

  I love driving my acura. I step on the gas and it feels like someone tapped the back of the car as it takes off smoothly and very quickly. I have had the car 5 yrs and many highway miles. Very comfortable, best car I have had. Feel safe and quick in traffic. Mechanically it has been not so fun. Lots of transmission problems. I have had to replace the tranny several times, Acura took care of the expense. Had difficulty with brakes wearing quickly, but think I found better pads now. Car has plenty of room, yet not too big. I love the Aegean blue, lots of compliments.

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  Great TL but has some flaws - 2006 Acura TL
  By CPT Keanu - September 15 - 10:59 pm

  Bought in July performs flawlessly on freeway. Quiet & very comfortable love the XM on desolate roads. Awesome highway mileage @ 31mpg going 75+mph! Great exterior & bi-xenons are invaluable. Love the interior blue hue color. To contrast its great features, in city its different. Must drive very very conservative to get decent mpg. Suspension rough over hard surfaces. Steering not responsive like TSX. Been to dealer 6 times driver window rattling, trunk latch inop, headliner sagging took 3 attempts to fix! Now rough idle @ startup & weird idle fluxuations! Our many loaner TSXs are tempting us. Our 99 TL was made better. Never had rattling noises or tranny issues even at 160k what a car.

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  Used Gem - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Ziggy261 - September 15 - 7:53 pm

  I bought this car from a friend that had put 224,000 miles on it. Mostly hwy with total dealer maintenance. It still purrs like a kitten. My son just loves it and most people think that it is only a few years old.

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  Nice car to own - 2002 Acura TL
  By tst32tl - September 15 - 10:07 am

  Own this car for 5 years and it never had any major problems (except the transmission recall, and they automatically provide extended warranty to 100,000 mi no charge). Very comfortable and nice. Probably will buy the same car when ready to get my next car.

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  Bad gas mileage - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Alex Harris - September 15 - 12:50 am

  The gas mileage on this car is horrific. The EPA is 19/23 but thus far we have had no tank higher than 13 MPG and our average is 12.8 MPG. I took the car to the dealer and they said that "the gas mileage on the RDX isnt great". Wow is that an understatement. If I had known that the mileage would be this bad I would never have purchased this car. The car is great otherwise, but it only takes premium gasoline and the gas costs are now more than double my prior car (a V6 Honda Accord). I am really disappointed that Acura put this car out with such bad gas mileage and theres no way out now, I estimate that my additional annual gas costs will be about $2500 per year, which is insane.

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  Great Car - 1993 Acura Integra
  By J ROD - September 14 - 6:48 pm

  Running a LS/Vtec in it currently with many modifications and it has to be one of my favorite cars to drive. Car gets a straight 10 from me!

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  Acura RL Luxury Bargain - 2005 Acura RL
  By Sandra - September 14 - 12:35 pm

  My 2005 Acura RL is state-of-the-art with a superior navigation system, live traffic alerts, and terrific voice command design. All of my luxuries come standard. The ride is terrific and wow does it ever take corner well. I have owned Mercedes, Lexus, and BMW in the past - I am now a permanent convert to the Acura RL. Best buy for the money, and, sexiest car I have ever owned. If you want luxury and performance at a bargain price get an RL!

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  Great Entry level luxury car - 2003 Acura TL
  By Rob B - September 14 - 10:00 am

  The process of purchasing this vehicle was a pleasure, we visited several Acura dealerships. We were treated with respect and taken seriously with questions and needs. The car is a fantastic vehicle for those looking for sports car like handling and styling, with the functionality of a family car. The quality is what you expect from Acura, well built, thought our interior, with a stylish and unique, yet understated exterior. The Type-S extra horse power is joy, especially with sequential shifting. Putting the windows down, opening the moon roof and finding a stretch of road all to your self is definitely something I do at least once a week.

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  Best car for the money - 2003 Acura TL
  By Cjitty - September 14 - 10:00 am

  Since buying my slightly used 2003 TL Type S, this car continues to amaze me. Its fast, looks good and there is no car in that class that comes with all the standard features minus navigation.

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  Our top choice Luxury SUV - 2005 Acura MDX
  By kevinmak - September 14 - 4:13 am

  After owning 2 Nissan Pathfinders, a Ford Explorer, and a Mitsubishi Montero, it was time to step up to a Luxury SUV. I had never considered the Acura a serious contender, leaning more towards the Volvo or Lexus... but after driving them all, theres no doubt that this is the best choice for the money. Hands down more bang for your buck than the Lexus (although it was a strong contender) and certainly capable of keeping us as happy as the Volvo while saving $7500 comparably equipped... this is a great vehicle. I agree with the editors review, a little "bland", but when you want a luxury SUX and youre in the $40k budget - Id highly recommend the MDX! What a dream to drive!