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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  Best looking Plus Sedan Out There! - 2010 Acura TL
  By ytb - August 24 - 8:16 pm

  Im in my third year of a lease of an Acura TL. I love to drive it for a number o reasons but I love its performance and the way it drives. I get many compliments on the style and design. I have a black exterior with a light grey interior sedan and its the sharpest car out there. Smithtown Acura sales and service department is top notch. Colleen is a caring and knowledgable sales representative. Her goal is to make you happy with your selection and she continues to provide help when needed and she gives my family good advice on future cars. The omly service I had to do on my car was a broken front speaker. I got an appointment quickly and the speaker was replaced. They are the best

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  Love the Type-S! - 2003 Acura TL
  By corbin12 - August 19 - 10:16 am

  We bought our TL Type-S 6 months ago with 76,000 miles on it and we absolutely love it! Its fast and sporty, yet big enough for the whole family. The exterior is beautiful...(dual exhaust adds a ton!) and the interior is flawless. The only problem we had was that something went majorly wrong with the air conditioning system. Many of the parts were worn out and the air was completely warm. The whole system needed to be replaced to the tune of $860. Keep in mind that this car has been in Wisconsin its whole life so its not like the A/C gets used very often. Other than the crappy A/C we have no problems and no regrets. The Type-S does require premium gas but the extra power given is worth it!

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  96 coupe, 1.8l automatic - 1996 Acura Integra
  By bassplayer62 - August 18 - 5:35 am

  resurrected my 96 two years ago. it had been sitting for 2 years, the prior owner parked it when the engine light went on around smog test time. picked it up for $300. started it up, was not running too well, like on 2 cylinders. Got it home then pulled down the codes. misfire cyl 2 &3 and bad secondary O2 sensor. Replaced cap, rotaor, plugs and wires. Replaced O2 sensor. The car fired right up. 1st test drive was an awesome experience, great acceleration!!!. Passed smog with flying colors!!! only mechanical issue was the coil recently failed. Replace witha new one, and no problems since. This is a very fun car to drive!! I live in the mountains and this car corners like a dream.

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  Solid Choice, very good vehicle - 2011 Acura MDX
  By pjc123 - August 16 - 5:07 pm

  We have owned the MDX Tech for 4.5 months and 5,300 miles. Overall, we are really happy with the vehicle. It is good looking, fun to drive and perfect for our family of 4 to go camping and on vacations. The gas mileage has been slightly over 18 combined which is fine by me. The only suggestions for improvement would be the transmission and stereo. Granted, we were "spoiled" with an Audi but... the MDX is smooth shifting but sometimes you have to coax it to the proper gear especially when it is loaded up. The ELS surround sound is just adequate but NOTHING like the Bose in an Audi. All that said, I know the Acura will be MUCH more reliable than the Audi. I also own a 2006 TL.

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  Save yourself $17,000 now and avoid headaches later - 2012 Acura TL
  By burghboyb - August 9 - 11:10 pm

  I was all set to buy the new Audi A6. I also seriously considered the BMW 535iX (sold at the same dealership), and the MB E-class. Then I drove the TL-SH AWD. It corners and handles as well as any of the Germans and will be significantly more reliable - and less costly to repair when needed. Very comfortable Sport Seats, terrific audio, lots of room for my frequent tall passengers. People complain about the number of buttons but at least that gives you instant control of the desired function instead of doobling thru endless onscreen menus. When you enter a curve the car just begs you to go half-again as fast because the torque-vector system whips you thru with total command.

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  402,000 miles on original engine - 1993 Acura Integra
  By floridadon1 - August 7 - 9:04 am

  I traded the first new car Id ever bought (a Chevy) about 18 months after purchasing it for this car in 1996, hoping it would last about four years until my new business was off the ground and I could afford "something better." It had 34,000 miles on it then. Its 2011, I own 18 cars, and still drive this one plenty. Its only let me down once (coil gave out), and still gets 35 mpg on the road when I can get gas with no ethanol in it. Ive used synthetic oil and done my own oil changes (Castrol at first, now Amsoil), and the original engine now stands at 402,000 miles, and has never been worked on. And I drive it HARD.

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  Best 7 Seater Luxury SUV - 2011 Acura MDX
  By ploftis - August 2 - 12:32 pm

  Weve had the MDX for about 2000 miles now and absolutely love it. Its extremely comfortable and has a very smooth ride which is balanced with excellent handling for something so large. Power is always there, but shines with highway passing which is exceptional Looks beautiful inside and out and has the most comforable interior Ive even been in. The controls take some getting used to but once you do that, the technology is excellent.

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  like new (: - 2004 Acura TSX
  By afflictionx3 - August 1 - 10:37 pm

  im 17 & ive been looking for a used 2004 - 2006 acura tsx for months. finally, i came across one and when i test drove it i knew right away i found the one. it had 73k miles & in great conditon (a doctor owned it before me) got it for $12,999 . mine is silver with grey interior. cant wait to show it off, since this is my senior year & i can seem myself keeping it for a long time. if you are looking for a reliable car thats super fun and easy to drive, an acura is for you definitely. i went for the tsx instead of a TL (my mom has one) basically for the size. its smaller and funner to drive.

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  Loved It Until 130K - 1998 Acura TL
  By caitkmc - July 31 - 11:10 pm

  Bought my Acura in college at 66K miles, no major problems or complaints for the first 4 years! I drove it hard too. But as soon as I hit that 130K mark EVERYTHING started to go. My car quickly went from being valued above 5K to now Im hoping to get 1K for trade in. The breaks, the radiator, the intake system (?), and the timing belt all went within 1 year of each other. VERY EXPENSIVE TO FIX!! The three different mechanics all told me the same thing - it can cost 2 times the amount to fix these high performance cars as even just a basic Honda. I wouldnt advise anyone to buy one of these cars with high miles, especially if maintenance costs are a big concern. But always drove beautifully!

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  The Best SUV Period! - 2010 Acura MDX
  By tp12string - July 29 - 9:51 pm

  After much research and test drives I selected the MDX. I test drove the X5, Q7, and Grand Cherokee as well as the Mazda CX9 and others. The MDX was overall the better choice....and less expensive than many of the others. After owning it for almost a year and 30K miles I can say that it has met and exceeded my expectations. It is very comfortable the technology is easy to use and intuitive the navigation is the best Ive seen anywhere. If you are considering an SUV, do yourself a big favor and test drive the MDX. Best vehicle Ive ever owned, and Ive owned many new cars over the years.