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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  Great after 4 years - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Jay - February 16 - 2:03 pm

  I bought my pre owned MDX at 62000, driving it since then for 10 months I am a satisfied customer. I like the build quality and handling. at 69000 it still runs quiet on the road. during the recent snow it drives superb with great AWD controls and traction.

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  Immaculate car. - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Dominik - February 15 - 3:45 am

  Awesome car in general. Very well built, extremely reliable, fun to drive. Perfect designed ex- and interior. Good MPG, very comfortable. Ive own 10 cars so far and this one is my best friend. No wonder parts are kinda pricey - last very long. Take a good care of it (maintenance) and it will last for ever.

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  Mostly excellent, but GPS maps stink - 2010 Acura TL
  By Chrysoberyl - February 15 - 12:11 am

  I thought my 6-cylinder AWD Subaru, and 35RL were capable cornering machines until I drove the TL SH-AWD. The TL can corner a whale of a lot faster, and the seat bolsters make even the passengers comfortable while you do that. The instant mpg readout almost turns me into a mega-miler with paddle upshifts. I get 22mpg on 2-lane, curvy, hilly, Ozark roads on 30-mile round trips to town with 40 to 55 mph speeds. Acura GPS maps are so bad, I have to use a portable Garmin GPS to find addresses in this area. Garmins MapTech maps find locations here and give decent directions. The Acura GPS just shows a dotted line for most roads and directs by compass heading, useless around our very large lake.

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  Nice looking SUV - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Sleepysam22 - February 14 - 11:17 am

  I have owned several MDXS and the 2010 Advance package is by far the best. The 6 speed trans is smooth and responsive. The navigation with hdd is the best I have seen from any manufacture and I have looked at them all as I am a big time nav/tech guy. The seats are more comfortable than the previous MDX that I have owned. The led interior lights are really cool along with the blind spot detection. Collision breaking system and the adaptive cruise control. Very nice car

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  Walking could not be cheaper! - 1994 Acura Legend
  By David Dahbura - February 14 - 9:59 am

  I bought this car after leaving my business card on the windsheild in a parking lot. The car was perfect despite the miles which did not scare me. It has been FLAWLESS, it has had the usual preventative maintenance done but otherwise NOTHING has ever needed repairing. My only gripes are the LOW (very low) front bumper which seems to catch on everything and has now been repaired countless times and the too low driving position, but in defense of the later, I think my age and bum knee are more to blame than the car. I have calculated my costs for this car which I paid $3,000 for, and I assure you, I could not have walked the same distance cheaper than this car has cost. I want another one ASAP

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  Great used value - 2004 Acura RL
  By Former MB Owner - February 14 - 7:16 am

  Love the car. I have a fairly long commute and am quite pleased with the low-mileage 04 RL that I bought this fall. Some say the Acura has "no soul." Nonsense. If "no soul" means "car stays out of the shop" then Ill take it. Steady 21 MPG in mixed driving. Reliable as the day is long. Not the most exciting car Ive owned but quiet, comfortable and a great value. Build quality is exceptional - tight, and all seams and panel gaps are very well done. Car mags hated this car new, suppose it wasnt such a great value at $40K+ brand new, but in the used market its a great value.

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  Happy so far! - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Repeat MDX Owner - February 13 - 12:22 am

  Bought 2010 MDX w/Tech Pack 3 weeks ago. Happy so far. Have 2002 MDX that has been good vehicle. Got new one for $41,903 - way below the TMV. Really happy about that. Thats only about $5K more than we paid 8 years ago for the 2002 Base model that cant compare with the new technology. Love the interior and wonderful stereo/NAV/HDD system., but all the buttons & various owner manuals are a little intimidating. The ride is similar to the 2002 in terms of feel and ride quality, so not a real cushy ride, has some road noise, but also a sporty feel like all Acuras. The best blend of space, performance, MPG, maneuverability, luxury and resale value on the market today.

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  Legend LS Coupe Still Great after 15 YRS - 1995 Acura Legend
  By ronshelby - February 10 - 5:44 pm

  My 1995 Legend LS Coupe still looks and drives like a new car. No fluid leaks, no problems, and no complaints. Love cruising in it when Im home. Too bad Honda hasnt ever built a replacement for it. The Legend Coupe is still a great car and the Bose Stereo remains wonderful.

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  Excellent SUV - 2010 Acura MDX
  By rajeshn - February 10 - 12:51 pm

  Purchased new, dealership delivered to home. Normal size from outside excellent finish, pointy front grill very spacious from inside love all the advance features adaptive cruise is really good. Traveled to Florida total 1600 miles no issues with comfort or reliability unlike the space shuttle. The blind spot indicator is excellent as is the comfort setting of the ride. On returning home 1 foot of snow and the vehicle got stuck in it. Called Acura 800 number was told to call back after 2 hours if condition was same no immediate help available. A BMW X5 parked adjacent to my acura and I was unable to identify my SUV till I noticed the fuel filler on the wrong side. Heatsoundnav excel

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  Love it - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Florida driver - February 8 - 9:08 pm

  Love it. Bought used in 09 with 40k miles...lease turn in. Was supposed to be certified but found the Onstar button didnt work. Brought to dealership and they fixed...no problem. Great ride, gets 19mpg on hwy and DVD system with bose speakers is great. Nav can get washed out with sunlight or open sunroof though. Expensive to upgrade to newer version. No other problems to speak of. Loaded the back with work gear and seemed to set the back down a bit.