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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  The Worst Car ever - 2011 Acura TSX
  By tomsjay - September 15 - 8:32 pm

  Bought this car by its look and size. Its a rolling metal slab. Automobile companies get rid of the creature comfort for the so called sport . coarse engine. suspension with zero travell. i should have listened to some warnings about this. cant stand the road noise. You can see the whole car shakes around you when it hits a bump like a slab. I get car sickness. abrupt and floaty acceleration. 2010 model was little better. Heavy car with poor suspension makes it worse, Any way why write more. a piece of non human inhabitable metal junk. cant even hold a coffee. Buy a basic car to drive happy and live comfortably. Leave all the these sport sedan hype...my money is lost.

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  Great Ride Except for Transmission - 2003 Acura MDX
  By justman - September 14 - 6:46 pm

  I love my MDX, but now have to to trade it in and dont want to or have $5,000 for a new one. These SUVs are known to have transmission problems, wish I would have known that before I spent so much on it. But, I will say, I bought mines brand new and have had it for 8 years with now major issues. Just normally wear and tear. Would love to get another one, but Acura still has issues with the tranny. So, I think Im going to go green and get a KIA Sorento. Better gas mileage and it doesnt cost so much.

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  Acura MDX - Transmission ISSUES - BEWARE!!! - 2001 Acura MDX
  By acura_issues - September 12 - 9:41 pm

  I used to be a fan of Acura until I purchased an Acura MDX and ran into ALL KINDS of Power Transmission issues. Im not the type of person who is a "complainer", but believe me when I tell you that Acura is having all kinds of issues with the torque converters on their transmission. Most of the time, the issues show up right after the warranty. The dealership (McGrath Acura) will give you the run around and have you contact the Acura Customer Care 1-800 #. Once you do that, if you complain loud enough they will assign you to a District Manager who will do absolutely nothing to satisfy you. If youre smart, do a simple Google Search on Acura transmission issues and see what comes up. You will be amazed by the number of complaints that loyal Acura customers have regarding Transimission issues

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  Awesome Bang for the buck (But miss my BMW) - 2012 Acura TL
  By e60535i - September 9 - 3:29 pm

  I bought the TL Advance in 7/2011 after I saw some great financing deals. I had a VW Jetta TDI, which was awesome, but just uncomfortable for my 30 plus mile drive to and from work 5 days per week. Is this my dream car...no. But, it is a terrific bang for the buck and I am fortunate enough to afford such a great vehicle. I love the body style, power, gas mileage and all of the wonderful technology. However, the shift paddles and sport transmission are not what I expected. I have owned a BMW 335i, and 535i, which were very expensive, but had awesome handling, smooooth transmission, and effortless maneuverability.

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  Used Acura - 2005 Acura RSX
  By robertbaseball - September 8 - 12:50 am

  So im a new driver and i just bought a 2005 AcuraRSX as my first car. Ive driven other cars and the engine noise isent so loud. Is it just my car or is it just a noisy car? Other than that i love it! Leather seats but very sporty bucket seats. Interior is a little plain but has plenty of room to add an indash navigation system which will do soon. Plenty of horse power even in the non S type. Great car!!

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  Happy - 2011 Acura TSX
  By jembry - September 6 - 10:16 pm

  Ive only had my TSX for a few days but really like it. I was going to buy an Accord but liked the sportier driving attitude of the Acura. My last two cars were both German and although there is no substitute for the German car feel, I quickly tired of the reliability, and maintenance. The tech package really packs a lot of extras and has a great sound system. This car really has all of the features of cars costing thousands more while getting great gas mileage.

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  Wife choose a weird looking Crossover - 2011 Acura ZDX
  By ginter2 - September 6 - 8:10 am

  Its either you love the way it looks or you hate it. Great on the highway but living in the NY area driving in the city can be a bit nerving. Lets face it , there are numerous blind spots and Id never ever drive it in the city if it didnt have the Advantage Pkg. This SUV is heavy @ 4500 pounds and you feel it. When I drive it I keep it in sport mode. Their are soooo many bells and whistles that it may take a good 6 months to learn them all. You never need to take your hands off the wheel. Just tell the car what you want and it does it.....short of driving itself. You feel very safe in this monster. Hense the huge price tag. Its only been about 3 weeks. Just add some wings to this baby!

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  Best value - 2011 Acura MDX
  By kris2 - September 1 - 9:46 pm

  Needed a sooner than expected replacement after my 2005 X5 3.0 got totalled. After looking at 2012 X5, 2011 Q7 and 2011 MDX I ended up purchasing the MDX and I am not disappointed. In terms of performance I did not feel it a lot different than the X5. Torque felt low but there is enough power when you need and the brakes feel good. Been getting 17 mpg in mixed driving with 60-70% city using premium. Kids like the third row though the access is difficult like all third row SUVs. Seats are comfortable and provide support. You will get used to the power tailgate and backup camera in no time. Got the roof rails (should have been standard) so it looks like an SUV and I like the look.

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  4 yr. ownership review - 2007 Acura TSX
  By hborgaonkar - August 31 - 2:19 pm

  4 yrs almost up for our Artic Blue TSX. Its been a fun car to drive. gives decent mileage. All the tech goodies are still up to date in 2011. We had to replace brake pads recently due to mild brake shudder but otherwise its been reliable. This car is definitely a keeper.

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  Acura knows it transmissions so dont buy them to support their mistakes - 2001 Acura MDX
  By fetters - August 25 - 5:36 pm

  I love this vehicle and it broke my heart when in two days the transmission was gone. I love this vehicle yet after paying thousands of dollars and servicing transmission-nothing. I called Acura and they were useless. I had a recall at 40,000 to LOOK at transmission just to save them from when it does go out and it will!! Serveral shops do them and make a living from them when we called around. I thought Chrysler had issues but you DONt get what you pay for here!! Will never buy again to not get any support from them.