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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  My Wifes Car - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Tim - December 31 - 1:06 pm

  Absolutely love driving this car! Its my wifes car but I make sure to drive it any chance I get! Interior is amazingly quite! Handling is superb and transmission shifts like a champ! The 2.4l is zippy and fun to drive despite only having 201hp. Maybe its because my daily driver is a pickup truck, but I love this car and would consider buying a second TLX.

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  Speed Demon with Benefits - 2007 Acura TL
  By LEN - December 30 - 7:26 pm

  Great car for performance and great mileage,30 mpg on highway @70 miles per hour.

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  If you dont love this car, shame on you. - 2015 Acura TLX
  By MICHAEL - December 26 - 1:23 am

  The negative opinions and reviews on here truly amaze me. Why on earth did you buy, or even lease this car if you dont love it? There are so many sedans to choose from, and I can think of five or six that are pretty close to the TLX in many ways. You could have gotten a Maxima, a Passat, a Lexus ES, an Accord V6, a Malibu, an Infiniti, a Hyundai, a Kia, a Camry, etc., etc. If you didnt choose the TLX because its such a great blend of technology, performance, reliability, and value then Im sorry, but youre blew it. This car isnt perfect but guess what..none of the cars I listed are perfect either. No car in this price range does everything exactly right. A couple of years ago I took a two year break from Acura (Ive had ten Acuras) and leased a Lexus GS350. It was a fine automobile, and nicer than any Acura Ive owned, but I had to reduce my debt to income ratio in order to buy a home, so the Lexus went back before the lease was up. I managed to lease a 2015 TLX AWD TECH this month, for 24 months, with 15K miles per year, and with zero money down I got the car for $439 per month with tax included. There was no better deal on ANY comparable luxury sedan. Period. If you didnt get a great deal too, thats your fault. If you found out later that you dont like the nine speed tranny, or the lane departure system, or the fact that theres not USB charger in the back seat, or that the car cant be rolled in neutral if the batter dies, ITS ALL YOUR FAULT! Its a car people. Its not supposed to be perfect. Nothing in life is perfect. Get over it. I love Acura. I love that its not a BMW or Mercedes or Audi because I think those cars are too expensive, and too prone to have problems, and I dont care about the perceived status people who drive them feel about THEMSELVES. Guess what....nobody is impressed with your German car anymore. They are ubiquitous nowadays. I love that my Acuras make me happy, that their ELS stereos sound great, that I can drive them without any effort, and that they never actually need to be rolled in neutral! Happy motoring everyone!

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  TRANSMISSION - 2003 Acura MDX
  By JB - December 24 - 11:29 pm

  I bought this car with 43,000 miles on it in Nov 2006. Car was fantastic. When I bought the car I went for the 12 month extended warranty for an extra $1200. About 11 months into owning the car I got a check engine light and flashing D5 light. Took it to the Acura dealer. Trans DEAD!!! They replaced it for free since it was under warranty and gave me a loaner while they did it. So then about 2 years ago I notice the trans slamming into gear. Changed fluid....same crap. So October 2014 D4 blinking light and check engine light AGAIN!!! Car would not switch out 4th gear. I took it to a trans place and had the trans totally rebuilt new Valve body, PC, gears and synchros. The builder took pics of the trans it was HORRIBLE all burned up and stuff. So what Honda does is place the trans cooler into the Rad so I have no idea how but the cooling fluid got into the trans fluid probably because trans cooler in the rad and ruined the trans. So the builder added an EXTERNAL trans cooler. So now just a few days ago.....D5 blinking light. But no check engine light and car drives fine. I took the car back to the builder and he said there were no trans codes in the history or anything. Im so done with this car. I am VERY VERY disappointed in Honda. All the Honda 5sp Autos are pure garbage and they should be ashamed of themselves. Other than the 2 trans I had to replace the car is awesome. But that trans ruins it! I cant believe Honda acting like they have no idea why this is happening. STAY AWAY FROM THIS CAR!!!! STAY AWAY!!! But an MDX with the new 6spd auto.

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  Japanese quality, German performance - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Glen - December 24 - 2:06 pm

  The 2007 model drives and handles like a 5 series BMW. The seats hold you securely on spirited curves. Later models were softened up and "family car" dumbed down. If you want fun, get a 2007. If you want a polite quality family car, get a later model.

