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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  TSX Special - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Miz TSX - December 14 - 9:47 pm

  Have had the car for over 5 months. A fun enjoyable car to drive. A lot of car for the $. Very customer oriented dealership. Very impressed with mileage on a trip at 80mph great mileage.

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  Not making them like they used to - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Jordan Cohn - December 14 - 10:55 am

  This is my 4th Acura. This doesnt feel like the quality car I have been used to. The ride used to be much sportier and tight whereas now it feels like you float on the road. The safety features are very unreliable. The way to navigate the radio and air has gotten much more difficult and take your focus off the road when using. Pretty sure I wont be getting a 5th Acura.

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  Love this car! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Karen D. - December 13 - 8:40 am

  I had a 96 BMW 328i, then a 2002 Acura TL. I liked the Acura better than the BMW for a lot of reasons. So then I decided to buy another TL and this one is far superior to the first one. I love the new styling, the blue interior lights, it handles the road great, the stereo is unbelievable and is just plain fun to drive. I used to live in a flat area of the country, but I now live in a very hilly area and the 270 hp engine makes the hills a breeze. I will keep buying this car as long as they make it.

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  OK, but not great - 2004 Acura TL
  By ebw - December 12 - 11:40 pm

  Owned car for 2 years, been to dealer 7 times to fix 12 quality issues. Drivers seat is literally a pain in the rear, due to short cushion and hard contours. Xlnt engine, but handling is only average. Sound system is superb.

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  Great Vehicle - 2003 Acura TL
  By bailey t - December 12 - 6:49 pm

  Almost 50K miles without much service hassle. Minor blower motor noise at ~ 10K. Nothing since. 32 MPG at freeway speeds, 27 MPG overall. Beats the Toyota 2005 Highlander, my other vehicle, on all counts.

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  My second love - 2002 Acura RSX
  By donzg - December 12 - 10:00 am

  Just picked up a new 2002 Tafetta White RSX Base Leather w/ Automatic. Love the handling and Power.

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  Excellent Integra Replacement - 2002 Acura RSX
  By New Type S Owner - December 12 - 10:00 am

  Ive just completed the break-in period on my RSX Type-S and so far I am extremely pleased with my purchase. After test-driving the Celica GTS, the Nissan Spec V , the Subaru WRX and the Hyundai Tiburon (the VW GTI just looked too girly) I felt that the Acura offered the most bang for my buck. I preferred the body styling of the Celica and was impressed by the Subarus stat sheet, but neither of those cars married their performance with such a livable package as the RSX. I almost bought the Spec V (so much vroom, so little money) but I opted to pay a bit more for a better all around car, and now Im very happy that I did.

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  Bad Exhaust Design - 2006 Acura RL
  By Brenda - December 12 - 3:27 am

  The dealer recalled our vehicle for some radio issue and as a result of that visit, we had to return it four time to finally fix the satellite radio. We have also made several trips to the dealer to fix the exhaust stain at the tail pipes. Starts appearing the day after the car wash and looks horrible. Dealer said the problem will be fixed with their 2007 redesign.

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  Pleasure to Own - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Paul - December 11 - 5:32 pm

  Bought this car as a certified used vehicle from an Acura dealer. It was 4 years old and in great condition. My ownership for the past 10 years as been a joy. Very little maintenance overall. Had the belts, hoses, and water pump changed at 10 years as preventative. Problem areas that have had to be repaired.. new radiator top assembly, new ignition switch, power antenna always an issue, had to have a used transmission put in (this was most likely my fault from towing a trailer with the car that was at the max tow limit, it was recommended that I not pull a trailer with this car). Paint is now starting to show age on roof and trunk lid, still original and not garage kept. Interior has held up

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  Great value but not perfect - 2005 Acura TL
  By VeniceNate - December 10 - 6:16 pm

  Its been 6 months and Im still happy with the purchase. The car is beautiful inside and out and full of useful gadgets. Performace is strong and I havent had any mechanical problems with the car. I do have a few complaints. The turning radius is terrible, Im afraid to do U-turns now for fear that Ill have to do a three pointer. There are too many small rattles for a car in this segment. Then again, Id rather have rattles than mechanical failure like recent Germans. Desperately needs an MP3 jack and an 8-way passenger seat. The Navi disclaimer needs a permanent bypass, Im sick of pressing OK everytime. Overall, a good car whose value makes it great.