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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  Scream Machine! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By poorting - January 22 - 9:33 am

  This car is incredable! Coming from a Civic I thought the RSX would be similar to it, but I was very wrong. Acceleration and handling are spectacular. Zero play in the wheel. The suspension is tight, which makes the ride a bit bumpy, but what do you expect from a sports car? The only thing I miss is the almost 40 mpg highway from my Civic, and Ive never gotten the sticker 31 highway in the RSX, more like 27-28 (probably from going too fast).

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  Test drive the Type-S - 2003 Acura TL
  By sandys96 - January 21 - 10:00 am

  Please test drive the Type S. If I hadnt driven the Type S, I wouldnt be driving an Acura right now. The Type S is faster, handles much better, feels less like a sedan and has a sportier interior. I also looked at Audi A4, Infiniti G35 and Lexus IS/ES300. The Acura was the best car with the most power for the money by far. Before you buy, try Edmunds online dealer quote request. I got a special internet rate by doing so. Its worth it. I love the Acura Type S and I love what I paid for it.

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  Great littlehot rod - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Mike M - January 21 - 2:00 am

  We did extensive reserch,Driving Wrx,Jetta,Solara, Accord And others But the one ,in that price range, $25,000 range the RSX-S won hands down. If You havn,t driven one.Do. Very smooth through the power band. Quieter than the others And much nicer interior.And to Falconis Acura in Vegas CUDOS good Job!

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  For the money - its on the money! - 2003 Acura TL
  By shane31270 - January 21 - 2:00 am

  My folks have a 2002 TL, and always loved driving it when they come visit me. Had a beat up Nissan I need to get rid of, and went to look at the TLs. Couldnt believe what you got for the money - leather (heated, none the less), 6 cd in-dash bose system, moonroof, Xeon headlights, etc....for under 30K is amazing. There are people paying that for a stinkin Camry without these options. Im very pleased with this Acura...killer blue color.

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  Fun car with lots of extra - 2007 Acura RDX
  By gomboy60 - January 20 - 7:33 am

  Just got it the other day and I am very happy with the car. There are some complaints about the mpg but if one does not step on the accelerator all the time, (as any other car) the number should be very good. The ride is a bit bouncy at times but handling is superb. There is so much kick in the engine you wont even know it is I4. If you are not sure exactly what you want but in the market, take a test drive and you will be sold, esp with tech package. It provides everything and more at 12-14K less than that European "thing". Ext looks appears to be small but once inside, there is plenty of room. Happy motoring...

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  Fun to drive - 2003 Acura MDX
  By mji - January 16 - 10:00 am

  I just purchased the 2003 MDX with the entertaintment system . The drive is so great that my wife has taken the MDX over the 2002 Mercedes CLK 320( which was essentially for her in the beginning). I think the Bose stereo system in the Acura is better than the Merc.

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  So far I am very impressed - 2009 Acura TSX
  By New to Acura - January 15 - 1:00 am

  Go drive it for yourself. Fits anyone (adjustable console, telescoping wheel, etc.) As a taller person (62", 225) who has never owned a "car" I was surprised with the size and comfort of the TSX. My much smaller fiancee also feels as if the car fits her perfectly. In my opinon, Acuras luxury, reliability, and performance rivals all others at similar price points. The new body style of the TSX is very attractive. Interior is better overall than the TL. Only wish is that we had gotten the navi and that there were some woodgrain in the interior.

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  Will keep it for ever! - 2008 Acura TL
  By Guilmer Hernandez - January 12 - 11:16 pm

  Its a great car overall. I love speed and this car has it! Takes off great! Its a manual transmission, not auto. Ive taken it for road trips and its comfortable. Great handles and the reaction is just great. Trunk space is good enough. I have a 2 yr old and the stroller fits well along with camping tents and sleeping bags plus 3 personal bags.

