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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  Disappointed - 1999 Acura CL
  By Wil-Mem - August 11 - 2:24 pm

  My wife loves the car but Im very disappointed with trans. After driving an 86 Caravan and a 98 Buick LeSabre for over 300k miles each with never a trans service, I was certain this Acura would do the same. Wrong. Now it slipping on up-shift & down-shift. Brake pads & rotors do not hold up well. Had to replace left window roll- up device. Poor mileage for a 3.0L. Drivers seat memory has failed even after the seat motor & other items were replaced by Acura. Steering wheel radio controls correctly operate intermittently. Radio was replaced but did not help the problem. White paint is poor on metal parts but worse on bumpers.

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  Can it make 300K? - 1991 Acura Integra
  By Ratcar Owner - August 10 - 9:12 pm

  I affectionately call this my "ratcar" because Ive had it for over 17 years. Has 217,000+ miles on it. Replaced all the usual parts plus cv-joints, radiator, antenna, radio, struts/springs. But, the engine is original and the clutch is still the one that come with the car. It is an awesome car.

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  I hate to get rid of it - 2002 Acura TL
  By Sharon - August 9 - 10:58 pm

  Bought this car new in October 2001 in Aegean Blue. I still get compliments on it all the time. It has a wonderfully large trunk that has been hard to match in other cars. I have driven many other near luxury cars and have found nothing else that compares. Recently I have had some "problems" both with the transmission and what I believe may be the fuel pump. The car does goes through brakes quickly. Overall, it has been my favorite car of all time and I really hate to think of selling it but I think the time has come. I have never kept a car anywhere near this long if that tells you how great of a car this has been.

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  Great Downsizing - 2003 Acura RL
  By GregD - August 9 - 12:13 pm

  I have just recently downsized from much larger and more expensive vehicles. I have taken a huge hit in my business which forced me to look for something nice, but less pricey to own and operate. I almost bought a 2003 Lexus LS430 but Im glad I didnt. I bought this Acura with 90k miles and to my amazement it runs like a brand new car. There isnt a thing wrong with it and it rides and handles perfect. The great thing is that most people who have these cars are 1 owner, well taken care of cars and if you find one with high miles that is in great shape you can buy it so cheap and you have such a great car for the money. I paid 1/2 of the price of the Lexus.

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  Ups and downs - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Alex - August 7 - 6:59 pm

  First thing I want to say is that this SUV handles better than a vehicle this large and high should. Honda/Acura did a great job with the suspension and driver aids. The interior space is very nice. This car is wider than most of the competition so that translates into more passenger comfort when you have more than two passengers in the back seat. The third row is fine for kids or adults on short trips. I am disappointed in the gas mileage. In the city I am lucky to get over 12 mpg. On the highway I get about 19. Nowhere near the numbers advertised. I also find it pretty pathetic that a $40K+ vehicle has fake plastic wood. I have had panel gap issues.

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  08 Acura TL-S - 2008 Acura TL
  By Rob - August 7 - 6:56 am

  I was leaning toward the base TL with Navi, but after test-driving both the base TL and the S it was all over. I drove the S first and the base TL really lacked the torque off the line. This is a great commuter car, comfortable yet sporty. I have the Crystal White Pearl with the Ebony/Silver Interior. I get compliments on the exterior color with its iridescence. I have about 900 miles on it now and the trip computer is telling me that for the past 650 miles (reset this after the initial tank of gas from the dealer) my MPG are 26! My commute is mixed city/highway (Philadelphia to NW Suburbs, 27 miles one-way).

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  Dangerous Gamble - 1999 Acura TL
  By Marc - August 4 - 9:34 am

  This car was a graduation present to me after finishing high school, and I love it! However, it has let me down so so many times, which is really disappointing because its definitely my favorite car. This car has been nothing but trouble, though. We bought with 97k miles on it, and in less than a year had to performance over $3500 in work. Ignition coils fried and fans quit working, leaving me with an overheated undrivable car until repaired. Then a month later transmission problems became massive. Performed maintenance and fixed the issue for about a week, then while out of town the transmission failed altogether leaving us stranded in another state. I love my car but it has stolen my $$

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  Exactly What we were looking for - 2002 Acura MDX
  By oc mom - July 27 - 10:00 am

  My husband and I looked for over a year for a new vehicle that would accomadate an expanding family but not burden our limited garage space with a removeable 3rd seat. We have very specific requirments; COMFORTABLE 3rd seat that folded into the body, enough cargo space for possible mid-size furniture purchases, great safety rating, good gas milage, and it had to feel like we werent driving a school bus. THE MDX FIT ALL OF OUR REQUIRMNET AND THEN SOME! Pick-up is great, getting on the freeway in Southern California is not longer scary. Visual is great - I can see my kids in the back seat as well as all the cars around me.

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  Rock solid car. - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Farage - July 24 - 2:22 pm

  I live in New York City and as an everyday commuter sitting in heavy traffic, the automatic makes perfect sense. It is a great looking car and very comfortable for 2 people. The handling is excellent and the sequential sportshift 5 speed is tons of fun. It is a little underpowered but that is why there is a Type-S. I upgraded to the 17 inch wheels from the type-s for better handling. The stock 16s lack style in my opinion.

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  Bens Integra - 1998 Acura Integra
  By ben - July 22 - 3:23 am

  Overall a very reliable good car. But many people would Wonder why I rate the fuel economy so low or the performance not so great. Well to be honest this car gets the absolute WORST gas mileage of any car I have ever owned, it also has less horsepower than any of my previous vehicles (94 accord- 32 mpg, eclipse- 34 mpg, and 93 probe- 39 mpg) all those cars got that on the highway and had MUCH more power. The integra only has a 1.8 liter and I get 30 mpg in it. Overall a good car, just should be MUCH MORE fuel efficient. Also has a tiny tank. Under 11 gallons