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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  Very Good Deal For The Money - 2005 Acura TL
  By TomCLR - February 17 - 6:30 pm

  You get a lot of useful things in the Acura TL that all come standard that would normally be extra on competitor models. Very good power and control in everday driving, although on snow or slick surfaces the car lacks control at times. Navigation System is superb, as well as the overall look of the interior. Exterior is very smooth too. Interior quality has been questionable as Ive had quite a handful of rattles, and part of the headline covering the rear center brake light is coming off. Seat leather is so/so in quality, although comfort is very supportive in the front seats, but real not so much especially on long trips. Although, You really do get a lot from this vehicle from you money.

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  Love it - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Goldee - February 17 - 2:00 am

  I love my beautiful new car. I love the way it looks and handles. I want to keep this car until I pay it off. Ive never said that before.

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  Very Happy X Owner - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Ceenit - February 17 - 2:00 am

  Weve owned the car for about 7 months now and are very happy with the overall performance, fit and finish. We considered teh MDX, X3, Lexux 330, and the Sequoia. Overall value, reliability, conform of ride, power plant, third row seat and storage made the MDX an easy choice for us.

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  2004 TL Rocks - 2004 Acura TL
  By Jocko - February 17 - 2:00 am

  I have now had the 2004 TL (Blue/Quartz) for a month and a half and have gotten many compliments on the styling. Having upgraded from a Honda Civic, this was quite a change. The interior materials look good and all the included options are incredible. I have to say that I was beginning to hat e to drive, but now in the TL I take the long way home. Buying experience was the best Ive ever had using the Dealer quote option here on Edmunds.

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  Excellent Car - 2005 Acura TL
  By Steve - February 16 - 10:43 pm

  A very powerful, fun car to drive. Loaded with extras.

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  Unreliable Navigation System - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Carmen - February 16 - 8:06 pm

  The navigation map system in not reliable. When an update becomes available, be prepared to pay $145 or more plus tax & shipping for the software. My concern is traveling outside of my hometown to places that have updated their roads. Unfortunately for the amount of money spend for this vehicle, you CANNOT rely on the navigation map system. I purchased my vehicle in June 2015 and today (9/13/16) I contacted Honda Navigation System and was told there is no information about a forth coming update to the navigation map system. I have to use Google Maps from my mobile phone which is much more reliable.

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  First Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By tg - February 16 - 10:00 am

  I test drove some of the other cars in RSX class with V6 engines and they can compare to the performace. The sheer fun to drive factor brings a smile to my face when I get in my RSX Type-S.

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  dadas RSX-S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Curly - February 16 - 10:00 am

  For the money one of the most sofisticated and refined cars out there. Ideal for driving enthusiasts that also want quality and reliability.

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  X! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By TYP - February 16 - 10:00 am

  Its best for the price, realy functional well designed car! Ive been follow by cops while driving 80 but they were just checking the car out, so lucky no ticket yet!

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  Driving to/from work is bearable! - 2003 Acura TL
  By MO - February 16 - 10:00 am

  Recently purchased the Diamond Pearl with black interior Type-S. I sold my 95 Integra and financed the rest. I love this car. So far, I have had no problems at all. Driving to work is now a great way to start my day...yeah...that sounds pretty pitiful...Oh well. Its still a great car.