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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  love my new TL - 2003 Acura TL
  By jar22 - April 3 - 10:00 am

  Looked at the MB, A4, G35, ES 300. The Acura offered the most for the money. What a comfortable, smooth ride. This car is loaded with every option you could want. I also felt like the Acura would be more reliable in the long run since I keep my cars 6-7 years as well as less expensive to maintain.

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  Good not-quite-ready-for-mom-van option - 2014 Acura RDX
  By Melissa P. - April 3 - 2:48 am

  I was purposely looking for something more compact for our small (one kid) family, as I prefer that to driving a larger SUV. I traded in a two-year-old TSX, which I loved, to buy the RDX so we would have more rear leg room and cargo space. I like the simplicity of buying an Acura -- get it with or without bells and whistles, no nonsense. Good value for the money. All the goodies I wanted at the time, heated seats, XM radio, etc. While previous years had a turbocharged engine, this one does not which means pretty decent gas mileage. My daily commute is a combination of city/country road driving and I hit the mid 20s most tanks. There is a bit more road noise than I remember with my TSX. And make no mistake this is definitely a smaller car. Another kid or a large dog, and you might want to consider something larger. We fill up the cargo area pretty quickly! But I do still feel that the rear legroom is better than that of other cars in this size class, and installing the car seat with LATCH is a snap. The car has been extremely reliable with no visits to service other than regularly scheduled ones.

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  Almost great - 2006 Acura TL
  By Don - April 1 - 11:25 am

  The gas mileage is not what I was led to expect. I get only about 22-23 mpg average. I got 20-21 mpg on my 7 series BMW! Very fun to drive! Very reliable!

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  Great Car - 1994 Acura Legend
  By Chuck - March 27 - 4:57 pm

  This has to be one of the greatest cars ever made. I bought it in 2002 with 120k miles and have had nearly no problems. As long as you maintain it regularly, this car will last a long time. Im still driving it to this day.

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  1999 Acura TL Sedan - 1999 Acura TL
  By Acura Owner - March 26 - 2:46 pm

  I purchased my Acura used with 92K miles. It now has 142K miles and continues to run strong. No issues other than routine maintenance. Great stereo system and ride quality. Gas mileage is so-so, but it runs fine on regular gas.

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  Type S Manual - Nice ride! - 2008 Acura TL
  By Rob H - March 25 - 7:00 pm

  Previously owned a 04 TSX, just got a TL Type S 6 speed, great car so for. Stereo w/XM and 6 channel surround is fabulous, shifter is slick, Type S seats are solid. Wheels are large (and a bit pimpy) but overall, a great car so far. Worried about mileage as this car but it absolutely flies.

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  Best car Ive had up to date - 2007 Acura TL
  By Odilia - March 24 - 7:20 pm

  Best car up to date. Good driving experiences, great leg room.

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  Awesome Sporty Machine - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Scorpion18 - March 24 - 5:41 pm

  I drove a Camry V6 for 3 years and was just enough happy with it but wanted a sporty drive, tried X3, BMW 3 series, Lexus IS 350, CX-7 and a few more before finalizing on this one and I am glad I went to see it. It is a awesome combo or class, features, acceleration and I love the ELS system with 10 speakers making it better sounding than any other vehicle I tried.

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  First Acura - 2007 Acura TSX
  By QSolution - March 24 - 9:24 am

  Nice interior feel and appointments. Bluetooth is great and side cornering signals on side view mirrors a great idea. Nice entry model. Always wanted the TL and was happy to be able to get into an Acura at this price point. Gas mileage is horrific for a 4 cylindar & the high octane requirement is just obsured. Had a heavier Honda Accord 6 cyl. before this and it got 8 miles more to a gal. of 87 octane gas.

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  Bitter sweet - 2005 Acura TL
  By evanthemack - March 21 - 9:39 pm

  The TL is a nice car with great design and performance. The acceleration is powerful but you must get it over 4000 rpm into the VTEC range. The engine whines and the instant you hit 4000 and deap throaty growls comes out. Its hangeling is good (for a FWD). I have had a few problems with the car: seized wheel bearing, broken power window, bent rim, and rattles galore.