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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  Acura - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Acura - September 17 - 10:00 am

  Build quality; Interior materials; Passenger and cargo room Climate controls; Fuel economy; Navigation system controls These are good things about the acura. It is a great suv and it handles well in the rain.

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  TL Type S vs. 328i - 2007 Acura TL
  By jodoan1 - September 16 - 9:30 pm

  If you believe an ultimate driving experience is more than just rubber on the road, then the TL Type S is sure to please. My daily commute is approximately 95% freeway in Northeast Ohio. I dont slalom or corner hard so the rear wheel drive experience is lost on me. The TL does exhibit torque steer but that is really only noticeable when using the "Manual Mode" and accelerating hard. I was surprised to experience torque steer shifting into 2nd, but with 286 HP, I should have guessed. This car is a dream to drive and the interior design, techno-features and build quality far out-delivers the BMW.

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  1996 3.2, get good comments all the time - 1996 Acura TL
  By TheBest - September 16 - 2:00 am

  Bought it in 98, now at 68k mile. Very responsive, nice interior, engine is very quite. Love the car.

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  Not a Truck! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Andy M - September 16 - 2:00 am

  Excellent road performance, especially on mountain roads where it is fun! Was considering the Sequoia, but the Sequoia drives like a (well designed) truck and has the interior design feel of a lower level vehicle. The more I drive the Acura, the more pleased I am. The BMW would have been nice, but not at the price and with one less row of seats. The dealer we bought from was outstanding, but another we tried were like sharks.

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  So Very Disappointed! - 2016 Acura ILX
  By Cheryl Steeper - September 15 - 3:42 pm

  Wanted to stay with Honda products, having been an owner of Honda or Acura since 1980. Like the exterior styling of this car very much. However, I have a spine condition and find the buckets are too deep and make my back hurt after 30 minutes. Hate the hesitation with acceleration & feel like Im driving a tank, but need to make allowances here since I am coming for a car that has 260 hp. Wish I had gone for the Navi on upper level package because there is a stupid black screen behind the clock that is distracting. The cabin feels claustrophobic and small. The seating adjustments are not enough. Im trying to find a seat cushion to fix the bucket issue, but everything pushes my head into the headliner. Ive had this car for 3.5 weeks and am counting the days until I can sell it & get something else. Ive sat in every Honda and Acura product and only found 3 seats that were comfortable for my back...Honda Fit & HR-V, and Acura TLX. Latter is too big and hated the push buttons (had those on my teenage car and not going back!), car also too big. Fit is OK, but feels like Im downgrading from old Acura. HR-V was OK, but dont want an SUV. Finishes on interiors of Honda & Acura products really cheaped out now. Still looking for something to replace this Acura ILX. SOOOOO very disappointed in Honda/Acura now. Feeling really let down by this manufacturer.

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  Great crossover, a blast to drive. - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Josho - September 15 - 8:03 am

  This car is really fun to drive. Theres basically no turbo lag; hit the gas, and off you go. Its surprisingly quick. The real joy comes from the SH-AWD system, which helps you stick to the road in any conditions, but especially when things get slick. The gas mileage is a bit worse than advertised, but still better than most, if not all, SUVs. The standard RDX comes with so much standard, youre better off buying a 3rd party nav system, and saving a bunch on the sticker. With so much standard, why pay another $4K for bluetooth and a back-up camera? Overall, a great buy at the standard level!

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  Best SUV in its Class - 2002 Acura MDX
  By abdiver - September 15 - 2:00 am

  Exceeds expectations. Car is easy to drive, has good performance, and is versatile. Compare to competitors vehicles has very few problems for a first year car. Reliability has been excellant thus far. We looked at BMW (fun to drive but cargo area non existent ), Mercedes (3rd row seating doesnt cut it), Lexus RX 300 (nice but too small), and Chevrolet Tahoe (Reliability history). The MDX took all the features we wanted and liked, and integrated them in a seamless well designed, safe, and reliable vehicle.

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  My first Acura experience - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Dan Lanza - September 15 - 1:46 am

  So far so good. This is a very nice upgrade from my previous vehicle (RAV4L). The voice activated Navigation is worth every penny. I will report back in about 6 months.

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  Love my new RDX! - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Hunter - September 14 - 1:38 pm

  Just bought my Fully loaded RDX and its amazing! Beautiful inside and out. The tech is awesome and it practically drives itself. Love the way it handles - very easy to drive - no blind spots thanks to the warnings and collision prevention and its so easy to drive it almost handles more like a car than an SUV. Highly recommend! Love mine.

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  2016 Acura TLX - V6 Advance AWD - 2016 Acura TLX
  By ASeedhouse - September 14 - 11:15 am

  I have always been a fan of the Acura TL, and recently went down and test drove the Acura TLX. I loved it, and ended up buying myself one two weeks later. For the money this thing is absolutely loaded with features. Adaptive cruise control, active lane keep assist and the brake hold are great features that make the commute to and from work on a daily basis that much more comfortable. As others have stated it takes a minute to get the hang of all the controls inside, but once you pick it up they really are quite logical. You can either use the spin wheel (similar to BMW and Mercedes but up on the dash), or you can use the touch screen to do a lot of things such as navigation and audio. The stereo is solid and the sub-woofer definitely helps to round it out with solid lows. Prior to owning the TLX I drove a King Ranch F-150 and I never realized how expensive it was in most cars in this class to get some of the features I have grown accustomed to over time such as air-conditioned seats and remote start. The Acura TLX provides excellent value for the money and I am really enjoying mine so far. I would definitely recommend that you check it out if you are looking for a sporty 4-door sedan in the $40,000-$45,000 range.