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 2002 Acura RL
  By Rob - December 23 - 7:54 pm

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  Just bought one - Pleased so far - 2006 Acura RL
  By Jim Billingsley - December 19 - 11:27 am

  I just bought a 2006 Acura RL. It has all the tech gizmos except Collision Mitigation Braking System and Michelin Run Flat tires (which you dont want!). I havent owned the car long enough to give credible Reliability ratings, but I am very impressed with the cars handling, brakes, "solid" feel, quiet interior, sound system and navigation system. A warning I should pass on to potential buyers is to test drive the care and beware of a speed dependent whistling noise (sort of like blowing over a empty coke bottle). It starts about 32 MPH and quits about 38-40 MPH. Being a harmonic, I suspect it would also reappear and disappear at twice those speeds, too. The RL I bought exhibited this noise on the test drive and I insisted it be fixed in order for me to buy the car. It turned out to be a fairly expensive repair. The noise is caused by a bad center carrier bearing on the rear driveshaft. This normally wouldnt be an expensive repair, but Acura only sells this bearing as part of the entire rear driveshaft assembly and that assembly retails for $2,229! (If you are facing this repair, you can get one online for $1,500 or so.) Attention Acura engineers!!! If you read these reviews how about designing a driveshaft assembly that has mechanic-friendly easily replaced components? Your driveshaft is carbon fiber and ought to last for centuries, but bearings do go bad and ought to be easily replaceable. If I hadnt insisted on this fix before purchasing the car, and had to pay for this out of pocket, I would have been very upset.

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  Amazing car!!! - 2007 Acura RL
  By Chris - December 18 - 4:55 pm

  Just came from a Lexus GS 430 and the Acura RL wins in almost every way the ride is excellent the interior is perfect I miss the low end power of the Lexus V8 but the all wheel drive system is a plus in the Utah snow Great car highly recommend excellent value for the price.

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  Significantly Less Value Than Expected - 2015 Acura RDX
  By Nick - December 16 - 4:39 pm

  First off the technology package is a waste of money and a sad trick Acura has played on buyers. The NAV system is near worthless when programming at a standstill, it is completely worthless once you are moving down the road and the "Technology Package" takes you into voice mode. The voice mode makes you spell out destinations one letter at a time and then, for each letter, goes through a long (10 second) dialog on how to choose the next letter (?). This is really a poor joke on the consumer. The voice recognition system operates with about a 50% accuracy and by the time you get the address entered, you have spent your entire trip arguing with the "Technology Package". Simple fix purchase a $100 Garmin and put it in front of the useless NAV screen. The road noise, harshness, and vibration is horrible the Honda CR-V has a much improved ride over the more expensive Acura. Handling the body roll is annoying and feels downright unstable on twisty roads. Fuel economy, throttle response, and acceleration are dismal on the "Multi-Point/Low Pressure Fuel Injection" compared to "Direct Injection" engines found on other similar and lower priced vehicles of the same vintage and category. The controls and displays are awkward at best and are not at all intuitive. Compared to earlier model Acura vehicles, these "technology" systems have taken a huge step backward. Oh, unlike the cheap Honda CR-V base model, this Acura does not include a rear cargo area floor mat. Imagine that! What can I say about the car that I like... it looks good, the leather feels nice, everything works (albeit its a new car). Ive been a Honda customer over the past 10 years, Honda makes a solid no-frills, trouble free, turn key vehicle. This was my first Acura and this will be my last Acura unless Acura gets serious about building a car to help a driver get from one place to another efficiently, easily, and with minimal frustration. Thank God I only took out a 3 year lease on this buggy Ill be happy to hand the keys back and tell the dealer they can find another Acura customer. Make sure to test drive this vehicle thoroughly (like for several hours and over bumpy twisty roads) before signing on the dotted line.

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  Pearl white gem of a car - 2011 Acura RDX
  By Mary Prettiman - December 14 - 8:03 pm

  Owned 4 Acuras-Loved them all but this one is the best. Great pickup (turbo), good gas mileage and, like all Acuras, complete dependability.