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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  RDX 2010 SH-AWD with Tech - 2010 Acura RDX
  By raza - November 17 - 10:11 am

  Absolutely best car I ever drove. All wheel drive is a blast to drive in the rain and snow... the tech in the car is amazing. The only downside is the gas mileage getting about 17-19 on highway. Probably needs to break in some more. Pretty quick for a 4 cylinder. Seats are very comfortable.

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  2004 TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By TM823 - November 16 - 2:00 am

  Quick, Handles well. Great look, comfortable seats everything but auto headlights

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  No complaints after 7 years - 2002 Acura RL
  By watjordan - November 15 - 8:11 pm

  I am very satisfied with the car. Only trip to dealerships are for routine maintenance and tire rotations. Car looks great and runs quietly and smoothly.

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  Great SUV - 2009 Acura MDX
  By Carl R - November 15 - 4:24 pm

  I just came out of an Audi A-8 yet needed a SUV. I normally would not even consider a MDX however my wife bought an Acura RL in April and loved the car the quality and ride was excellent so I elected to look at the MDX. The ride is excellent and the finish is terrific. I felt the interior was nicer than the Q7. The sound system in the vehicle (with the Tech package) is exceptional and better then in my previous Audi, Jaguar and Lexus. I love driving it!

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  Excellent Car - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Tristan - November 15 - 3:24 pm

  The Acura TSX is my first new car and what a change it is from the previous cars I have driven. While this car is not a power beast, it has significantly more power than your normal sedan. The car is quick and somewhat nimble although when going around turns, I would like to feel more steering response- although this can be attributed to Acuras first attempt at electric steering in the TSX. The design on the outside is very modern and has really nice curves. Inside, the technology is amazing- a decent navigation system, good audio, voice controls- it is a tech nerds dream. So far the car has been very reliable. Gas economy is interesting- very good on the highway but not great in the city.

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  Exellent value and looks - 2005 Acura TL
  By Boza - November 14 - 7:43 pm

  My driving experience have been impecable. This is the best car Ive ever own.

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  09 TL AWD - 2009 Acura TL
  By RonB - November 14 - 11:09 am

  I bought this car after a 3 year lease on a 2007 Accord V6. The Accord was flawless and sold me on Honda vehicles. The exterior styling of the car is just a little too gaudy for my taste and could be toned down some but it was not enough to prevent me from buying the car. I drove the car on a 500 mile business trip the first week I owned it and that convinced me that I made an excellent choice. The NAV Weather is a great plus, the sound system is excellent, the ride is quiet and comfortable and the mileage is more than acceptable for a car of this size.

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  2010 RDX (AWD) - 2010 Acura RDX
  By Robert McGuire - November 14 - 10:04 am

  I have only had this vehicle for two weeks but I have enjoyed it very much. It is fun to drive, has the power I need when merging on to the highway and I love when the turbo kicks in. Not very pleased with the road noise and you feel every bump, thats something that my wife and I both agree on. The road noise you can get use to but the bumps are another thing.

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  2003 TL Type S with Navigation, Spoiler - 2003 Acura TL
  By tonnybb - November 14 - 10:00 am

  I was torned between this car and the Lexus IS 300. The Type S won me over due to its excellent value, long list of features, resale value, and reputation for quality. Including tax, I paid $33,500. I have less than 1,000 miles on it and it is therefore still in the break in period. I have been a long-term BMW owner (5 and 7 series). The BMW handles better, but the total cost of ownership of these cars are way too expensive. This is an excellent handling car for a front drive vehicle with outstanding accelaration and fuel ecconomy for its size.

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  Happy Camper - 2018 Acura RDX
  By Optionier - November 13 - 5:09 pm

  Came from a BMW X-3 that I had been driving since purchasing new in 2011. The RDX is an easier daily driver. I had been driving on run flat tires for so long I had forgotten how bad they are. The RDX is simply more comfortable over all road conditions. Test drove the 2018 X-3 and was disappointed in the BMW’s turbo 4 pot. Even though it had good acceleration it’s still displays an economy car feel, sound and characteristics. Visibility is super, comfort is excellent. Just finished a 650 mile road trip that I had taken many times in the X-3 and felt more comfortable and much less fatigued in the RDX. Throw in at least $10,000 lower price than a similarly equipped X-3 and I’m simply a happy camper.