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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  Runs Like a Champ - 2006 Acura TSX
  By John Stone - June 5 - 1:56 am

  I have had this car for a while now and I love it. I have had no problems with it. It is luxurious, gets great gas mileage, and is quick.

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  God Awful Noises! - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Rita Kitchens - June 4 - 2:50 am

  You should not buy this car! It makes terrible noises that come from the rear end, possibly the suspension. My car has been the the service department in Omaha, NE 3 times and the first two times they quickly replaced parts and said they fixed the noise. The 3rd time, I rode with a service tech and service manager and they heard the noises but said they did not know how to fix it. When I returned to pick up my car the service invoice coveniently mentioned that they "could not duplicate the noise". I got no support from the dealership at all and called Acura Corporate hoping for some better service but no such luck. They will tell you this very loud noise is a characteristic of the vehicle and likely wont do anything to fix it! Do not buy an Acura MDX!

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  A Pleasure to Own - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Tim35 - June 4 - 2:00 am

  The cars reliability is incredible.. just keep changing the oil every 3000 miles and the car just keeps going. This is my second Integra, had my 90 for 7 years and only thing that went wrong was the timing belt at 70K.

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  Good Little Car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By RockLobster - June 4 - 2:00 am

  My Girlfirend and i bought this car mainly for her to drive. The only complaint i have so far is that its auto transmission seems to be poorly programed and deteriorates the cars responsivness. The AT has to much slop for a car of this type and can be quite frustrating in its ponderous search for the right gear durring more aggressive driving. If buing this car i reccomend steering clear of the auto transmission. Else i can vouch that this is by far the most reliability for the money. These integras are top of the list for reliability. It is for the most part a quick car that is quite fun to drive.

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  First Car - 1995 Acura Integra
  By J-Boogz - June 4 - 2:00 am

  My Acura Integra is my first car and I have had it for 3 months. So far, I have had no mechanical problems with it. It is an 8 year old car, so there will be the normal wear and tear on the car, but other than that it is perfect. According to the history of the car, it has never had any major problems. Its the perfect car to own.

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  AcuraMDX - 2002 Acura MDX
  By nrstycz - June 3 - 2:00 am

  I live 100 miles from my nearest Acura dealer. As I had hoped, I have never had a need for service on my MDX except for oil, tire rotations, and wiper blades. My only significant complaint is the wind noise from interstate crosswinds are magnified by water channels on both sides of the windshield.

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  My Review of TL - 2002 Acura TL
  By skip65 - June 3 - 2:00 am

  Bought as a luxury family car -- turned out to be fun to drive. Love the interior layout and styling is a cut above the hum-drum of most.

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  Roomy thrill with cash to spare - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Unemongod - June 2 - 7:36 pm

  After trying on 40+ cars over the last 9 monthes, this was one of 2 cars that made the grade. (The other was the Acura MDX) Its a comfortable ride for those of us who cant fit in most other cars. Im 64" and moderately knock-kneed, which gives me leg room issues. The RSX fits like a glove, like only Honda seems to understand. The car drives like a car should, with a clean feel of the road, and a hi-revving powerplant that is truely another Honda marvel. There is more comfort and room than most sedans, and still the thrill of a sport coupe.

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  I think I got a Lemon - 2004 Acura TSX
  By bennero - June 2 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car in Feb/04 and have driven a loaner for 3 weeks and 2 rentals as this car cannot stay out of the shop. Going back in for new seatbelts that the dealer got oil all over. New rim as the coating was coming off. Rear welds came apart above the struts, Im on my third console from all the squeaks and rattles. Does not compare to the excitement of the BMW 325i which I sold to get this automatic. Ratings were good, I think I just got one that was made Friday afternoon.

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  Wanna go for a drive? - 2003 Acura CL
  By Aegean_Blue6 - June 2 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car for ~6 months now, and its been a blast to drive! Theres enough low-end torque to get you around for normal driving, but punch the throttle and youll be pressed into your seat! Theres a bit more body roll than there should be, but a $300 set of Comptech sway bars fixes that problem without significanly hurting ride quality. The press hates the styling, but I like it, and Ive gotten many great compliments about its appearance. Its classy, and can handle both a long road trip in comfort and a session on twisty mountain roads with confidence, while holding 4 people comfortably and all their gear in a good-size trunk!