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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  Satisfied - 2008 Acura MDX
  By RV - March 1 - 2:50 am

  Hello, Have had this car for three weeks, bought the tech/entertainment package (blk/blk). Car is beautiful inside and out. Navigation is easy to use, if youve had navigation before. HandsFree Link with our blue tooth phones is awesome. Car accelerates and handles excellently. We own an integra before this so we knew it was going to be a quality vehicle and are not disappointed. 10 speaker stereo is amazing. Kids can listen/watch DVDs in back while we listen to radio in front. Cant complaining about gas mileage, car is full sized SUV not a Honda civic!! Our MDX gets same gas mileage as our Pathfinder, if you want excellent gas mileage buy something smaller. Awesome car!!

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  Acura TL? Not so sure!! - 2004 Acura TL
  By ullahw - February 25 - 2:00 am

  Its an Acura, so there is no doubt about its reliablity. But when it comes to performance, I would prefer the TL Type-S from 2003 models. Or Rwd Infiniti G35 for that matter. I just dont feel that this vehicle has 270 hp and 238 torque. On the ohter hand, the Type-S models were a lot more fun to drive. I regret I had shopped around a little more.

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  Nice Car, Poor Service - 2006 Acura TL
  By jonathan - February 24 - 3:49 pm

  I had a volvo previously and I liked that car. I bought this car, since the S60 is outdated and this car is definitely the best buy, nice dash layout and the most friendly car Ive had. The navigation system is by far the best available in the market. The car rides fine if handling is not a key factor. At high speed and when taking curves there are some lateral unwanted moves that make you lose control of the car.

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  Nice job Acura - 1992 Acura Integra
  By Jon - February 21 - 8:50 pm

  My Acura went from my father to my brother then me and it still runs strong. My 2nd generation Integra has 275k with out problems. However I do think that the years are starting to catch up to it. But it is one of the most reliable cars I have ever seen.

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  What a machine - 2005 Acura TL
  By Great Car - February 18 - 5:10 pm

  I do enjoy my TL. The six speed manual trans is great, however when the temperature is below 60 degrees the shifting is tight until the car gets hot. The sound system and navigation are great features. Overall a real head turner.

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  Very good car! - 2005 Acura TL
  By tlong - February 17 - 11:33 pm

  Car has been great! Truly a fabulous value. No problems to date, no rattles. First time back to the dealer was for first service, car arrived with NOTHING wrong!

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  Great car, great value - 2006 Acura TL
  By TomSim - February 17 - 5:06 am

  Overall probably best car Ive ever had, and Ive had many, incl G35 Coupe (still have) and Sedan, and 06 BMW 3- series (didnt like). Does it handle like them or have the power of the Infiniti? No, but it has more power and torque than BMW and its still plenty fun to drive. Very comfortable, great features for the money, excellent ergonomics and, I think, looks great, too. Also, the fact that its FWD does not mean that its not a sport sedan. Its not a Bimmer or Audi, but its still very much a sport sedan. And you get a lot more car for the money than the German cars.

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  Comfotable, fun to drive and very smart! - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Laurie - February 16 - 4:56 am

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  Built to last - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Redfern - February 15 - 10:00 am

  This is my second MDX. My first one performed exceptionally well. Interior road noise was evident. The 2004 has improved markedly in many respects. Handling, ride, and horsepower. Better fuel economy is edvident. The vehicle is superbly engineered. While the brakes are excellent, The 2001 wass superior.

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  Good car... but a little overrated - 2004 Acura TL
  By Dan - February 11 - 8:05 pm

  I bought this car in early 2004. I like the car very much, the bluetooth functionality is great and I think everyone should have the navi system. I think the sound system is the most overrated feature. I dont listen to DVD-A discs, and dont know anybody that does, so it is completely useless to me. The stereo is grossly underpowered. On the highway, I crank it up as high as it can go without distortion and it is just barely audible. I had a Bose system in my previous car and it was much better sounding. Im surprised it is missing some basic items that a car in this category should have: automatic lights, side mirrors that angle down while in reverse, and a few others.