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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  What a disappointment - 2003 Acura TL
  By gralls4771 - March 24 - 9:05 am

  This car was my first Honda product after owning nothing but American built cars, I had very high hopes. At first I was very impressed with the Acura, I loved driving it, great for road trips, very powerful and sporty handling. But then I learned of the transmission problems. I felt like I was driving a ticking time bomb..........then mine needed replaced just like so many others. Count on spending about $5000 from Acura. This happened at 90K, then at 113K the engine started making internal ticking noises. Dealer recommended new engine. Really? Entire drive train replaced by 113K with a perfect maintenance record? Sold the car that day. So turned off by Honda now.

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  Exceeded my expectations - 2012 Acura TSX
  By thelosers - March 12 - 4:00 pm

  Just picked up my silver tsx special edition automatic the other day, and it far exceeded my expectations. This car is great! Rock solid build quality, and very comfotable and luxurious. Ultra responsive steering, acceleration, and brakes. This car really is a blast to drive. I really cant believe this car is so much fun to drive, and feels so tight, responsive, and powerful. The interior and exterior additions of the special edition package really bring an already great car up to another level.

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  2001 Acura TL 3.2L (65K miles) - 2001 Acura TL
  By vb4000 - March 8 - 8:57 pm

  The Acura TL is a basically a Honda Accord with more fit and trim. If thats okay with you, then youll love this car. Personally, I think the car looks girly. I have it in white, and Im not a huge fan of the design. Ive seen it in blue and black and it looks much better. -Transmission was replaced at 56K miles. -The 3.2L is a reliable engine that has plenty of pep and a surprising amount of power down low. It wont exactly blow your hair back, but its a quick car if/when it has to be. As per gas mileage, its not that impressive. Edmunds says 20pmg, and theyre pretty much dead on. For a V6, it isnt exactly a gas sipper.

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  Pleasantly Surprised... - 2009 Acura TL
  By sexynavy - March 6 - 2:33 am

  First, I must admit this car is nice and fun to drive. I was looking for something comparable to my 06 525i and struggled with the decision to trade it. But after owning the TL for over a month & a half, the trade was well worth it. Im a big techy person and having all the features that the TL comes with was like putting a kid in a candy store. My 525i didnt even have a quarter of those features & to get them wouldve cost thousands. I was also concerned about the speed between RWD & FWD. But the TL has proved itself to be just as good in that area. Also, I believe the TL has the reliability that Ive been looking for...which I didnt have with the 525i.

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  Great styling, value and lots of fun - 2011 Acura TSX
  By gdh12 - March 3 - 10:19 am

  After owning a 2011 Acura MDX for about a year - and loving it - I went out and bought this TSX as a commuter vehicle. I guess you either like Acura styling or you dont - I happen to really like the unique and aggressive styling. After reading some reviews, I wasnt expecting much from the 2.4 L, 4 cyl. engine. I was pleasantly surprised when I test drove the TSX, however. The engine is peppy and quite responsive. I have no problems merging on the freeway or passing - in fact, I really look forward to it. The TSX handles great - I find myself searching for curves or reasons to swerve on the interstate. You get lots of features on the base TSX, which makes it an excellent value.

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  Aggressive styling, great value & a blast to drive - 2011 Acura MDX
  By gdh12 - March 3 - 9:51 am

  Unlike any other vehicle we have owned, after 16 months and 30k miles, I still get excited at every opportunity to drive our MDX. I love the unique, aggressive styling and, after driving large SUVs for many years, the sports car feel and performance of the MDX makes it a blast to drive. The interior is roomy, high quality and very comfortable. Second row seats are comparable to front seats - very comfortable for adults or children. The technology and entertainment packages are outstanding - best nav and DVD systems I have seen. Voice activation features work great. We average about 16 mpg in mostly city driving, but get 20-21 on freeway trips, better at lower highway speeds.

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  Love the Car...HATE Acura of Ocean NJ - 2012 Acura TSX
  By ellen21 - March 2 - 10:03 pm

  The TSX is a very nice sized luxury car, but all is ruined by the terrible service at Acura of Ocean. This New Jersey dealership does not care about its customers at all. They are rude and difficult to work with. They do not listen to their customers and never fix things the first time. Twenty four hours after a very expensive service, my car breaks down on the Garden State Parkway. It had to be towed because of a dead battery, something Acura of Ocean was to have checked a mere day prior. Acura of Ocean totally ruined buying and driving an Acura. I will NEVER buy another Acura. By the way, I called the Home Office of Acura and they could care less as well!!!

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  Almost perfect car - 2012 Acura TSX
  By artemus2 - March 2 - 9:18 am

  This car has one flaw and it is something you want to consider before buying. It has a extremelly rough ride. If you are going to buy one test drive it on a highway that is not perfectly smooth and on some cracked pavement. You want to drive it for at least 30 minutes to start to get a feel for it. The car is so much fun to drive that its easy not to notice the rough ride until its too late. It can get very annoying if you drive on the highway for more than ten minutes or so. Everything else about the car is perfect!

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  True Sports Sedan - 2012 Acura TSX
  By pete2012 - March 2 - 8:52 am

  Our 2012 Acura TSX, 280-hp, 3.5-liter, V6 (same engine as the TL) is a rare bird. There are only 3 available in Florida at this time, limited colors (do you like silver?) and customers cannot at this time, order from the factory. Nature’s calamities to Acura/Honda plants in the Pacific rim have caused a paucity of this model. We traded a 201-hp, 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder 2011 TSX (which is a beautiful piece of work and fun to drive) for this model. We also have a 2007 Acura TL, which we will continue to own as it has low mileage, it’s garaged nightly, and its aesthetics are more pleasing to us than the current model. We waited for a new TL exterior (a design which, being on the cutting edge, would take other manufacturers a few years again to replicate) but this new, Crystal Black Pearl with Ebony interior TSX is just gorgeous. Along with certain other unmentionable devices, it will “Blow your hair back”. It’s the true sports sedan I’ve always longed for. Yeah, maybe you’d class it as “entry level luxury”, but the truth is, “I know better”.

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  Thinking of an 03 Acura MDX? Run Away!!!!!! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By mvegastar - February 21 - 2:17 pm

  My husband and I have owned a lot of different makes and models in our time, but we have had the WORST experience with our 03 Acura MDX. We are the 2nd owner of the car, clean carfax report, bought it with 48K miles. Owing it less than 4 yrs, not including regular maint such as oil changes, brakes and tires, we have spent over $15k on repairs! Two transmissions, a motor, a paint job and breaking down on vacations twice to name some if it! This car has been a nightmare and Acura could care less since we bought it used. When reading other reviews, the transmission is clearly a problem, but has there been a recall? Nope. I hope sharing our experience will help others avoid the same pain