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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  Dont be a Dummy from 3 Transmissions - 2002 Acura MDX
  By davesocal - April 18 - 2:58 pm

  Bought this MDX new with all options. At 55,000 had the transmission replaced using my extended warranty (1 month shy of expiration and any work done under the warranty or extension it is only good thru the end of the extension date, meaning I only had one month of warranty on the new transmission). This transmission died at 88,000 mi. 6k replacement from the dealer, which was whittled down to 2 thousand. This car has been babied thru the dealer servicing since purchase. Service managers admit the design is faulty. And mentioned I was lucky to get this much use before the transmissons died ! DO NOT PURCHASE THIS CAR USED !!! YOU WILL HAVE A PROBLEM !!!

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  Disappointed- Inconvenient Car - 2012 Acura MDX
  By tcars1 - April 8 - 6:03 pm

  Had 3 months, car is not convenient, there are feature which make you wonder who thought of this? Obviously someone not driving but designing the car. If you get the car you will see what I mean. You can open the power lift gate with the key or with a button in the driver door but the power lift gate DOES NOT work with the truck button. Sure it releases the trunk and then you have to yank it up but its not powered…but is on the down slope. If you walk up to the car and it is open, you can’t simply hold all of your bags and “touch” the hatch door handle…no you have to open the trunk. You cannot open the power lift gate without first unlocking the entire car. Say you are at the stor

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  Disappointed about my dream car! - 2011 Acura MDX
  By maxbailey - December 27 - 6:40 pm

  I have been waiting nearly 7 years to buy an MDX. I purchased my vehicle just over 6 months ago. I love it...it is beautiful! However, it has left me stranded several times and the technicians at Acura are stumped. A message keeps appearing..."check starter system." Acura has had my vehicle on several occasions now. They replaced the computer system and thought the problem was solved. However, this morning after the vehicle sat in my garage for 3 days, I got in the vehicle and the XM radio stations were all reset to the preview channel, my #1 driver memory was gone and the a/c was on max. I never leave the a/c or heat on when I shut off the vehicle. Tonight the vehicle wont start:-(

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  Dont get Nav - waste of money - 2011 Acura MDX
  By whomiam1 - November 14 - 8:57 am

  I purchased a 2011 MDX earlier this year and got the tech package in order to have built in navigation. I love my old Garmin and wouldn travel without navigation again. Unfortunately after purchasing it I found it to be so outdated and inaccurate that it is nearly useless. I have to install my Garmin anyway. I later learned that Acura uses a system made by a little company that has no credibility. WHY! You would think that with Acuras reputation on line they would look for a REAL nav system from one of the major producers. I just hope i can prevent others from making the same mistake. PS: if your thinking of getting a Lexus instead their system is apparently even worse.

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  96 Acura problems - 1996 Acura TL
  By henry49 - September 30 - 9:07 am

  200k mi(9-30-11) oil leak-filter neck gasket, then water pump alternater moter mounts($400ea) fuel pump And relay(stuck on freeway) oil leak on distributor gasket seats crack oil leaks valve cover(numerous)and on cam seal oil burns and smells(must fix) harmonic balancer wheel to alt bad,(must replace) front wheel bjoints radio(cd trouble) I fix one thing then next week or day here comes another, boy, glad Im blessed that I can fix my own vehicle! (I really ain"t finished)

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  Did not meet my exectations as a used vehicle purchase - 2003 Acura TL
  By jacquelineb - September 18 - 11:13 am

  Initially I was proud that my 2003 Acura TL was made in Ohio and purchasing it used fit my budget in 2007. This car can eat four years of family vacations. Expenses include: a rebuilt transmission replacement, convenient electrical features busting. At 80,000 my CD player failed & ate CDs, @ 90,000 CD player buttons on steering wheel failed, @ 100,000 the heated seat feature failed on the passenger side. The one on driver side only heats the back not the bum for which I am keeping my fingers crossed will not fail this week since I need to recover from a back sprain. Leather seats not too durable for no kids no pets family.

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  Not my Old MDX - 2011 Acura MDX
  By richtn1 - July 20 - 1:15 pm

  After 3 months My 2011 MDX is now on a Used car lot. I owned a 2005 MDX that I loved! It rode great, was reliable and got decent gas miliage. The new version is nothing like that. It rides like a Dump Truck, guzzles gas and is like being in a torture chamber. Seats are hard, controls are annoying and confusing. To top that, the dealership was awful. I purchased my previous MDX from Crown Accira of Richmond and it was a fun experience, This time ,the sales person was texting on my test drives and most of the time acted like she was doing me a favor taking me out. The manager was eating chicken on a console right as you walk into the dealership. It was a real side show. Horrible!

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  Noise from transmision - 2010 Acura TL
  By 2010acuratl - June 22 - 4:29 pm

  My 2010 Acura TL has experienced severe noises since new which is felt at when I shift gear from park to drive and releas break lound noise come from transmision. I have been bring back to deler 4 times for mechanic(s) to check it out but they cant figure it out. The car has I couldnt be any more disappointed than I am with the vehicle and Acuras response.I would not recommend this car to anyone.

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  Not really good for the money - 2010 Acura RDX
  By dahaad3925 - June 4 - 2:28 pm

  The RDX was really convenient for the extra cargo space, but it lacked two things that really bugged me. 1.) storage space in the cabin. There was absolutely no where to put anything out of sight in the cargo compartment. I wish they had put more little cubbies to store stuff in. 2.) The cabin noise when you drive down the street. I could hear everything and it drove me nuts! I am a luxury car owner. Before the RDX I owned a BMW, and in comparison I wanted my BMW back everyday. Overall, I dont think the RDX was worth the almost 40K I paid for it brand new. Im not going to lie, the surround sound and technology was nice, but its practicality is why it gets a partial substandard review.

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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.