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 - 2008 Acura MDX
  By MeBuyToo - July 21 - 7:33 pm

  I love this car. It gives you a lot of confidence on the road. It has good pick up, its quiet, pretty smooth, it feels safe, the music sounds good, love the navi, especially getting the traffic incidents in the morning I havenÂ’t had any problems to report. I researched this car pretty much in depth before buying it, so itÂ’s pretty much what I expected it to be. I considered a RX-350 test drove it twice test drove the MDX twice. I felt the MDX had much more going for it in terms of style, technology and the MDX was packaged much better.

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  Always Acura?! Maybe not - 2016 Acura MDX
  By kris reilly - July 17 - 8:29 pm

  Always head right to the Acura dealer when we need a car! Have an older Acura MDX that I love!!! The new Acura looks nice, handles well but seems a bit smaller inside (although I was told it is a few inches bigger) the head room in the third row is cut back because of the angle of the body. This limits who is able to sit back there. It is very jerky in the shifting while excelerating and if you are moving very slow it feel like you are not in gear...Not happy with that! In addition, the radio is horrible. Most stations that I listen to do not come in clear. I have no problem with this in my other Acura or even the car I had before this one. Clearly the antenna is not good! I just feel like from my old Acura (2005) to this one (2016) they have definiately cut corners and the quality is not as good! For the price you pay I would expect an all 5 star rating which I can not give. We have been loyal Acura cutomers but think that this may be it for me. I am able to get more perks from other vehicles for the same or lesser price. I will be shopping around for my next vehicle!

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  A Satisfied Owner - 2008 Acura RDX
  By ledwinka - July 16 - 11:35 pm

  Worked as a vehicle test engineer for an European car company when I fell in love with the SH-AWD system on the RL. Got the RDX based in July of 2007. Handling is light and responsive for a car with this huge mass. Turning corners is a dream with the SH-AWD: it ate corners while driving down I-80 near Lake Tahoe, CA. Turbo lag is small compared to other turbo cars but you can hear them. Durability has been excellent. People all comment how pricey this car looks and become surprised at the price. Very comfortable seats. Love the relatively large width of the vehicle. Rear seat space is very large for people of two, even three. Lament that I did not get the nav system.

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  Acura TSX - 2008 Acura TSX
  By MW - July 15 - 2:59 pm

  Love the look of the car. Worse when it comes to gas mileage. Would be better if premium gas was not required. However, the memory seats are great!!

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  Great SUV - 2008 Acura MDX
  By of - July 15 - 9:00 am

  Bought this vehicle after extensive research. After narrowing down to X5, MDX and Highlander Hybrid, MDX was the clear winner. Owned CL and TL-Type S and liked the included standard features as compared to other luxury vehicles. Main complaint is the required premium gas and gas mileage. I also have had the thump, thump after starting and accelerating to 20 MPH. Took to the dealer and they identified it as a "bushing issue" which there was a service bulletin for. They made the repair, but still have the thump. Will have that checked out again at next oil change. Overall, very comfortable and great handling.

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  Showing its age. - 1995 Acura Legend
  By Juffowup - July 14 - 6:13 pm

  I bought this car with 100k on it and am closing in on 200k. By far the best feature is its engine, powerful and rock solid. But my Legend has had a number of sensor/electronic failures, many of which are listed in forums as common failures. Door alarm is erratic, variable speed sensor, interior trunk opener, master window controller, brake sensor, master brake cylinder and A/C have gone out. Both front CV joints have been replaced and the rear brake calipers locked up. Im thinking of calling it quits on my Legend, but its too old and has no value left.

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  Impressive - 2008 Acura TL
  By Bonsai77 - July 13 - 12:55 am

  For a base level sedan (w/navi) Acura certainly packs in the features. Voice recognition, rear view camera, GPS w/ real-time traffic option, sequential sport shifting. Low torque is the only drawback - though its not enough to impede a speedy freeway entry or over-taking. The manual shifting more than compensates. General fit and finish - though well done - could use a little more of a solid feeling and refinement. Overall - very happy with the purchase.

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  Acura buckboard - 2006 Acura TL
  By C. - July 12 - 6:13 am

  Really nice car,but they forgot to include any kind of ride, took a 7 hour trip and thought I had ridden in an 18 wheeler, rough ride, not comfortable at all. My behind was sore after the trip, you can feel the slightest bump like they forgot springs or something !!

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  Nice Ride - 2008 Acura TL
  By WCM - July 11 - 11:09 pm

  This car is not perfect, but I love it. I like the driving/handling of the car. It feels tightly gripped to the road pretty sturdy on turns. Ive been averaging about 15-17 mpg in the city. This car likes to be driven out on the open road and highway, not stopping/starting, going over speed bumps, etc. I cant wait to take it out of the city to see what it can do. Love the on-board computer. Comfortable interior, too. Gadgets/ergonometry is not too hard to figure out, per editors knock on this item. I would take this car over its competitors, a BMW or Lexus, any day of the week. Good value. Cant help but turn around and look at it, great styling.

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  College Toy - 2008 Acura TSX
  By phawk590 - July 8 - 10:25 pm

  Though I miss it greatly, I traded in my Tahoe z71 due to gas prices. As a serious car buff i searched long and hard for a good car to purchase that i could take to college. Factors included attractiveness, performance, gas mileage, comfort, resale value, MSRP, and expected yearly cost including gas. The TSX has filled its position nicely, performing and driving better than my girlfriends 2009 model. My notes are as follows allow a break in period as it is required to get to peak performance, 65-70 on a flat trip you will get well over 30 mpg, the car does turn heads, the leather on the seats creases easily, the kick plates will chip quickly, and it is well worth it to add a cold air intake.