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:

• 

  Outstanding SUV ! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Tchello - September 2 - 8:36 am

  After thorough research that included major brands (BMW, MB, Volvo & Audi) the MDX came on top. The standard model comes with leather, moonroof and 3rd row seat. Got the Sport package with technology and its a bargain compared with the other, more fancy, brands. At least $10K less for a very similar, and in many cases, superior product. If you dont need the status of a BMW or Mercedes, this is the way to go. I traded my Audi A4, and Im very happy I did so. Overall, very solid and handles great. Smooth.

• 

  Upscale SUV - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Zelig Palace - September 1 - 7:09 am

  Great look. Drives very well. Very disappointed that at this premium price for an upscale SUV the sound quality is mediocre. The Bluetooth keeps on dropping the calls and the phone sound quality is poor.

• 

  disappointed - 2003 Acura MDX
  By stacey - September 1 - 3:33 am

  We purchased this car based on reviews of reliability and safety. Additionally, the third row seat was enticing. We have had several problems, the most serious being the brakes freezing up while driving due to a faulty sensor in the steering wheel telling the car that it was flipping and needing to stabilize! And we were 600 miles from home. Very scary and put my family at risk. The back seat is only suitable for children. The car is noisy at high speeds. And we get much lower gas mileage than Acura claims.

• 

  Kick Ass - 2003 Acura CL
  By B. A. Smith - August 31 - 2:00 am

  This is the most fun Ive had driving in a long time!!! However, the new Accord is almost just as fun and will save you a few thousand.

• 

  First 30 days... - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Franziska - August 31 - 2:00 am

  I have drivent the acura mdx for over 30 days now and find it to provide me with a safety feeling... I am discouraged with the gas mileage I have only averaged 16 in the city and 20 on highway.

• 

  MDXOVERXC90 - 2003 Acura MDX
  By MDXOVERXC90 - August 31 - 2:00 am

  The best SUV on the market for its class and lots of values for your $$$$$ The car perform superb both on and off road include in rain and snow condition. All in a 10++++++++++ Keep up the good work ACURA.

• 

  Good Investment - 2005 Acura MDX
  By flajcat - August 30 - 4:25 pm

  My wife has a 2002 MDX and because of the performance, quality, craftsmanship, I decided to buy a 2005 MDX. Way above average resale value. No problems in 3 years, excellent quality. The back up camera adds to safety. There are 8 airbags, high quality interior. Very good engine performance. Luxurious inside. Navigation system is a 10. Mediocre gas mileage. I am getting about 18 combined highway and city.

• 

  The best of RLs yet! - 2005 Acura RL
  By Lessie - August 30 - 11:15 am

  This is the 6th Acura I have owned -- starting w/ Legends. This is the best yet. Love the bells and whistles, plenty of them. Quick movement from 300 horsepower. However, not a knock out in styling, too much like the TL. But performance, top of the line. Happy to be an owner. Sound system is the best ever, listen to the 5.1 surround sound music in this car, I need a chauffer. To the owners who have not learned the detail of this vehicle, you are missing out.

• 

  Great car! - 2017 Acura MDX
  By Justin - August 29 - 10:48 pm

  I cross shopped multiple vehicles prior to purchasing this SUV. My wife and I sat in and drove many SUVs. We felt like this SUV offered a lot more than the others for the price. The biggest/best surprise is the SH-AWD (google torque vectoring if you havent already) which makes the car a lot of fun to drive and adds a spare tire. The ELS sound system is great. The safety features should be standard on all vehicles -- the technology package adds the blind spot detection which is awesome. I was worried that the transmission would at least take some getting used to given the complaints but its great actually. Their are plenty of YouTube videos explaining why it feels a little funny between 2 gears but I have honestly not had a problem in any IDS mode (sport, comfort, normal). The complaints dont seem to be primarily regarding reliability. I was also worried I wouldnt like the shifter after so many complaints. It is actually very easy to use and keeps me from ever having to look down. It has the added benefit of protecting you from changing gears when you shouldnt (i.e. P while driving, D while shutting off the engine, etc...) which ultimately saves wear on your transmission. Good warranty compared to the other SUVs (7 years on the drive train). The infotainment system is just ok even with the tech package but has all of the functionality I need. I wish that it had a panoramic sunroof. If you compare to other vehicles in the class, for example the Lexus RX, Audi Q7, Volvo XC90 etc.. or even the Pilot, Pathfinder, Highlander, and Forester, I thought the Acura was ultimately the best bang for your buck.

• 

  Wow! Talk About Bang for the Buck! - 2005 Acura TL
  By Paul - August 29 - 4:36 am

  I bought this after being very satisfied with my 2000 Acura TL for 5 years. This is my 5th Acura overall but what a step up over the old design which I thought was pretty darn good! This car is the most complete package I have seen for the money. Power, luxury, handling, and great looks all for thousands less then the BMWs, Lexus, and Mercedes I looked at with similar features. You cant go wrong. Acura has finally built the perfect car (NSX excluded) and put a head turning body on it for a change! Only minus is the need for premium fuel and less than stellar fuel economy in the city but who cares when your listening to your XM satellite radio or DVD audio player. Right?