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  2007 Acura MDX Base Model - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Todd - January 12 - 11:26 am

  Ive had my MDX for about a month now; traded in my 2000 Grand Cherokee. While I dont think this has the off-road capabilities of the Jeep, how often are you really "off-road"? (Once in 7 years for me). The front seats are extremely comfortable and the ride is one of the smoothest Ive ever had. Had a big snowstorm recently and I would classify the performance as "decent, but not great." I considered the Q7, XC90 and 4Runner as well. For the price, you cannot beat the standards in the MDX anywhere. Thought about upgrade to to Tech pkg, but expensive and will probably just get aftermarket Nav at some point for way cheaper.

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  No more tranny issues.... now just a great car! - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Scott - January 7 - 10:44 am

  I bought a 16 TLX tech package SH-AWD five weeks ago and since then have put 900 miles on it. At the time I was looking around, there was still plenty of 2015s available that were nicely marked down in price. Hoping to save a few grand, I looked around for the very specific trim package and color combo I wanted an also did all kinds of research. I found that half the reviews were good, and half were bad because of the ZF 9 speed transmission. I was initially disappointed to read so many reviews slamming the car because of it. Understanding that the first model year of any car usually has issues, I considered a 2016 in hopes whatever tranny problems may exist are ironed out. As far as appearance and features go, there is no difference in the 2 model years. I went out and test drove SIX different TLXs (four 2015 and two 2016). The problems many people reported were clunky shifting from gear 2 to 3, downshift hesitation, slow roll take off hesitation, car jerking forward as it downshifts especially when descending down a hill giving the driver the impression the car is speeding up when it should be slowing down. I took special note to almost all the bad reviews saying that the car was fine for the first few hundred miles before it started so one of the 15s I drove was a program car that had 300 miles already on it. What I found was that there is a small learning curve involved with 9 speed transmission but I found no problems with any of the cars I test drove and I was really looking for them. All the upshifts were smooth. Some downshifts required an extra half second to find a gear since it is a 9 speed but nothing crazy like I read some people complaining that they were being put into accident prone situations. While stopped, the start/stop feature which kills the engine does take half a second as well to accelerate because the engine has to turn back on but it is quick doing it all things considered. Im not sure how much gas it saves in real world but theres nothing gained from sitting still idling either. That feature can be turned off for those who dont like but I find I leave it on unless Im in a lot of stop and go traffic. Going down a hill is no problem. You can feel the car push forward slightly to downshift wen it engages the clutch and stops engine braking for a split second however it is easy to identify and adds no danger. I dont feel the least bit nervous about it. I felt no difference between the 2015s and 16s. I bought a 16 because I found the black/greystone combination I wanted with the Tech AWD (advance was too expensive and I got the dealer to throw in the remote start anyway). I had the rear lip spoiler and full aero kit put on and the car looks and feels amazing! No tranny issues here. As for everything else, the 4 different driving modes are indeed different. The engine has plenty of power in any of them but eco mode really mutes acceleration response and lightens the steering and suspension a lot. Sport and sport plus mode tightens the steering and suspension (the steering still has a bit of artificial tightening feel when compared to my previous car which handled like a champ, but not a problem at all, just the slightest notice), but the acceleration becomes lighting quick in response and the car is a blast to drive on the highway on the upper end of the RPM range. Forget the paddle shifters with a 9 speed...too much work. If you use one while in sport plus mode, you are stuck continuing to have to use them unless you drop the drive mode to eco or normal. In all other modes, it goes back to full automatic after a few seconds unless you continue to use it. I ignore it but if you like paddle shifters, they do shift well and responsively. MPGs are not as good as listed, I got 247 miles on my first tank in Normal mode and 290 or so on my second tank in ECO mode, driving very easy - its a 17.5 gallon tank but hey gas is below $2.00. The sound system is absolutely the best stock system Ive ever heard - just amazing sound. Havent figured out yet how to have texts read and replied through the blue tooth but I will be calling the service desk to inquire. Other than that the blue tooth and infotainment is great. Little learning curve with the dual screens but I like them a lot. Acura nailed it with this car!!! Love the looks (subjective I know) and the performance. If youre in the market, do not be put off by the transmission concern, drive a couple and see for yourself, maybe avoid pre-owned or left-over 15s or at least see the build date on the driver side door jam sticker. Anything built after August 2015 should be fine. Go get one, it IS that kind of Thrill !!!!