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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  One of the All-time Greats - 1991 Acura NSX
  By phomat - July 29 - 12:00 am

  Best irrational decision I ever made. Does very well as a car (fast, handles great, quiet when it should be and sounds incredible above 5000 rpm. But its not really a car--its a big trophy. It gets stares and attention wherever I go, particularly from 20-somethings. The other day I parked it at the Porsche dealer, where it was surrounded by cars costing 5 times as much. A couple arrived and made a beeline to the NSX, ogling it and ignoring all the expensive toys nearby. The only problem with it is that its too nice to drive in traffic or park in parking lots.

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  RL Rules!! - 2000 Acura RL
  By chanceme - July 27 - 4:07 am

  Great car best I have ever owned,take care of the car,it will take care of you! All the features you would ever want and need,great leather,love the sunroof.

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  Best entry level luxury/sports sedan! - 2008 Acura TL
  By mik18 - July 26 - 1:12 pm

  Excellent handling for a FWD sedan.Sticks to the corners like glue.Totally satisfied with the purchase. Car looks great, drives awesome and has a lot of technology at a very fair price when compared to other cars in the entry level sports sedan market. Trip from NJ to Ohio and back, twice and averaged 30MPG at 70-75 mph. One gripe about the car is the leather sucks.Seat absorbs the color of my pant !! never had this issue with my old BMW.

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  Not my Old MDX - 2011 Acura MDX
  By richtn1 - July 20 - 1:15 pm

  After 3 months My 2011 MDX is now on a Used car lot. I owned a 2005 MDX that I loved! It rode great, was reliable and got decent gas miliage. The new version is nothing like that. It rides like a Dump Truck, guzzles gas and is like being in a torture chamber. Seats are hard, controls are annoying and confusing. To top that, the dealership was awful. I purchased my previous MDX from Crown Accira of Richmond and it was a fun experience, This time ,the sales person was texting on my test drives and most of the time acted like she was doing me a favor taking me out. The manager was eating chicken on a console right as you walk into the dealership. It was a real side show. Horrible!

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  178k and still running fine - 1998 Acura Integra
  By cogs1 - July 19 - 2:17 pm

  Bought new, original owner I paid just under 17k for it with tax out the door, mine is the 2 door hatch back RS 5 speed stick, non vtec engine. It is now 2011 and it has 178k miles and doesnÂ’t drip a drop of oil and refuses to give up, even one the coldest of Michigan winters it starts right up without issue, it is amazing. It is still my daily driver to work everyday. I can tell you I have beat the crap out of this car, it has not been pampered at all. I do get the oil changed every 4-5k that about it. Normal wear items, timing belt, distributor, resonator pipe, brake calipers replaces, still on original starter, alternator, radiator, clutch, etc. Driven hard due to not having ANY horsepower until 5K RPMÂ’s This car has been good to me, it looks like crap and is rusting but I can not fault this car, it has surpassed my expectations. I figure IÂ’d drive it until 200k and donate it, I figured between having no car payments for 7 years and being a gas miser I have saved about 35k, not too bad. Thanks Honda.

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  Age is only a number. - 1993 Acura Legend
  By lilmswrenchit - July 15 - 9:01 pm

  Ive had 2 Acura Legends and have absolutely loved them both. Age has not deteriorated the beauty of an incredible car and even at almost 30 years old it holds that sophisticated beauty. Sharp looking and magnificient to drive there is nothing like it. They need to make a new one that will stand the test of time like these ones have.

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  My 2007 Acura TL 10 mpg - 2007 Acura TL
  By myacuratl2007 - July 14 - 8:57 pm

  I purchased a 2007 Acura TL with Navigation from John Eagle Honda May 13 2011. I took the car into Goodson Acura dealer on May 17, 2011, 41,190 miles. I wanted to get the car checked out, also update my service adviser Richard Furcht on my newer TL. This 2007 Acura TL started out getting 10 mpg and is now only getting 14-15 mpg, the only way this car could get 31.13 mpg as stated Richard Furcht from Goodson Acura is if you carry it! 2007 Acura TL are junk, cheaply made.

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  Not to be underestimated - 2011 Acura TL
  By cgervais - July 13 - 8:27 pm

  I bought my 2011 TL SH-AWD in March and absolutely love it. I waffled between the 11, an A6 and a Lexus and Acura won me back on value and previous experience. You just cant beat the overall value of this car -- the features, quality and price. I find it odd that many folks decided to buy a TL based on the updated 2012 styling. Granted, the 2011s styling isnt for everyone but it is distinctive, daring and unique. In black, my car looks stunning. The 2012s styling has completed gutted the car of any distinctive quality. It looks like an RL with a bit of Camry -- boring, no visual "growl" or sex at all.

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  Ill drive it till it dies - 2003 Acura RSX
  By angz415 - July 12 - 12:57 pm

  I am the third owner of my 2003 RSX Type-S and I cant say enough postivie feedback about it. Im currently at 170,000 miles and the only major repair that Ive had to do is replace the clutch (which was more expensive because of the clutchs location and the man hours required to get to it). This car drives so well. Not only is it fast and fun, but the front wheel drive make it easy to contol in rain and snow (just so long as your have some ground clearance). I also love the hatchback feature. The seats in the back fold down and you can store a lot in there.

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  After 1 year with a Pre-Owned TL Type S - 2007 Acura TL
  By tifosi27 - July 12 - 8:46 am

  We purchased ours TL Type S Automatic 1 year ago with very low miles on it. It was essentially brand new and we got a very good deal. We are very pleased thus far. Ergonomics are very good, has adequate torque to pass cars on country roads and interstate travel. We knew the car would be a little more rough over roads as this has a more firm suspension then the base TL. Have taken the car in for all routine maintenance and had zero problems. Only issue is when the wife put a nasty curb rash into the front rim, but will get that fixed in the winter when I install the winter tires and rims.