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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  Best value out there at this price - 2008 Acura TSX
  By kjones00 - September 24 - 12:06 pm

  Previous vehicles were all domestic trucks/SUVs. This little car is big on fun, features, & value. 6-sp transmission is the way to go - crisp and smooth. Could use more torque off the line, but then again Im averaging 26 mpg with about 60/40 city/hwy driving. Exterior design is clean and has a "smart" look to it. Interior is cozy, with soft to the touch materials, and also feels bigger than it actually is. Had a great experience with dealer all done over the phone. If youre looking for the perfect balance of design, style, performance, and economy, this simply cant be beat at the price point.

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  VISABILITY - 2018 Acura RDX
  By Pat Houge - September 24 - 2:47 am

  I just purchased the 2018 RDX Advance Package. This package comes with exterior side mirrors with a film on them which really distorts the drivers vision. It is especially bad on the drivers side where the mirror is divided to see far & near objects which is not necessary. This film only appears on the Advance Package vehicles. Due to the distraction & poor visibility caused by these mirrors, Acura should issue a "recall" on these vehicles. Additionally, the interior appointment of this vehicle could be improved with a nicer dash, steering wheel, floor mats, etc.

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  Not bad SUV - 2003 Acura MDX
  By DILITE - September 21 - 10:00 am

  I own my MDX for over 4 month a few rattles in sun roof and left rear. Gas mileage 15 in city 21 highway. A little expense on maintenance. The ride is smooth and handling is wonderful.

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  Putrid gas mileage - 2007 Acura RDX
  By stevieharris - September 21 - 4:56 am

  Neat car, but stupendously bad gas mileage. We got 11MPG on the first tank, 13MPG on the second tank and have not hit more than 13MPG since. This is computing MPG the old fashioned way. Our local dealer (PA) has more than 20 of these on the lot unsold, they said that they "had deposits" on them, but they dont. I see why now. Like the car, but this gas mileage is just really, really, really bad.

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  Not a good experience - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Rich - September 19 - 3:25 pm

  I bought this car in 2000 thinking I was paying premium price for a premium car. In 2004 while still under warranty the car began making a vibrating noise. This was very intermittent and the local dealer was unable to replicate the problem. The problem has gradually gotten worse. With 77,000 miles on the car I finally discovered the transmission needed replacing. Acura ¨customer service¨ informed me I would only have to pay $1180 of the $3800 repairs. They explained that I didnt always get the car serviced at Acura. In the next sentence they said they werent responsible for the local dealer not being able to diagnose the problem.

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  Love this car, but - 2006 Acura RL
  By fred porter - September 17 - 7:44 pm

  Bought the car July 2006, wife agrees with me that it is the nicest, most luxurious and fun car we ever owned. Just a total pleasure to drive. Power, comfort, sound system: everything is great BUT: we are on the third battery in 2 years, left us stranded twice. Dealer can find nothing wrong with the electrical system, very frustrating-- waiting for the next time we get stuck.

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  I was a big fan until 80,000 miles - 2001 Acura MDX
  By amc - September 15 - 8:31 pm

  I bought this car from another dealership and was instantly thrilled with this car. However, I am appalled that after hitting 78000 miles, the car started mild rpm surging and am also being told I need a torque converter. I was impressed with another write up that I had the same experience, lots of $ to diagnose the problem. Interior plastic buttons for lights and vents, broke apart. Same experience as others. I have never replaced a transmission on a car in my entire life. This is so discouraging.

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  Im not impressed - 1998 Acura Integra
  By beardog - September 12 - 12:35 pm

  We bought this LS with 55,000 and it now has 121,000. I like the handling and performance and the fuel mileage. It drives great in the N. New England winters. With good snow tires you can go anywhere. The maintenance is excessive. Adjust valves every 30,000! The 90,000 recommended maintenance (I follow the factory recommended maintenance schedule like exactly) cost $940 at the dealer! Ive replaced the power steering pump, the right front wheel bearing, (twice!), the left rear wheel bearing, the right rear brake caliper, the left rear abs sensor & the abs light still comes on intermittently. This car has been expensive to maintain. I wouldnt buy again.

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  Love it! Just cant afford it. - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Cone - September 12 - 12:28 pm

  I bought this used 3 years ago, from a known and trusted private seller. At first I loved everything except the cost of fuel. It takes Premium, and gulps it at about 19-21 miles/gallon. I love the handling, energy, road feel, nav system, visibility... it is a great ride and I love driving it. Its great safety ratings made my insurance stay the same as the previous car, which was worth 10% of what the R cost me. Heres the problem. I just hit 90,000 miles, and stuff is starting to break. Notably, the A/C compressor... between $900-$1100 to replace. I had to do an inner tie rod. There is something wrong with a strut. There are things going weird with some of the technology, such as the backup sensor system and the driver memory and the map display. My guess about the strut and tie rod is that a road hazard strike a couple of years ago has come back to haunt me. My guess about the technology is that 2008 was an early year in the introduction of some of this stuff. Finally, sad to say, this was my first non-Japanese-made Acura, and its fit and finish are just not as good as the two Integras I had that were actually built in Japan.

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  Fun but torquey - 2007 Acura TL
  By Blackjack - September 11 - 1:14 pm

  Very reliable, fun and peppy car to drive. Nice stereo. The front end torque is something I really have to stay conscious of - I end up all over the road, squealing tires, if I try to gun it. Also, need to exchange low profile tires for winter tires (in New England) or I will not be able to navigate in the snow - I spent most of my first winter at the bottom of my driveway and I bent a $400 alloy rim. Goes out of alignment very easily (again, NE has pot holes). TL-S very close to ground, bottoming out can be an issue. I think I will keep it but get an SUV for winter.