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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  2nd better than the 1st - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Broka - May 11 - 12:20 pm

  This is my 2nd RDX and my 4th Acura. My 2015 RDX came off lease and I turned in for a 2017 AWD Advance and it is awesome. I loved my 2015 but this one is even better. The LED lights are unreal and they fixed all the problems I did not like with the 2015 (no vents in rear, passenger seat that goes up and down, ...) Little stuff but they add up. This one even has ventilated seats (Cool)!!! But I do notice a difference in the ride. It feels heavier, more solid, more powerful, smoother. Once set up, the touch screen is great. I spent a long time looking and checking out ALL of the competition from Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac, Jaguar, Range Rover, Jeep, Subaru, ... Perhaps it is not the sportiest but it is just as fast without the noise as any of the others with their turbo 4s and it holds the road beautifully. And its roomy too!! Definitely the right choice.

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  Back with Acura again - 2018 Acura TLX
  By joey - May 11 - 11:17 am

  my 04 TL has 208,000 original miles still kicking. traded in 13 accord sport with 88,000 that was a great car for the money. I wanted to go back to acura even though the accord was a newer car the fit and finish of the acura was way better. the honda felt lighter and not really solid. I loved all the standard features of the A-Spec, V6 power its not a 4 cylinder turbo which is the new thing now. the solid feeling driving the car over bumps, sound of the engine exhaust , great red leather seats that feels like it will last more then 10yrs of use. excellent sound system, ambient lighting, beautiful LED lights with the yellow amber eyebrow lights, Navi system very easy to use. SH-awd around the curves or exit ramps very planted. The Cons gas mileage not very good, hate the automatic engine shut off have to this engage every time I start the car. or every time you open door while backing up for instance so i can see the curb while parking it automatically puts it in park, the ventilated seats are not super cold like the Lexus seats, There are so many things I need to read about this car. So the bottom line is I still love this car and happy to be with Acura again. So shop around and try to get a good price the AWD option is a must have even if you dont get an A-Spec model it changes the driving dynamics of the car for the good.

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  Great Buy, Great Decision - 2009 Acura TSX
  By stones3131 - May 10 - 11:30 pm

  Just picked my new 09 TSX (Polished Metal/Black) on Monday. So far its been nothing but fun fun fun to drive. The Bluetooth is an amazing feature. The base model comes pretty loaded up with the exception of a CD changer and the navigation system, but really, why spend the extra $3,000 or so on the navigation system when you can just go to Wal-Mart or Target and buy one for around $200? Anyway, Im glad I got the car. It was between this or the 08 Accord and even though the dashboards are very similar, the exterior design was the deciding factor for me. It looks great!

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  Good but not great - 2005 Acura TL
  By Paul from Seattle - May 10 - 11:23 am

  My previous car was an Infiniti J30t. I think I prefer a rear wheel drive car for handling and the lack of torque steer. The TL is a great road car and we enjoy it very much. Im a bit surprised that no one has mentioned the low profile tires and the effect on ride and the inability to use traditional chains for snow. Spider spikes work, but are very expensive ($375). Also we have several small interior rattles which come and go. The A/C system seems to provide uneven temperatures. Rear visibility is difficult. Transmission seems to shift too early, resulting in apparent engine vibration.

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  Great Car! - 1992 Acura Integra
  By ReliableIntegra - May 8 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Integra used with 80K miles on it. I am now over 160K and it is still running strong. Only needed general maintenance and a few exhaust repairs over the years. All around great car! Very fast!

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  I liked it though..... - 1997 Acura TL
  By Jay Kim - May 8 - 2:00 am

  I purchased this car about one year and half ago. I never had any problem!! Great Reliability~ Great design~ I never get bored. Sound systems quality is good but power is too weak. Smooth and enough performance to enjoy~ But wind noise is the only the part I dont like.

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  245000 AND STILL GOING STRONG - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By Sweet Stuff - May 7 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with 165k on it and since have put on 80k. Aside from the usual maintance items I have had no real problems except for the front rotors, they tend to warp quickly (common on all early hondas and acuras) and replaceing them usually means the wheel bearings to. I expect the car to last another 3 years or so. I put on 40k a year, so I need a reliable car - this one has not let me down.

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  One of best sedans ever built. - 1994 Acura Legend
  By wilecoyotertcw - May 7 - 2:00 am

  This is one of the best looking body styles ever put into a sedan. The appearance of this car is timeless.

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  delighted with my RSX-S - 2004 Acura RSX
  By new RSX owner - May 7 - 2:00 am

  I just picked up my new RSX-S last week and I am extremely happy. I was also debating on buying a Mitsubishi Eclipse GTS and I am so glad that I decided on the Acura.

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  A good little car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Bubba - May 7 - 2:00 am

  A great little commuter car. The car handles well and runs like a clock. After almost two years I have no complaints. Car has some road noise especially at highway speeds which I drive alot of so it can be annoying. The stereo is good but could be better. Easy to park.