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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  Is Acura having quality problems? - 2002 Acura TL
  By not-as-happy - October 5 - 10:00 am

  Honda/Acura is the only car Ive ever driven - but Im starting to wonder whats going on over there. My TL rattled more than any other car Ive ever DRIVEN, much less owned. The dashboard and console squeaked and rattled like crazy. I have it on pretty good authority that Acura "knows about the problem and it can be fixed." It was otherwise a tremendous automobile. but the ride was a little too rough for my taste so I took it back for an MDX - Best car Ive ever driven but after 2 months IT squeaks a little. WHATS GOING ON OVER THERE?- YOU GUYS GET YOU QUALITY- CONTROL ACT TOGETHER!

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  Spittin Fur - 2014 Acura RDX
  By carl hefner - October 5 - 5:27 am

  The RDX just glides two wheel drive is just fine. Better gas mileage and a better feel. Tech package is worth it! Got a zoom.

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  I like it! - 2004 Acura TL
  By buddy0173 - October 1 - 10:00 am

  Very pleased so far w/ performance & handling. Rides smoothly & is comfortable. Highly recommended. All the durability & dependability of a Honda in an upscale sedan. Pleasure to drive.

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  Amazing - 2004 Acura TL
  By Sunil Reddy - October 1 - 10:00 am

  This is a fabulous automobile. Kudos the the engineers at Acura that developed this product. I guess the next generation TL will ride on an AWD platform to handle the additional power.

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  Best SUV on market - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Joe Isuzu - September 28 - 2:00 am

  Great ride, great car

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  great road car - 2003 Acura TL
  By acman - September 28 - 2:00 am

  purchased and went on a 2800 mile trip the next week. Excellent comfort and performance, but, not to large for comuting traffic. Reasonable gas mileage in light of the blistering performance. This car is FUN to drive!!!!

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  A unhappy new owner!!! - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Dustin - September 26 - 9:22 pm

  The 9 speed transmission is terrible. Worst I have ever had. I will check out the Lemon Law in our state.

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  My TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By Binh a.k.a Credit - September 24 - 12:23 pm

  I have been researching the Acura TL since its first debut in 2004 and am now happy to say, I am a proud owner of the 2005 model. It has almost everything I want in a vehicle, from luxury to entertainment, with the addition of power and performance. I love the surround sound system and feel proud that I am the first to have surround sound in my car over any one I know or my friends :). The bluetooth handsfree link feature is very cool, offering convenience and safety to driving, with no wires or having to hold your phone while driving. I must say the car is very comfortable too as I have taken it on a long drive and experience no lower body aches. Let me just say "U Wish U Could Ride a TL".

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  Good Choice - 2005 Acura TL
  By good choice - September 23 - 2:53 am

  I have had the TL for 10 months now with 7500 miles on it. I have not had to bring it to the dealer for any defects at all.The built quality is ok, but not at the Lexus or Bmw standard. Suspension is stiff, and the seats are not as comfortable as they should be. Audio system is excellent.Unfortunately blind spots are a problem , and the sideview mirrors are too small. It takes a while to get use to driving the car because of this. Acceleration and power are excellent. I have been averaging 22 combined mpg. Overall the TL is an excellent choice and very reliable.

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  AVery Nice SUV - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Illini Bird - September 22 - 2:00 am

  MDX is very roomy and the Navigation system is awesome! I also like the rear- view camera. I have never seen the VSC engage but am glad the car has it. On the down side, mileage is poor! My MDX does not get near what the ratings say (I get only about 12 or 13 mpg). The Lexus had a feature where when one held down the open door button on the remote control, all windows and the moon roof opened which was really nice when getting into the car in the summer. The MDX does not have this feature. Also, ALL windows in the Lexus were auto up and down - not just the drivers window. The automatic wipers do not work well with snow; they work OK with rain.