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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  Good daily city driver. - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Ja-Aron - May 17 - 2:10 pm

  After owning a 2009 and 2012 TL, I purchased a 2016 TLX SH-AWD Tech Package and so far I love driving it. The transmission is gets a little confused when starting from a stop in city driving. The Auto Start/Stop and Econ Mode really help with the gas mileage, you can really tell the difference from the TL in that aspect. There is also a lot of power hidden in the car as well. Try sitting a red light, turn off the HVAC system, turn on Sport Plus, and hit the gas when the light turns green. The SH-AWD eliminates wheel spin and torque steer and you take off like a rocket. The front seats are very comfortable. The head unit is a little cumbersome at first but you get use to it. The Lane Keep Assist is very impressive when using cruise control. I recently drove from DC to Ocean City, Maryland and got 37 MPG is highway driving in Normal Mode with the A/C on. I never got that type of gas mileage in either of the TLs I owned previously. The TLX may not stand out in the day time but at night when you see the Jewel-eye headlights in your rearview mirror then you see the distinctive taillights as it passes, youll know thats a TLX. This is an all around good car. Now for my gripes. I wish Acura didnt hide the exhaust tips. The interior fit and finish could be a little better. My trim piece covering the speaker on the dash board is slightly dislodged. No doubt I will have the dealer address this during my first scheduled service. The head unit has trouble managing two separate Bluetooth devices. I usually use my I-Pod as my Bluetooth Audio Source and my I-Phone 6 as my Bluetooth Phone Source. The head unit will sometimes get confused and switch these around during start-up without any prompts from me. The folding exterior mirrors are not easy to fold, its like they need WD40 or something. The rain sensing wipers can be too sensitive at times.

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  TL doesnt live up to the LEGEND - 2003 Acura TL
  By kelirod - May 17 - 10:00 am

  I currently have the TL-typeS.....this is my third Acura. I previously owned the Legend and the RL. Of all my Acuras my favorite is still the LEGEND!!!!!!!!

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  Its just okay - 2008 Acura MDX
  By rndymn16 - May 16 - 3:37 pm

  MDX rides nice but everything inside is basically "cheap". Voice recognition is not quite there. Also surprised that its the only SUV that didnt come standard with roof rails.

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  Nice Car - 2002 Acura TL
  By Monkeyking - May 13 - 8:39 pm

  Have had this car since late 2001 (around 77K miles). The acceleration of the type-s has been nice and the car is comes with a lot of great standard options. The navigation system is great, if a bit dated now. The transmission has been unreliable from the start and has been replaced twice. Both times the dealer gave me a hard time before replacing it. Its an nice and reliable car, but its boring. Acura seems to have fairly bland styling in general. I would buy an Audi or BMW instead next time.

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  Not bad so far - 2003 Acura CL
  By Daily Driver - May 12 - 4:38 pm

  Purchased this car used with 72k mi on it. Over 12k later in a few months I really like the car. It gets average mileage for a v6 if I could just keep my foot off the pedal my personal mileage would be better but Ive gotten 26 - 27 mpg average from a few tanks. Its very comfortable and has a ton of leg room but limited head room at 61" as long as I keep the seat all the way down and slightly back its not a problem though. Great stock sound, trunk is huge, looks nice, similar to the accord but much much better. I worry a bit about the potential trans problem to surface but dont plan on keeping the car after the 107k mi extension of coverage. Would have gotten the manual type-s if I did it over.

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  Fun, but expensive to operate - 2008 Acura RDX
  By MCK - May 10 - 1:36 am

  I traded my 2004 Expedition for a more efficient vehicle. After 1400 miles of combined driving the computer indicates we averaged 14.7 MPG on expensive premium gas (required). That is almost exactly the same mileage my big Expedition was obtaining on regular gas. Needless to say, I am terribly disappointed. On a positive note, the car is very comfortable (except, a lot of fun to drive, the technology package is amazing, the sound system is even more amazing. The handling system in the car is a technological masterpiece. But at 28.5 cents per mile for fuel (and rising), it sits peacefully in the garage while we drive our Civic and EOS around town.

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  Family Legend - 1992 Acura Legend
  By kingvonh - May 8 - 2:34 am

  Bought this car with 174K for $1300 about a month ago as a family get around car. Thus far the overall ride and performance has met or exceeded expectations exept I believe the transmission is too quirky (can shift rough at times). Premium fuel only kind of kills any economical value. Avg 22 mpg (1/2 city, 1/2 hwy). Car handles well in corners and accelerates easily. Will pass on freeway with no hesitation. Rides a little too stiff. Should have softer suspension for type of car it is. Issues with windows (work but slow), locks (if you lock it will keep on trying to lock?) radio (factory Bose does not work, common) power antenna (jammed) and some paint oxidization (black).

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  This is a wonderful car! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Drew - May 7 - 4:06 am

  I have had my TSX for about a year now and it has been a wonderful car. It handles very sharply and it has just enough power to make it fun yet not exhilarating. I love the look of the interior and exterior. The only complaints that I have about it are that for being a reasonably expenisive car it has some cheap touches, such as the sound the door makes when you shut it and just other little trim details. When it comes to reliability it has been a wonderful car except that at about 17000 miles the air conditioner just stopped pumping out cool air and the dealer seemed the be almost mystified by this but they recharged it for free and it is working again. I highly recommend this car.

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  Not Quite as Good as I Expected - 2006 Acura RL
  By stonehenge - May 3 - 10:05 pm

  While the Acura RL handles extremely well and is generally a solidly built vehicle, I am disappointed by the amount of interior rattles. I traded out of a VW Passat that had no squeaks and rattles into the RL and the unwanted noises are most annoying. The quietness of the cabin just serves to amplify the interior squeaks and rattles. I would not buy another for the price of the car.

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  Very nice car! - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Molly - May 1 - 4:36 pm

  I bought this car with 200000 miles on it and it is still running very well at 220000. Great first car! Not the greatest mpg (22-23) but it is V6. It handles very well and still can beat a newer car in a race! Im going to be very sad when it dies, but then again it still wants to run, I dont know many cars that will top 220000 miles and stil be running as well as it is now! Wonderful car I cant imagine driving anything else!!