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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  its true.. good but could be better, easily - 2008 Acura RDX
  By richman3 - December 30 - 12:34 pm

  It is true, all that was written by the reviewers on edmunds... The glove box slams on the passengers legs, the cup holders are not adjustable, the lights are not automatic, the GPS cannot be seen when sunny, center console oepns to side instead of up, your have to hit the OK button every single time on the GPS unit, I mean every time you get in the car. This is silly, and could also be easily recitified. Just download a patch. etc. etc. All of these could easily be fixed. Come on Acura this will take just a little effort. That being said I love the pickup and handling and it has plenty of utility for me. Just throw my hockey stuff in and go. e on Acura, this is a luxury brand.

• 

  Worried after reading...... - 2002 Acura MDX
  By hdavis39 - December 28 - 11:21 pm

  I love my MDX. I am worried now that I have read the significant issues people have had with their transmission. I pray that I will not. I have over 163,000 miles on my car now and have never had any major issues. I changed the timing belt just to avoid future problems when I did a major maintenance. I will say with regard to safety that this vehicle has been safe. I have six children and I have had several people hit me and I rear ended someone once. The only damage to my car were mere scratches. It is built like a tank. Maybe I will be one of the lucky ones but so far I cannot complain. This is the best car that I have ever driven.

• 

  Exceptional without question - 2010 Acura TSX
  By jazzwarrior - December 21 - 7:29 am

  Just coming up to my first week of ownership of the TSX. This is my first foreign car as a owner. I worked at General Motors for more than 25 years and drove/owned/leased virtually every luxury/sports car the automaker made since 1981 - including Saab. Without question the TSX is a very fine automobile measurable to any luxury sports sedan on the market. When you compare the technology, creature comforts, the TSX is very price competitive. Mileage is close to 26MPG city 30-31 mpg on the highway. Contrary to other reviews, the 4 cylinder engine is extremely powerful and accelerates quickly in highway traffic. Reminds me of the turbo charged Saab 9-5.

• 

  very pleased, but a few issues... - 2009 Acura TSX
  By natochi - December 20 - 4:05 pm

  Bought a certified pre-owned ’09 TSX recently. The TSX handles like a 3-series but provides a lot more value. With “S” mode on in the Auto this feels like a different car – from what I’ve heard you’re consistently revving higher and pushing that VTEC more. Critics give the TSX a hard time for its lack of power but it’s a pretty quick little car. Turn on “S” mode and pass a semi-truck on the highway and tell me this car isn’t fast. What I don’t like: The Hands Free Link audio commands are still weak. I think I already blew a speaker and this seems common as the speakers are a bit subpar. Other than those, great car!

• 

  Moved from a Lexus RX - 2011 Acura MDX
  By g35shopper - December 19 - 11:35 pm

  Took delivery of a 2011 last Saturday. Mostly very pleased. The exception would be the mpg. My Lexus was bullet proof but just too dull to buy another one. The MDX handles much better and the transmission is much more decisive. I do have to admit that I can tell why the RX commands a price premium. The interior and the controls in the MDX feel cheaper (although acceptable).

• 

  Think twice about this one.... - 2001 Acura CL
  By ar1906 - December 16 - 9:38 pm

  I bought my cl type-s used 4 years ago with just a little over 100k miles on it. It has been better than I expected but this car has a serious transmission issue. Ive had to replace 2, the first was well over $2k and the second was fixed under warranty and now at 215,000 miles Im looking at getting a third!!! If your thinking about buying one used beware that your gonna have to replace the transmission at some point. Other than that issue this car has been great, its fun to drive with very comfortable seats for long trips. Verdict: Im selling it and getting a 07 TL, why? U cant beat honda and acura value!!!m selling and getting a 07 TL as mileage is pretty decent too. To sum it up,

• 

  40K and so far, so good - 2008 Acura RDX
  By twistlock - December 16 - 8:39 pm

  For the past couple of years my RDX has worked well - no warranty issues to date. In addition to city/ highway driving, I travel frequently to Lake Tahoe during the winter. The SH-AWD mated with winter tires keeps me truckin along. Agree with other reviews that gas mileage is not the best when climbing the Sierra Nevada, but there is zero power loss (IMO) and I knew what to expect with a turbo-engine.

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  Love this car - 2004 Acura TL
  By mel63 - December 16 - 12:01 pm

  I bought this 2004 Acura TL new. I now have 185,00 miles on it, 95% of them being highway miles. A few problems here and there, but all in all its the greatest car Ive had. My bluetooth has problems off and on and my navigation system has died due to it being in the trunk and I live 2 miles off the highway on a dirt and dusty road. Would love to know if anyone else has had more miles than mine and if yours is still running well.

• 

  Would Not Buy It Again - 2006 Acura TSX
  By karina97 - December 14 - 5:32 pm

  I bought my TSX in 2006 and started having problems about a year later. It needed to have major work done on the steering twice. Both times the car was at the dealer for over a week. Just glad it was still under warranty and the dealer gave me a loaner. Also, I have had to replace the brakes more times on my TSX than I have ever had to on any other car. The TSX has a cheap build quality and the paint scratches easily. Also, there is a lot of road noise. On the plus side, the dealer service staff is great.

• 

  99 integra ls 2d automatic - 1999 Acura Integra
  By twoheadsup - December 9 - 9:21 pm

  I absolutely love this car, it is right on so many levels! It is sporty, good-looking, reliable, versatile, fuel-efficient, and safe. Even though mine has the basic 1.8L b18b1 engine without vtec, it roars when you force down the pedal and those revs soar up. For a high-revving engine the low-end torque is great, I had to haul over 150 pounds of plywood in the trunk and it never quit. I bought it at 94k miles and im at 122k miles now and its still tight as a drum. Since I bought the car 2 and a half years ago, the only things that have went wrong and needed to be replaced were the speakers and a tail light. Upkeep has been about $1,300 since I bought it, due required services at 100k miles.