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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  Great car! - 1990 Acura Integra
  By db88 - December 8 - 2:00 am

  I had my Integra for 8 years and when I sold it it was just as good as when the I bought it. I put over 170,000 miles on my Itegra it ran great to the day I sold it. It only broke down on me once. After I sold the Integra I bought a 1993 Honda Prelude also a wonderful car. Sadly thought I only had it for about 3 Months and somebody ran into the passenger side and bent the frame and toltaled the car.

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  Best car I have ever owned - 2003 Acura RL
  By Mike in Jacksonville - December 8 - 2:00 am

  This is by far the best car that I have ever owned. I love it and look forward to driving to work every morning.

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  Great car to drive - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Aka - December 7 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car less than 2 weeks ago,ever since the moment I drove it away from the dealership, it has been performing very well. Everything is easy to use and pretty much self explanatory. I love both exterior and interior. Its definitely one sharp car.

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  Acura TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By Dan - December 7 - 3:23 am

  A lot of car for the money. Sporty and comfortable at the same time. Only had to do oil changes the first 6 months. The dealership was a joy to work with.

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  I love my new 2016 Acura ILX - 2016 Acura ILX
  By Steven Rosengren - December 6 - 2:57 pm

  I ended up trading in my 2016 Acura ILX after owning it for only 3 months. There was a brake defect where the brakes kept squeaking and after the rotors were replaced once and pads twice, the issue came back. I think a recall will come at some point, but I was not going to wait because I was very disappointed. The other Acuras I have owned have been great, I was very surprised that this car was released with this issue. I traded it for a Mazda CX-3 and it is more fun to drive and and feels more powerful then the Acura. The other issue with the Acura I noticed was the engine hum, it actually bothered my ears when I had the windows open. The 2014 Acura ILX I had I liked better overall after owning this one for 3 months. Before purchasing ask the dealership to give you one of their loaner cars that has a few miles on it and make sure you like driving it in everyday driving. I would recommend buying a used 2013-2015 ILX instead. Or a Mazda 3, I think the Mazda 3 GT would be more fun to drive everyday than the Acura.

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  Awesome SUV - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Carole Matter - December 6 - 10:33 am

  This is the best vehicle Ive ever owned! There is not a single thing I wish it had that it doesnt have. Its the perfect vehicle--comfortable for lots of passengers when the extended family visits, or plenty of space to do major hauls of office supplies, etc. It does everything you could want with perfection. It handles like a dream--powerful, responsive, hugs the road, great visibility all the way around, and luxurious. Comfortable for long trips, and no more need to figure out your route to a place youve never been before--the navigation system will find your way and tell you every turn of he way. Its absolutely awesome ine very way! I LOVE my MDX!

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  awesome car!!!!!!! - 1997 Acura Integra
  By m3boarder57 - December 6 - 2:00 am

  incredible car to own

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  My first Acura, not my last - 2001 Acura TL
  By pware2226 - December 6 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my Acura for a little over two years and I still love it. A GREAT car, especially when you consider the cost compared to similarly equipped cars. Many nice features!

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  No complaints at all - 2002 Acura MDX
  By JohnT - December 5 - 2:00 am

  After two years with my MDX Im pleased to say that I have not had a single problem with this vehicle. Its fun to drive and has a lot of space. I put two child car seats in the back and still easily fit an adult in that row. Downside: Its not truck-like enough to be "cool" and its not mini-van-like enough to be superbly useful. I was looking for a hybrid of these two things and while this is the best compromise there is, the MDX is not quite the best of both worlds. More luxurious than an Explorer, more spacious than an RX300, less expensive than a BMW, cooler (somewhat) than a minivan.

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  perfect SUV - 2003 Acura MDX
  By theprop - December 5 - 2:00 am

  Powerful, strong build. A car hit my MDX back bumper, MDX didnt scratch a bit, the other car broke the radiator and damaged most of the front parts. 14-22 mile per gal. Nav. system is accurate and fun, Calculator and calendar feature are great.