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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  sunkist - 2005 Acura RSX
  By sunkist - May 13 - 5:08 pm

  i like my car, its fun to drive.

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  Transmission woes - 2000 Acura TL
  By tam-o-shanter12 - May 13 - 3:07 pm

  This is my second Acura. I bought it after having a great experience with my older Legend which currently has over 340,000 miles on it with minimal problems. Overall the TL is really great but the problems with the transmission make it overwhelming disappointing. I had the first trans replaced at 100,000 miles and before the original recall (I dont drive the car hard or use the sport shift) and this new transmission only has 73,000 miles and is failing. Of course, Acura refuses to replace the second transmission, which is no different than the original that was in the car. Sorry, but I will never buy an Acura again.

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  Nice but not perfect - 2005 Acura RL
  By David - May 12 - 10:03 am

  This care is really comfortable and has some great technology that could use just a bit of tweaking. Love the sound system. Mine came with loose battery cable, sunroof & door gasket damage, and a problem with the starter switch that left me stranded in my garage and still is not resolved after 3 visits to dealer. Bluetooth phone is great but not fully functional with Verizon phones. Turning radius a bit wide. Rear visibility is not terrible compared to other new models, but overall visibility is still a bit restricted. Lots of the features (auto door lock, displays, etc) are easily programmed to suit your prefs. Overall I love this car -- its a pleasure to get in and drive somewhere!

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  Lovin It - 2005 Acura RL
  By Bert - May 11 - 8:59 pm

  I bought a certified preowned low mileage RL. The car was everything I thought and hoped it would be. I looked at Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and found this to be hands down the best value for the money. If you are considering this car, buy it, you wont be disappointed.

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  Value for your dollar - 2003 Acura TL
  By Colorado Sunshine - May 11 - 3:18 pm

  Love it ! This car is fun to drive, easy to maintain, zippy and attractive.

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  So disapponited in my MDX and Quality - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Chris D - May 11 - 11:35 am

  I bought my 2003 Acura MDX Brand new and currently it has 40k miles and in that time I have the Rotors and Brakes replaced under warr at least 4 times and all miles are highway and pampered. I have also had the truck at Acura on 4 ocassions for the Steering Wheel control because everytime I raise the volume the station changes and everytime the dealer says it was a bad ground and still cant fix it. I have opened up a complaint with Acura Corporate and bringing my truck again tonight to be fixed. All I can tell you is that I have 8 months left of my lease and I WILL NOT buy another Acura again it has been a big disappointment to spend $40000 on an SUV and deal with these constant problems

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  4 1/2 years and still going - 2001 Acura CL
  By Wilbur - May 10 - 11:26 am

  I have owned several Hondas as well as a previous Acura Integra, so I had no reservations about purchasing my CL Type S. I had the transmission issue that weve all had, but Acura backed it up without issue. I have since only had a seat belt issue, again under warranty, and have only gone through 1 set of tires and a battery. The reliability I expect from an Acura. My fiancee has a Mercedes C230 coupe which she has driven 10K miles and were already considering selling it and keeping the CL until we drive it into the ground. It was a great buy 4 1/2 years ago and is still a great buy as a pre-owned car.

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  Nice design - horrible build quality - 2004 Acura TL
  By hammer - May 9 - 11:34 am

  Car developed numerous rattles and noises which the dealer couldnt solve. Eventually after many attempts, sued Honda under the lemon law in California and won a small settlement after mediation - still waiting for payment from them after over 3 months!! So, after 3 Acuras and 1 Honda, goodbye American Honda!!

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  Annoying rattles - 2003 Acura MDX
  By grlyman - May 9 - 10:00 am

  Acura MDX with 7000 miles has annoying rattles that the dealer cannot fix. At the roof near the DVD viewer is an annoying noise like fingernails clicking. The air conditioner makes a rattling noise like a soft baby rattle which can be heard on the two lowest fan speeds. Im very disappointed that the dealers service department was unable to fix these two noises. This distracts from the otherwise excellent performance of the sound system and the automobile.

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  Love this Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By LovemyTLS - May 9 - 10:00 am

  I just bought the TL Type S and absolutely love the car. Previously drove a Maxima SE and this car blows it away for only pennies more. The Navi system is a definite must.