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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  Would Love IT Except...Horrible Transmission - 2016 Acura MDX
  By mps_ - December 30 - 8:23 am

  Purchased: 2016 MDX Advance. This is my second MDX (my wifes car) and while I am big fan of the vehicle, Acura made some horrible tweaks to the car. If I were to buy this car again, I would try to find a 2015 model. Pros: The interior is beautiful with great materials. The ride quality is excellent and always gives confidence. Cons: The are 3 man issues with this car 1) The transmission is truly horrible. I am car guy who has owned many cars and have never experienced such a bad transmission. PLEASE release a software update to fix this 2) The auto-idle is poorly executed and there is no way to permanently turn it off. 3) Infotainment system is dated and the GPS in mediocre

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  Integra Non-Vtec - 1995 Acura Integra
  By antillano - December 30 - 2:00 am

  This has been an extremely reliable car. My car has 129,000 miles. I have had only to replace the radiator and the A/C evaporator. All other repairs or replacement parts have been required due to the heavy use I have given this car (clutch, tires, brake pads, timing belt). This car has traveled between Philadelphia and Miami 5 times with no problems. On weekdays I drive this car an average of 50 miles per day in a combination of city and highway driving and the car still gives a fuel economy of about 27-29 miles per gallon.

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  MDX rules over any other SUV. - 2002 Acura MDX
  By tedpacificNW - December 30 - 2:00 am

  After owning a 99 Ch-eep Grand J-erokee for 3+ years and spending WAY TOO MUCH MONEY on minor and MAJOR repairs (after the warranty expired, of course), I purchased the 2002 MDX. Although the price on the MDX is much more than the Jeep, Ill most likely be saving money over time. The quality and craftsmanship of the MDX is by far superior than the JGC and I believe 90+ percent of all suvs on the market. This is the best SUV for golfers, because golf clubs fit like a glove in this SUV. If youre looking for a smooth, comfortable, no-rattle, luxury ride, this is the SUV to buy.

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  THE NSX IS TIGHTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2002 Acura NSX
  By $$$cash$$$ - December 29 - 2:00 am

  You wont know what it is like until you drive it!!!!!!!

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  integra - 2001 Acura Integra
  By mari - December 29 - 2:00 am

  I have had my integra for a little over a year. I can not even think about a car that I would rather have. It is reliable, gets good gas mileage, it is completely pratical and best yet it is fun to drive. I have not yet had any kind of problems at all.

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  Great Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By sdb - December 29 - 2:00 am

  Simply put the best car in its class. It has great value and is built great.

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  Holds Value Well - 1997 Acura TL
  By ebharrison - December 28 - 2:00 am

  Reliable, and fun to drive. Good resale value makes me feel good about this choice. Some passengers complain about how low the seats are to the ground and those with long legs dislike the rear seat.

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  Poor quality control - 2001 Acura TL
  By Jim Govoni - December 28 - 2:00 am

  Transmission stays out of gear after shifting from park 1-5 seconds. ABS & TCS Lights come on together and go off after restart. Many squeaks and rattles especially when cold. Paint quaily is very poor, finish disolves from bird droppings within 3 days. Windshield has what appears to be permanent smears. Seat belt retractor on drivers side is way too slow and can get caught in the door. Dealer charged over $300.00 for 30k service, including an unneeded Trans. fluid change.

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  2016 Acura MDX AWD - 2016 Acura MDX
  By CFM - December 27 - 6:28 pm

  We finally bought our new SUV or I guess they call it a crossover. Keep in mind we only have a few hundred miles on it so its still really early. We looked at a lot of vehicles before choosing the MDX. As far as a luxury 7 passenger vehicles go this seemed to have everything we wanted and needed after a couple of weeks of shopping and doing serious looking at the German counter parts. The MDX meets all of our requirements as follows in no specific order. Luxurious, stylish, roomy, safe, quality. We hope the maintenance is low and that it will hold its resale value I guess time will tell. The ride is great in the awd however on bumpy roads you can hear some road noise. The steering is awesome The turning radius is amazing making u-turns a breeze. This is a very easy and stress free vehicle to drive. Unlike most of the reviews I have read the command center is easy to operate we were a little worried after reading the reviews but it is super simple! We thought we wanted the black on black but after looking at the Lunar Silver Metallic we fell in love with how it really accentuates the lines on the vehicle.

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  A fantastic value - 1998 Acura TL
  By jdaniels - December 27 - 2:00 am

  I bought the TL as an Acura Certified pre-owned car with 44,000 miles on it. Condition of paint/leather/engine compartment was/still is (at 56,000 miles) unbelievable "showroom" new. The car runs and drives like something much more expensive its "gait" on the highway has to be experienced .. it just powers effortlessly along at illegal speeds. The transmission shifts are undetectable, unless youre really pushing it, and then you WANT to feel it shift and it does so smartly. Handling is decent for a car of this size/weight/genre. Reliability is rock solid.