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:

• 

  MDX is better than you think! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By cbsimike - May 12 - 10:00 am

  Traded my 3.5RL for SUV. Looked at several but the MDX looked clean and different than most. The ride is more comfortable than my 3.5RL. Mileage clocks around 24 on highway. This car handles well and turns tight. Discount from dealer non-existant but the vehicle is worth every penny.

• 

  Great Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By cljw - May 12 - 10:00 am

  I just purchased my TL-type S and love it. After looking at other cars in the class I found nothing that has as much as this car does for the price. I test drove both the base and Type-S and I must say there is a supstaintial difference in proformance. The Nav system is easy to use, with a little practice.

• 

  Better than I expected - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Sportsfanattic - May 10 - 5:10 pm

  I looked at the TSX after it won the Car of the Year from Car and Driver. I was impressed witht he attention to detail, size, looks and safety features. I also loved that there were no options, everything was included for under 30K.

• 

  A well designed car! - 2005 Acura RL
  By Sam - May 10 - 12:50 pm

  This is a very well designed car. SH-AWD is awesome, I can take corners @ 50MPH and the tires dont even squeak! The interior design is the reason I got the car. I really want a NAV, my previous car had one (driving in Boston without a NAV has a large impact on the stress level). The NAV in the RL is the best in the market. It is simple to operate, very informative and the voice command is actually usable and in some cases better than hand input.

• 

  solid fun! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By demanding buyer - May 7 - 5:50 pm

  This is a GREAT value. Precise, tossable, high quality materials and understated. I have owned an Accord, 99 Passat, Infiniti G, Acura Legend, Maxima... this a superb combination of the best of most worlds - quick, jewel- like 6 spd, joyful handling and smooth. The 03 Accord I traded was the best overall car I ever owned and the TSX significantly ups the fun to drive factor as well as a few extra goodies. It would be good if it didnt require premium. The sound system is excellent and black leather with titanium-look accents is gorgeous. I drove it 1200 miles this weekend-superb!

• 

  Love my ZDX but NOT loving Acura - 2010 Acura ZDX
  By Roseanne Nadeau - May 7 - 4:26 pm

  The advance package on Acura cars have a known damper issue requiring all 4 struts to be replaced at a cost of around $4000!!! Acura extended the warranty but refuses to honor it. Acura Client Relations leaves a lot to be desired, they are awful. They give you no information and when you give them information their only answer is, "Sorry, there is nothing we can do". Thats the response to everything. Under TSB B16-021 and B16-022 expiry 7 years after original purchase date (Feb 2011 according to the title) Im well within the time frame. "Sorry, there is nothing we can do". "If you had another Acura or Honda product maybe we could support you on goodwill. But you dont, so we cant support a case for goodwill, you can try the dealership. Sorry, there is nothing we can do." I asked the dealership to call Acura on my behalf, guess what they were told. Yep. "Sorry, there is nothing we can do". So I love my ZDX, the look, the performance, the comfort, everything, but Acura? No. Because of Acura Client Relations I wont purchase another Acura, its a shame because I love the cars, but I cant support a company that doesnt stand behind its product. I guess we both lose out.

• 

  Best In A Crowded Field - 2005 Acura RL
  By BillK - May 7 - 4:56 am

  Never thought Id switch from Mercedes, but this car is everything and more — I had to own it. It drives and handles better than any Benz or BMW Ive owned and handles curves the way no other car I tested could. Id seen the Infiniti designs for the M and didnt care for them. Glad I went with the Acura. Its interior and exterior get raves and comments everywhere I travel. Even parking jockeys are amazed at this car. This is the real thing, a nearly perfect luxur/sports sedan and at a more than competitive price. A new BMW owner took one drive with me and hung his head woefully, wondering if he could still get his money back!

• 

  A Very Typical Acura - Great! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Tedd Slugg - May 6 - 10:00 am

  Quite simply it is the best value in a luxury SUV on the market. Big enough to haul lots of "stuff", but handles much like my ACURA RL. My wife loves the way it handles and does not have to climb in-and-out like many higher SUVs. Easily the best SUV we test drove - and we tried them all - and its sticker price is realitively low. Just cant beat the overall package.

• 

  After one month of ownership - 2005 Acura TL
  By Pete - May 2 - 9:50 pm

  So far Im getting 22 mpg around town and 30 mpg on the freeway, driving normal. Its an exceptional quiet and comfortable car. I dont like the way the interior front doors are configured. After opening the door youre compelled to use the padded arm rest to swing open the door because the larger open padded handle it too far forward. It works fine to close the door once your inside but unatural to use that padded arm rest to open the door. In fact I didnt notice it until I got home (after purchase) but it had grease marks all over it. Apparently the mechanics/detailers also have the same problem.

• 

  Just the right car. - 2016 Acura ILX
  By Eddie Estares - May 1 - 7:28 pm

  My 2nd Acura to date and just like the previous one, its been great. Excellent highway mileage of 39 mi/gallon and is not a slouch if you want speed. The car handle really well around corners and have a very good braking system. We currently have 6 Honda made products; 2 Civic (2005 and 2007), 2 CRV (2009 and 2013), the Ilx, and a lawn mower and all have been super reliable. I place reliability above anything else and my experience with Honda cars have been excellent. Both Civicc and the 2009 CRV have way over 100k miles and not one ever had a single problem. I dont expect less from a Honda built automobile and I dont expect less from the Acura either.