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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  Happy Acura TL owner - 2008 Acura TL
  By riphraph - January 16 - 11:00 pm

  No manufacturer has yet to build the perfect car (or everyone would drive that one car) but the Acura TL line comes close in the important categories. Best in safety, styling and reliability. Am impressed with the luxury. Seems like most of the displeasure on the sites deal with issues with uncooperative dealerships. Hint. You can go to the Honda dealers for service if needed. Have been getting 23 - 24 mph. Solidly built. Smart engineering, sensible appointments, solid door gaps. Its a Honda after all. Low cost to own when compared to similar cars (Lexus IS350 and Infiniti G37 - try getting same upgrades for same $$) or BMW 323i (expensive to own)Front wheel drive takes some getting used to

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  My first, but definitely not my last Acura! - 2011 Acura MDX
  By suitespot - January 15 - 2:05 pm

  A most impressive vehicle. Mechanically superior to any other comparable tested. Great ride, terrific fit and finish. Traction -- starting and stopping -- with Michelins in Michigan winter is great. That tuning of the suspension at Nurburgring made a great AWD even better. And, its made in North America! Can see why Motor Trend and Car and Driver have rated at top of class!

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  Great car. - 1995 Acura Integra
  By rpthorp - January 10 - 4:21 pm

  I had a 95 LS until someone totaled while it was parked. This car was reliable, fuel efficient and fun. I would recommend a 1996 or newer to avoid pre-OBDII computer problems, and slightly more power (GSR) would be nice. But overall, this car was great. It had all the amenities- power everything. Once the seats were folded down, there was a surprising amount of cargo room- enough for bicycles.

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  So Far So Good - 2011 Acura TSX
  By borntobewild - January 7 - 4:05 pm

  Have only had the car 3 weeks now but so far very pleased with everything. The 2011s were advertised with improved sound insulation, improved DVD and a few tweeks here and there. We owned on 03 TL and my first TSX but very happy with our choice. Much sportier, and yet still oozes quality and upscale. Will update in a few weeks or months.

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  Heating and a/c system - 2008 Acura TL
  By b927 - January 6 - 5:16 pm

  My heating and a/c system continues to fail. After running for 30 minutes the actual cabin temperature goes to about 65 in the winter and 84 in the summer. It doesnt matter where I set the temperature or what mode I shift into, the temperature stays the same. Ive taken it to the dealer 5 times and left it there for days, with no fix. Finally I went to Acura Corp client relations for help. A totalwaste of time. Im still under warranty> The biggest surprise to me has been the lack of concern or sense of urgency from Acura. I bought this car based on Acuras reputation. My experience makes me think they are resting on their laurels

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  I love this car - 2005 Acura MDX
  By desertmom - January 4 - 7:07 pm

  I have had my MDX for over 5 years it now has 126,000 miles. I have not had any problems and it runs great. I definitely would buy another.

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  Excellent value in a 7 seat SUV, awesome in the snow! - 2011 Acura MDX
  By danmoch - January 2 - 8:51 am

  Purchased 10 MDX in June 10. Needed an AWD/4WD SUV >5 seats with tow hitch, priced under 50K. Also have 09 BMW X5 35d (diesel) which I love. First looked at another X5, but 3rd seat optioned vehicles were hard to find. The MDX drives well everyday, has nice electronic things (nav, rear cam, bluetooth, ipod/usb adapter.) Rear seatbacks tilt back a few degrees making the difference between an okay seat (BMW) and a nice relaxing one. Interior space definitely bigger/more usable than in 09 X5. Where the MDX really shines is its snow traction. This car is better on snowy town roads in the Tahoe area than my X5. Note MDX = Michelin Latitude tires, BMW = Bridgestone Dueler runflats.

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  Great fun car, but with unfortunate drawback - 2005 Acura RSX
  By denverseven - January 2 - 2:19 am

  This car is really fun to drive, especially stick. I found it to be underpowered however and always had to work for torque since it peaks so low and at high rpms. However, once you learn to time everything correctly it becomes a joy to drive. I had problems with my transmission (which are common). The gear gear kept popping out and if you tried to keep it in there it would grind. The second gear was about to go in my car (but if you read the crsx forums, youll find tonnes of owners have second gear grind. These things really begin to take a toll after some time and destroy the enjoyment of the drive. Otherwise, great built quality - clutch will last and last, and is also very light.

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  A little disappointed - 2010 Acura MDX
  By mark3840 - January 1 - 6:54 pm

  This is my wifes car although I drive it often. Im not a huge fan of the MDX. It suited our needs and was a good value compared to other luxury CUVs. Way too many buttons and very confusing to navigate the controls and nav system. Voice commands are useless - even difficult to make a simple phone call. (In the Genesis you just push 1 button and say, "dial home," for example.) Nav & stereo, although rated high, doesnt even belong in the same league as the Genesis. Seams are not tight. Quite a bit of noise for a lux CUV. Good power and ride as well as fairly comfortable. I like it overall but I hope Hyundai comes out with a luxury CUV soon, because it will blow away Acura.

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  Not Worth It! Too many issues... - 2005 Acura TL
  By john504 - December 30 - 5:12 pm

  The 2005 Acura TL is a sharp looking car but has way too many issues. Every time we dont use the car for 2-3 days it dies. Terrible reliability. I do not reccomend this car.