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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  185,000 Miles and still going strong! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By jms112997 - February 8 - 11:48 am

  Ive owned just about everything, this is the best vehicle I have owned. I still get about 19mpg mixed approaching 200k miles. Ordered it new, all options. Followed all major services thus far. There are not many vehicles out there that can go 2 car seats and a booster wide, have great cargo capacity, handles like a sedan, AWD (fantastic in the Michigan snow), and get great gas mileage, oh and the reliability: Ive replaced one light bulb, one tail lightbulb and thats it. It has been in 3 different small accidents and just keeps going. Highly recommend anything honda/acura.

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  Shift Up - 2010 Acura TSX
  By maturedriver - February 7 - 9:47 pm

  First time driving a 6-speed manual. The torque and gear match seems to be pushing the driver to shifting up quickly. That is, the car seems to be over powered and over torqued for each of the gear ratio. While this is a manual shift car, it seems to be a manual shift car in an artificial construct.

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  Car For the Snow - 2010 Acura TL
  By John VE - February 6 - 12:22 am

  I live in the North West and needed a vehicle which could handle traveling through the Columbia Gorge with icy conditions. I tried to read other reviews to check out the handling, but nothing was to specific. I equipped the car with studded snow tires all around. Ive never experienced anything so incredible. I decided to test the handling on a vacant parking lot on Mt. Bachelor. With 5inches of snow on the ground, I floored the accelerator. It was awesome. No slippage, and it took off at an amazing speed. When I did the same with braking, absolutely rock solid in a straight line. The only scary part is not really knowing the limits. It almost challenges you to explore the limits.

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  Trouble with transmission - 2005 Acura MDX
  By driddle - February 5 - 2:48 pm

  Great car, but have had trouble with transmission. Has been replaced once already at 50000 miles, still makes hard shifts when shifting down.

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  Lots of fun - 2010 Acura MDX
  By PalmettoSol - February 5 - 10:16 am

  My first MDX was an 08 Tech/Entertainment, and my wife and I enjoyed it very much. I wanted a Sport/Entertainment at the time, but they were very hard to find. The first 10 MDX my dealer had was an Advance/Ent. and after driving it I had to have it. The 08 was great, but the 10 is even better. It looks more aggressive, the LED lighting is much nicer, and the extra gear is a nice upgrade.

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  Sweet ride - 2010 Acura MDX
  By rhodymdx - February 5 - 8:55 am

  I got this vehicle mainly for comfort. I am a long-distance commuter and needed something more comfortable and luxurious than my Honda CRV, but with equal reliability. I am not disappointed. The seat is so comfortable and roomy the ride is incredibly smooth and handling is great. Great on the highway---watch that you dont go too fast---you may never notice before that flashing light is in your mirror! A great luxury vehicle, especially for 40K...

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  13 Years & Still Going Strong - 1997 Acura CL
  By AJohnson - February 4 - 9:10 pm

  I brought this car brand new in March of 1997 and it has proven to be the best purchase I have ever made. Talk about reliable! And even close to 13 years old the pick-up on this car is great and still just as fun to drive. Even after purchasing a new car last Fall still hanging on to it. Many offers to buy so that wont be an issue when I am finally ready to let go. GREAT car!

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  Former TL and RL owner. - 2009 Acura TSX
  By RLewis - February 4 - 6:03 pm

  Ok I have to admit, IM FINE WITH THIS CAR! I forgot just how fun a car was to drive. Though i think 40 or 50 more horses wouldve been prefect for a car this size. Still, youre talking to a person that traded his bigger 06 Acura RL in when gas jumped up so high. This car is great on fuel, comfort and style! Ive gotten up to 34mpg hwy. Hey we all gas is going back one day. So if you just happen to have this fine car, YOU MAKE GOOD SENSE just like this car. And i really would like to see the follow up to the TSX in the years to come!!

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  Still a wonderful Car Get One if you can - 1994 Acura Legend
  By jonatbaylor - February 4 - 5:34 am

  This car is superb in almost every way. It has almost every convenience and then some on cars that are only 2-3 years old! The only 2nd generation Legend to get is the 1993-1995 years, since you get the upgraded 230HP motor. The City Mileage is pretty bad at 15-17mpg on average, but if Im just cruising on the highway I get 25.3mpg. (Properly tuned, PSI in tires and 67mph) Ive added some more recent features to it, bringing it a bit more up-to-date. Most people think my Legend is a 2004 model year! The coupes are truly beautiful. If you can score one with low miles and that has been maintained well, you will basically step into a 45k dollar luxury car for no more than 6-7k tops.

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  4-cyl. is. fast & smooth--dont need V6 - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Pianist - February 4 - 3:10 am

  I used to own a Lexus GS 300. I love that car but the new model is so expensive that I had to seek out other alternatives. After checking out the small sedans of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus,and the larger Acura TL, the TSX offered the most for the money. The standard features on this base model can cost thousands of dollars if you want them on a BMW 3 series! The TSX has EXTREMELY comfortable seats and high quality leather (both superior to the more expensive TL base model). I love that this car looks like NO OTHER on the road. I have the Vortex blue, which for some reason is very rare. It is an "electric" blue, which goes very well with the all-black leather interior. Dont buy the V6!