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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  AVOID THE ACURA TLX!!! - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Crystal - April 14 - 3:18 pm

  What an expensive heap of junk Ive leased! Ive had transmission issues from the 1st week Ive had the car; Had the car in for service 8 times for the same transmission problem (car lurches forward after I come to a stop WHILE I HAVE MY FOOT FIRMLY PRESSED DOWN ON THE BREAK); Now the interior is falling apart....part of the drivers seat (plastic section) where the seat controls are has cracked and broken off.....now Ill be dropping my car off to have that fixed. Its laughable that Acura/American Honda Motor Company has labeled the TLX a "luxury car". Trust me its not......but dont bother trying to get your dealership OR even American Honda Motor Company to address their poorly designed, crappy built and unsafe transmissions, because you will get no where with them. Believe me, Ive fought the battle and lost. Do yourself a favor, dont lease or buy anything vehicle that is manufactured by Acura or American Honda Motor Company....you might as well buy a Ford Pinto.

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  RDX is junk - 2014 Acura RDX
  By g - March 26 - 8:34 am

  Junk 2014 Acura RDX 1. Faulty Shock absorbers. This is a known problem with Acura’s. Many RDXs front and rear shocks must be replaced, before 50,000 miles 2. Abnormally corroding brake rotors. 3. Faulty bushing on shock absorbers. This car clunks like the junk pile it is. 4. Dealership requesting transmission/transaxle fluid change, on a 28,000-mile vehicle

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  Transmission Failed at 5,000 miles - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Diana S - March 8 - 1:18 pm

  Do NOT buy this car. We replaced our 2013 MDX with the 2016 and wish we had the old one back. This car is a dud. Do not buy it. We were driving on the expressway going 65 mph and the transmission catastrophically failed. So glad we had just went through a 1 lane stretch on 75 undergoing construction and were able to pull over to the side of the road. Dealership was awesome, but this car is terrible.

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  Not a Good Car ! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Tom Backman - March 5 - 10:00 am

  So many Transmission Problem !! Noise all over the place.. Paint Quality.

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  It sucks. - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Sammyp - February 11 - 5:36 am

  It is pretty much the worse car Ive ever driven or riden in.

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  A new Dud - 2017 Acura ILX
  By Laurel Blue - December 21 - 6:52 pm

  I just leased a new 2017 Acura ILX two months ago. This was the seventh Acura Ive owned or leased, beginning with the 5 cylinder Vigor many years ago. I loved each and every one of these cars...except this one. I HATE it. There should be a warning sign on these- "Watch out! Buy this if youre a dummy." The "new" 8 gear transmission, with two clutches, is way too complex and does not offer performance as Acura bills it. The car hunts for gears as you accelerate, and has very little power from 10mph to 40 mph when you are accelerating. The car lugs in the lower gears. My previous car, a 2014 Acura ILX was perfection itself. I should have kept it. The most annoying aspect of this new car? The muffler. Acura is apparently ignoring its traditional (loyal) adult audience and seeking to attract new users that are young men in their 20s. So they have "boosted" the HP, but this is not accurate. The car is much less powerful than before, despite the claims for higher HP. And it is supposed to be thriftier on gas, but so far (I now have a little under 2000 miles) it is not as much of a gas-saver as was my 2014 Acura ILX. The worst thing? The muffler. It is noisy as all get-out. I suppose this was to attract those young males. I would do anything to get a different muffler that is quiet. I do not wish to hear the constant "throaty growl" Acura has decided is necessary. I keep thinking 33 tortured months to go...Arrgh.

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  RSX is not an INTEGRA - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Integragrl22 - October 29 - 2:00 am

  I am disappointed in acura for calling the RSX and integra. It is nothing like an integra and doesnt deserve the name. Acura needs to bring back the REAL integra.

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  Worst car I ever owned - 2018 Acura TLX
  By Bert Distelburger - January 10 - 5:58 pm

  This car is not worth the money. It is very hard to get in and out. I used to own the Accura TLs and they were a great car. This car is nothing like that. The ride is very hard. There is no give to the seat, tires, or suspension. It is painful to go over bumps and my back hurt constantly. I traded it in after owning for 4 months. The heat blasted out hot air on your foot so you had to turn the heat off. The radio is poor for what they claim is an upscale car. Only one speaker in the center. Save your money and buy another car.