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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  Weigh in the pros and cons - 2009 Acura TL
  By Honest Review - July 13 - 7:07 pm

  Recently purchased a new SH-AWD with Tech package. Pros: 1) Easy to use navigation 2) Inside layouts neat and makes sense. 3) Bigger interior spaces and more room for back seats. 4) Push button engine start. 6) Price is right compared to other competitors. Cons: 1) suspension is too stiff that you can feel every tiny, tiny bump of the road. Any ride longer than 10 minutes in the city is not enjoyable. 2) back trunk is relatively high for putting away heavier objects and its small as well. 3) Some of the interior materials feel cheap: plastic of door pockets bring the car down. 4) seats are not comfortable as the previous two TL models I had driven.

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  Great vehicle, with just a few shortcomings - 2018 Acura RDX
  By Bob - July 12 - 8:42 am

  Like - Engine, Comfortable, Mostly Quiet, Roomy & Fast, SIRI Eyes is Almost as good as Apple Car Play Dont Like - No Heated Steering Wheel, No Active dampers on the suspension, Dual exhaust is hidden

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  Pleasantly Suprised - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Craig - July 11 - 3:05 pm

  Traded 2001 Passat on my first Acura, not as smooth/quiet of a ride, but for the $$ a good trade off. Looking for better reliability along with gas mileage. Last 5 tankfuls have exceeded 33 mpg, country driving 45 to 55 mph for 50 miles R/T per day. No problems after 4 months. A must look for the $$ with many standard features compared to models in the same class. Looked at Audi A3/A4 & Honda Accord.

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  Did I jump the gun? - 2006 Acura TL
  By John - July 9 - 10:12 pm

  My car usage is about 75% city, 25% highway, so I was being realistic when I predicted my MPG. The Acura TL is projected to get 21/29, but so far Ive been getting a ridiculous 15.5 MPG, and needless to say, I am thoroughly disappointed. I was highly anticipating the relief in MPG, which was one of the deciding factors during my car-buying process, but 15.5 MPG is SUV territory. I feed my car the suggested 91 octane, I drive with a soft foot, and the A/C gets next to no use.

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  Great SUV at first - 2003 Acura MDX
  By acura 2003 mdx - July 8 - 7:26 pm

  Bought in March of 2003 new. Since I bought the vehicle, I had nagging problems and at 82,000 miles I am starting to get a little worried. Ive had to replace the starter, ac compressor, vent knobs, cd player, drivers seat heater, hood struts, rear blower. I expected more out of an Acura.

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  Beware - 2009 Acura RDX
  By Fred - July 8 - 10:17 am

  This is not the luxury car that Acura should be selling. Unlike other Acuras, the vehicle does not have automatic headlights, a basic safety and convenience feature available on similar, and many far less expensive cars. The gas mileage is far less than advertised. It is very difficult to open the rear door. The instrument panel, particularly the radio controls, are poorly designed and difficult to use. While the turbo engine is very good and the ride is decent, the car is not what I have come to expect from Acura -- they should be ashamed.

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  Great Car-like SUV... still miss my car - 2008 Acura MDX
  By JnJ - July 8 - 10:06 am

  My experience with the Acura MDX 2008 has been nice. I came from driving a 2005 Nissan Max and needed something bigger and better with safety for me at the time (10 mth old son). The MDX does get up and go, but not initially. I have had it less than a year with just 11,000 hwy miles on it and have never had a problem until now. Took a trip to NC and came back with a loud humming noise. Turned out it was bad wheel bearings. Hopefully once fixed, will not happen again. Other than that all has been well and I am happy with the customer service I have received.

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  Love it! - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Beachkid - July 6 - 1:43 pm

  I bought the car the first month it was available in 2001. I now have over 167K miles on it and its going strong. I too received a new transmission during the recall so I should have several good years left. I love the versatility of the vehicle. From sheets of plywood to trees! I wont buy a new one again but will consider a used one or possibly a CR-V. My husband loves his CR-V and I dont mind driving it but my MDX has just a bit more luxury about it -- if youre willing to pay the extra $$. Might even consider a Toyota. But Ive been driving either Hondas or Acuras since 1984..so it might be hard to change now. The MDX handles very much like a car, and Ive really enjoyed owning it.

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  80,000 miles never let me down - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Anthony - July 5 - 11:03 am

  Overall a great car with Honda reliability a lot of performance in the sub 25k category, Car and Drivers 10 Best list, and finished 1st place in a 5 car comparison beating wrx, neon srt etc. In a recent trip to Boston got 31mpg in mixed hwy driving. I shoved a 42 Plasma tv in the trunk while still in the box with rear seats folded down. My only gripe was had to replace oxygen sensor at 75000 miles and it was pricey.

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  Dianes mdx - 2002 Acura MDX
  By DustyDiane - July 4 - 10:00 am

  Overall a very good vehicle. Could use a little more driver leg room for those of us over six feet.