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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  A Conservative Statement - 1999 Acura TL
  By olso1509 - March 29 - 2:00 am

  The TL is perhaps the best car in class! I decided purchase mine only 9 months ago, and would recommend this car to anyone. I feel that it is by far the most luxurious vehicle for the money. Not only are you driving around in sheer luxury, but in one of the most reliable cars on the road. I purchased my first Acura (Integra) in 1998, and wont buy anything else! I refuse to drop money in vehicles other than maintance, and Acuras one of the only manufactures that can offer me that until 100,000 miles.

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  Great Value for comfort and tech features. - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Tom - March 28 - 10:40 am

  1) Its more comfort/quiet than sporty, more lexus ES then BMW 3 series. If you looking for a comfortable commuter car to make a few aggressive moves, this care will do the trick just fine. Plan for an extra lag time when you hit petal to the metal, unless you are in sport+ mode. Under all other modes pressing the petal will only accelerate the car slowly in the immediate second. 2) more car for the value. Car is almost the size of lexus ES (large midsize), not BMW 3 series (small midsize). It is quiet, It seems to be tune to weed out outside human voice and not so much traffic noise. traffic noise is hush to a very comfortable whisper. You can only hear the wind if you travel faster than 70mph. But not as quiet as top of the line BMW 7 or lexus LS. You hardly tell the difference between going 50mph vs 100mph unti you look at speeddometer. Technology package really adds a lot of value even though it may not seem like it on paper. Lots of standard features even in the base model (LED headlights, rear view camera, heated seats, side mirrors automatically tilt down when in reverse). One of the best audio systems. 2) Inexpensive, easy to own, premium fuel is recommended but not required. Buy pre-certified, and get benefits of cheaper price but has full new car warranty + 1 additional year. Maintenance is also cheap thus should buy rather than lease, compared to BMW or Mercedes which basically forces you to lease or sell the car once maintenance warranty runs out. 3) Lots of technology and features at much cheaper prices compared to the Germans. standard rearview camera. I really like the 3 views camera (no need for parking sensors with a top down view, where you can see exactly how many inches before the bumper hits the other car). I disagree with some professional reviewers, I prefer the dual screen setup, where I can keep the nav map on top and audio/climate on the bottom screen. Blind spot warning lights are on the inside, not on side mirrors like other cars. The Best lane keeping assist system, though I prefer if it work at low speeds also. Love the automatic record all CDs while you place in the car. Insert a CD and by the time you listening to the 3rd track, it has recorded the entire CD, so you never have to re-insert the CD again. Back seats fold down. Great night time ambient lighting. Lots of interior storage places. 4) Interior is Not quite full luxury experience. Very 2010 luxury feel than 2015-2016. No panoramic sun roof. Clean look, but no contrasting color scheme. Not all panels are leather or wood-like. Some use of soft plastics, hard plastic for the door trays. Lumbar support doesnt have height adjustment. No sun shades, only highest trim has cooling seats, heated steering wheel, and puddle lights. Overall TLX is a best value for the features and well rounded car with low maintenance cost. It not the best performance nor the best comfort luxury.

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  Excellent Vehicle! - 2001 Acura MDX
  By blaws - March 28 - 2:00 am

  This is truly an excellent vehicle. Fit and finish are flawless. The engine is very responsive, has plenty of power, and transfers that power to the wheels very well. I am averaging 16-17 mpg in town, and over 23 on the highway. The ride is somewhat firm, but without letting you feel excessively jarred or beat up. Handling is also tight and responsive. The Navigation package could use a little improvement. Overall, in my opinion, Acura has a winner here.

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  If you leave in NY DO NOT GET THIS ONE - 2000 Acura TL
  By username123 - March 28 - 2:00 am

  I can tell you one thing that its a very nice car for the $$$, but if you plan to park it overnight in New York, good luck. I had this car for 2 years and I had my head lights stolen 2 times and finally they took it all. I have seen toooooooo many of those TLs around town with no "eyes". Think where you will park it before you buy it.

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  2.5 tl - 1997 Acura TL
  By cms1027 - March 27 - 2:00 am

  car rides great. never had problems.

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  Keeps on Ticking - 1992 Acura Legend
  By KenfromGA - March 27 - 2:00 am

  Bought this new in 92. Now has 175,000 miles. Had every maintenance done on schedule and changed the oil at least every 4,000 miles. Runs and handles like a new car. Repairs: AC compressor at 150,000 - Radiator at 173,000. Other normal "wear and tear" as expected. This baby is still solid and rides like a dream. Hope to make at least 250k - 300k miles.

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  Great Car! Loves the Gas! - 1998 Acura RL
  By Comet16 - March 27 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 1998 ACURA 3.5Rl last year from an individual. I had finally driven my 1994 Nissan Pathfinder, manual transimission long enough (150,00+ miles)... Being a "Sales Guy" I am on the road 3-5 days a week either around town or 400+mile trips in a day... The ACURA is great for comfort, handleing and performance... But, the mileage is rotten, not to mention the fact you have to pump premium petrol in the bad boy to keep it running great. Tried regular and the performance was obviuosly less... All in all I like the car but I think I will step up to a Lexus 430 on the next one...

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  My Acura 3.2 TL - 1999 Acura TL
  By berstan - March 27 - 2:00 am

  Been a wonderful car. have had nothing but Hondas and Acuras since 1892 and this is the best of them all with the possible exception of my 1992 Acura Legend. It has been in the garage for service, other than oil changes, exactly once. This month the odometer display failed and was replaced under warranty by our local dealer

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  The best front driver - 2001 Acura Integra
  By mtlisi - March 26 - 2:00 am

  Absolutely the best of the field, Well honed machine with noe equivication of its intended purpose. A true street legal race car.

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  Great Car - 1990 Acura Integra
  By pwatson - March 25 - 2:00 am

  I have 160,000 miles on this car that I have had for ten years. I have only done routine service on it, and just replaced my alternator about a month ago. I have never had any problems with the clutch or transmission and have had no major engine trouble.