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:

• 

  Not a BMW - 2004 Acura TL
  By George W - February 8 - 2:00 am

  I was extremely pleased with the interior features and placement, but the more I look at the exterior, the less I like it -- in hindsight, I should have gone with the BMW 3 series.

• 

  New TL is the best car for the money - 2004 Acura TL
  By VINORL - February 8 - 2:00 am

  Im impressed to this point. The preformance to price ratio on this vehicle is phenomenal. Some aspects of the exterior design are a little clunky but overall the perception is good. The interior is nice although the silver psuedo chrome feels a little tacky. The center console doesnt feel as clean without the navigation unit, it looks like they tried to fill space and came up a little short. The drive is taut and responsive. The only major dislike is that its not RWD. On a scale of 1 to 10 this car is a solid 8.

• 

  Good Value - 2005 Acura TL
  By jbarker007 - February 4 - 12:23 pm

  I decided to go back to the Honda line of cars, felt they were a better value than others. I am coming from a 99 Lexus ES 300, loved the car, but wanted something a little sportier. It took a little while to get used to the stiffer ride, but I have now adjusted and am having a great experience. I test drove the MB E320 before this car, and better sense came over me. Give me the TL and $20K cash any day. The Acura has a tight feel and great get up and go. I feel it is one of the better looking cars on the market, and the upkeep should be more cost effective than the other brands. Looking forward to many years with this car.

• 

  Nice Car - Rides like a Honda - 2008 Acura TL
  By John S - February 3 - 2:41 pm

  I downgraded from a 2005 BMW 5-Series sedan because I needed a cheaper ride at this point in my life. This car is handsome, well built, and chock full of extras that cost at least $10K in the BMW 328xi that I was considering.

• 

  Review after 8 months - 2007 Acura MDX
  By dsjunk - February 2 - 8:00 am

  This is a great vehicle but... in the 8 months I have owned it Acura had to replace the windshield (flaw causing distortion), adjust 2 of the door handles (installed wrong), replace the muffler (broken interior baffle), replace a rear strut (failed), replaced the battery (dead cell), fix the dash and trim (installed incorrectly) and other minor items. Mine has had horrible build quality, although my dealer is fantastic. I bought Acura because we have had great cars from Honda, but this isnt built nearly as well as my wifes Odyssey. But, no SUV out there drives this well. If you are considering, buy the SPORT, its worth the money.

• 

  Went Downhill - 2006 Acura TSX
  By not_so_sure - January 23 - 8:31 pm

  I loved the car when I first bought it, but two years later, I am looking to get rid of it. The interior road noise is louder than my truck. The wipers were very streaky from the day I bought the car. The car does not handle well in snow. My leather seats are already wearing out. I drive over 60 miles a day and every day I grow to dislike it a little more. The gas mileage when when I frist bought it averaged between 30-32 MPG, now I am lucky if I can get over 25 MPG. My seats take forever to heat up now, at first they were HOT in a flash. On the plus side, Acura DOES give a lot of options for the money. Very sporty and fun!

• 

  2008 Acura TSX - 2008 Acura TSX
  By RHagel - January 21 - 11:41 pm

  I am extremely happy with my desision. This is a GREAT car. I came from an 06 Mazda 3 and this car is better in almost every sense. To me, the stereo is great. The power is more than adequate and it is just an over all excellent value. For those who may be hesitant, it is almost impossible to not like this car. It may not be your dream ride, but is an excellent compromise.

• 

  Hurrah for the MDX - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Car Lover - January 16 - 4:56 am

  Now this car is one story. The build quality is extraordinary. We got the thing used, four years strong and we still havent needed to get it repaired. The tires get replaced soon though. The comfort is okay, the leather interior is nice, but the third row seat in the back is not made for adults! The reliability is good, too. It is there for us every time. Fuel economy is not too bad. 20 mpg average. Better than we all expected. Just be careful of that trip computer. Very fragile. Plus, for some odd reason, the radios LCD starts blanking out in the summer. It always returns after a firm hold on it. Nice car.

• 

  Had a lot of fun with this car, but .... - 2001 Acura TL
  By Doug - January 11 - 4:46 pm

  I have had my TL with navi for 7 years now! I still enjoy driving the car, but I have had too many issues with the transmission to give it a good rating. I am on my 4th transmission already but the dealership has worked with me to have it replaced each time. The car drives smoothly and the navi is great! Overall, I have been very happy with the car and I would purchase a new one, provided the transmission issue is fixed.

• 

  Noise, noise, & more noise - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mohamad Halabi - January 10 - 3:53 pm

  Sine the minute I left the showroom, I discovered weird buzzing noise coming fromt he drivers side window. Within a couple of weeks, I started discovering more noise from the glove compartment, the center console, the steering column, and the sifter area. After changing three dealerships, and seven visits, the noise is still there. Even my 99 Huyndai of few years back was much quieter!!!