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 MDX - 2012 Acura MDX
  By dc12 - May 30 - 12:29 pm

  This is our 2nd MDX and we are very happy with our purchase. The car drives and handles very well and comes with a laundry list of standard options. I wanted to check out the new Explorer before we bought this one but the Ford dealership was too difficult to deal with. A relative of ours just bought the Toyota Highlander which I also like but the MDX handles better in my view. I was also able to get a better deal than the Edmunds True Market Value. Our kids love the car.

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  2013 RDX AWD - Great Crossover! - 2013 Acura RDX
  By blackdogrdx - May 29 - 11:05 am

  This 2nd Gen RDX is awesome! The room of a crossover/wagon, AWD, 25ish MPG overall, excellent driver comfort, very roomy rear seat, high quality base audio, standard rear view camera, reliability of Honda/Acura, smooth 6 speed auto transmission, and a strong and quiet V-6. It is definitely a must-test-drive if you are in the small to mid size SUV market and willing to spend $35-40k. It matches up well against the X3, Q5, even Touraeg. A word of warning - do not test drive if it is out of your price range. If you are considering a CR-V or Rav 4 and dont want to add $10-15k, dont make yourself miserable.

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  TSX ACURA - 2006 Acura TSX
  By sylviaa - May 29 - 9:55 am

  I love my 2006 Acura Tsx. I purchased my car at Mac Churchill Acura in Fort Worth. I have been very happy since my purchase and services rendered at this car dealership. Since then my family and friends now own Acuras , a total of 7 Acuras all to each ones needs. Very grateful and appreciative. Thanks Mac Churchill Acura from all of us!

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  MDX transmission issues - 2010 Acura MDX
  By carollyn - May 27 - 10:04 pm

  My husband and I have a 2010 MDX and its been in the service dept almost 5 times with serious issues. two of those being transmission problems. It had to have a torque converter with less than 30K miles. It recently needed another tranny software update. Steering and axle issues......Wow. For 50K purchase, we shouldnt have these problems!!! I feel like we need to get RID of this car while it still has a decent resale value. DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT!! BUY ONE OF THESE CARS! Its been nothing but a headache for us. We are trading it in tomorrow. Will never buy an acura or honda AGAIN!!! EVER!!!!

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  Great bang for your buck! - 2012 Acura TL
  By necky33 - May 23 - 10:25 pm

  Had a 2009 Lexus IS350, and was considering replacing it with either the new GS, the BMW 328i, or the Acura. The GS is a great car, but I wasnt crazy about the interior layout or the wacky joystick and busy infotainment system. The BMW was too pricey after optioning it well. Which brings me to the Acura. A great all around car with loads of refinement and plenty of technology and features for the money. I actually picked the AWD version because I love the standard wheels and the interior upgrades of the car. The car is so sexy with Crystal Black Pearl exterior and Umber leather interior, I really lucked up to snatch the car from the dealer a day after it arrived on the lot!

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  Vast improvement over 04 TL - 2012 Acura TL
  By ad2677 - May 21 - 1:51 pm

  I traded my 06 525i after a very expensive out of warranty repair. Ive owned an 04 TL for 2 years preceeding the 06 525i purchase in 08. I had absolutely no issues with the TL and just the opposite with the 525i (maybe I should listen to the Consumer Reports review, they were spot on with their review). I went back to 12 TL w/Tech Package, what a breath of fresh air that was. I got it in July and have about 11K+ miles on it with no issues whatsoever. I love the entertainment and navigation systems and their ease of use. The TL handles with ease and is quite entertaining to drive and I love the engine sound at wide open throtle. The car is quite fast and a pleasure to drive.

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  TRANSMISSION - 2005 Acura MDX
  By brannguyen - May 21 - 9:28 am

  I bought this from a used Honda dealership-in Marietta, GA, Aug. 2011. Was really excited to own my Acura SUV w/ 3rd row! Honda had a good reputation w/ reliability except for their transmission issue! I didnt realized it until it was too late! I had it checked out by Ed Voyles Acura-Chamblee. They said it was fine & they even did the transmission chip software recall. They found nothing wrong w/ it! They even took it upon themselves to do the FULL 105k service w/ timing belt w/ out getting my approval or trying to figure out what was wrong w/ the transmission. I was really upset! I even rode w/ them to see why it would vibrate at 50-60mph. Of course it wouldnt make that noise.

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  2 yr 3 month ownership (happy) - 2003 Acura MDX
  By logun - May 17 - 3:21 pm

  Bought this SUV for my wife in late 2009 early 2010, with 74,500 miles on it. Weve put 23,000 miles on it (+ or -). Weve had it dealer maintained as it was from the previous owner (we r 2nd owner). Weve made sure to maintain the transmission (both frnt & rear diffs as well) as AWD or 4 x 4 vehicles require this otherwise it breaks. We have replaced shocks, struts, motor mounts, window regulator & a tensioner set. The pwr steering does quit when we hit a large puddle till the belt dries (within a few sec.) Otherwise its been a great vehicle. She even runs low to mid grade octane gas without issue.

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  Fun little car - 2005 Acura RSX
  By statusone - May 14 - 6:51 pm

  This was my first car ever and I enjoyed the heck out of it. It was vivid blue pearl and I had the type-s so the wheels looked amazing as well. The car was definitely a head turner and everyone seemed to like, people would let me thru in traffic (this doesnt happen in something like a bimmer). It is a Honda so it is reliable as the universe and I had it serviced at Honda (since no Acura dealership was built near me at the time) and I got Honda prices, but Acura prices arent that bad actually for a luxury car. It isnt as fast as youd expect a 210 hp car to be. The problem is you have to wind it up to 6500 rpm to get it going and theres very little torque. But a fun drive nevertheless

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  Buy This Underrated Luxury Sedan - 2012 Acura RL
  By tjazz1 - May 14 - 2:03 pm

  This may be the best value in the industry for mid-sized luxury sedans. I am very grateful for the car mags and pundits dismissing this fine vehicle as boring...dated...average...not keeping up... because it means I was able to buy a new one for $46K (Tech version). This is my second RL (last was 06) and is a subtle step forward. Strong acceleration that gets better high in the range (thanks to the perfected V-Tec). Amazing super AWD that keeps the cap balanced at all times in hard conering (others still trying to catch up with this innovation). Very versatile driving positions, and logical control layout. This car does everything very well, with class. How boring!