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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  Im hooked! - 2007 Acura TL
  By cassie22598 - August 20 - 1:50 pm

  I am absolutely hooked on Acuras now! Ive liked them for a while and just thought they were a little too expensive. But I broke down and got one anyway and I am loving it! Acura has spoiled me rotten, with their excellent service and their reliability. Plus all the fun features this car has to offer. I dont think I could ever settle for less.

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  170 K miles and still running great - 2005 Acura RL
  By ejet - August 18 - 12:46 pm

  I have put 170K+ miles on my 05 RL so I can confidently say I know this car. Still looks new and draws attention. Front tie rods replaced twice, once under warranty. Two sets of brakes and on third set of tires. Front head light adjusting warning light has been on for the last 100K, cant be turned off and I am not paying to replace the head lights. A few minor electrical problems but that has been it. I runs like new. I have driven 12 hours staight, great seats, quite, comfortable and reliable. Not good in snow even with AWD. Buy four Blizzak snows if you drive in the white stuff. Dealership service has been A+. The BEST GPS system made on earth. Waiting for the 2011. Best car ever.

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  2008 MDX tech - 2008 Acura MDX
  By acura08 - August 18 - 10:10 am

  Everything was great. Until I hit 60k miles (warranty expires) the wiper sensors and engine oil sensors got messed up. The wipers turn on and off by themselves and also the engine oil sensor. It was awesome how the engine oil sensor bugged out and I was on the highway during rush hour. The last row seats are a nice add but not for long trips. Honda/Acura is notorious for their window problem on the driver side. Driving the MDX is fun the handling is awesome I can whip turns better then a lot of sedans. Even the Lexus cant beat it not sure about the X5.

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  Crisp, Modern Luxury Experience - 2010 Acura TL
  By JLGOLDEN - August 18 - 6:44 am

  After comparing several vehicles at the $39K price cap, I determined the TL was the best pick for me. I see too many identical Infiniti G37s around town, strike. Lincoln MKZ & MKS still feel a half-step behind in their luxury effort, strike. Lexus ES feels too mature and the IS is too cute, strike. Not only is the Acura car stunning to look at, but the interior craftsmanship, powertain performance, and tech features give me the impression of solid modern luxury. Interior ergonomics are a near perfect fit for my 55" self.

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  Omg welllll oiled machine! - 2003 Acura TL
  By Honest Abe - August 17 - 10:29 pm

  Wow wow wow! What a car! I never had a problem with this car ever ever e-v-e-r! Flawless, the best car I have ever owned. I bought the car used in 06. I looked for 3 months to find what looked the best and with no crappy paint work-Pearl White, tan, and spoiler the hottest tl type s enough said. The transmission has never been replaced and it is now 8 years old and has 100,000 mi on it and is rock solid, and I have never been afraid to get on it. I always do my normal maintenance incl synthetic oil, trans fluid change, kn air cleaner cleaning, and umm there has not been a drop of maintenance but a set of tires and brakes. I have never seen a car get so many compliments.

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  A Ton for the Money - 2010 Acura TL
  By Mike - August 16 - 7:26 pm

  Live in CT and drive to NY daily totaling 33,000 miles a year. As such I buy a new car every three years and I limit it to AWD. Ive had a BMW 3, Mercedes c and most recently a Cadillac cts. All nice cars. Just bought the tl w sh awd, tech, under body spoilers and sport grill all less than $40k. 5k less than the cts was 3 years ago. Tl looks great standing still and at speed. Drives like its on rails and the tech inside is awesome!

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  I love it! - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Bucdom - August 13 - 9:36 pm

  I just traded in my 2004 Acura TL for a 2010 TSX. I love this car! The few things I didnt like about the old TL model have been corrected. These are little things like the positioning of the navi display and the ease of use of menu functions on the radio, navigation, and A/C. I am just amazed how all the things on my TL that I thought could be improved, have been. Even the glove box is better. This is a great car if you want a comfortable car with a lot of high-tech features. I chose the 2.4 L and it seems to have plenty of power for my purposes. I have read about noise problems and power problems and I really have not noticed any such problems in my car.

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  Great car! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By KC_TSX - August 13 - 8:40 pm

  I have owned this car for 15 months. It is a great car. Decent power w/ 4cyl. Very confident handling and ride. Comfortable and great style and features. Much less expensive than the entry level Euro cars I drove and priced. Performance equal to the competition for less money! Decent Gas mileage. Have avg 23 miles combined since new. Love the car. Occasionally wish I had the 6 but much more $$. Great car, great price, fun to drive. Super reliable!

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  Follow-up to my previous Follow-up - 2010 Acura RDX
  By Follow-up...again... - August 13 - 6:21 pm

  Ive driven it for a year and I LOVE it. I wondered if I would miss my bigger SUV after the "new car" was gone, but I dont. This is a great car. Fun to drive, sporty, and easy to fit into any parking place. MPG could be better, but on the highway I do a little better than 21 MPG so no complaints. The Navi is superior to competitors systems for ex, dont have to be in park to enter a new destination, etc. With seats folded down, I can fit anything I have needed to carry. MPG is the ONLY draw-back. I think a 4 cylinder should do better (even if it drives better than a V6) but thats just me. I just wanted to assure readers that the car is worth the money. Id buy it again!

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  Great Cat - 2005 Acura RL
  By paul4sure - August 13 - 10:56 am

  Great car, had it for 2 years and no problems at all. I was looking at Lexus, as i had Es300 for 6 years when i went to school, but wanted something more sporty. G35x was another possibility, but it was too small for me. Car is very reliable and comfortable for long rides. This is the car you can take for skiing trip in the winter and feel safe during any weather. Its 5 years old now, but i still get compliments how nice it looks. Mine is blue metal, tinted. I drove my roommates Mercedes E550 many times, and RL is very similar to E550. It doesnt have as much toque but picks up speed as quickly as E550. Its a keeper for the comfort, AWD and BOSE system sounds great with XM by the way.