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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  The best car for the money! - 1990 Acura Legend
  By ikeberry - February 7 - 9:12 am

  I bought this car when it had 245,000 miles. I have continued to drive it without any major problems. It now has 279K. The car is 17 years old and still is holding up to the New York winters. Little exterior rust. Interior leather has not held up good through the years, cracked and needs to be covered over. Engine still has some get up and go in it.

• 

  Great value - 2018 Acura RDX
  By KK - February 7 - 8:42 am

  Has many of the features its more expensive competitors have. Great value.

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  Great car I never considered before test driving - 2007 Acura RL
  By Dame Irv - February 6 - 2:26 am

  I went to the dealer looking for an Infiniti G35 and decided to give this a test drive. The interior is luxurious. Leather, wood, voice operated control of the a/c, music, bluetooth, navigation, and more. The leather is great quality. I bought the car with 130k miles on it 3 years ago and ive driven it as if mileage didnt matter going from state to state. The only problems Ive had so far: I had to replace a pulley (which was really random!) and i recently had to replace the altenator. Other than that all ive had was routine maintenance that wasnt luxury car expensive.. it was honda accord expensive. I probably wouldnt buy another one but I am happy with my purchase. The Acura RL is a respectable car for any business person and for good reason.

• 

  RDX - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Mike - February 3 - 5:52 pm

  The most comfortable, fun car Ive ever owned.

• 

  Integra 59 - 1996 Acura Integra
  By mechanic - January 29 - 2:29 pm

  Ive owned the Integra for 8 1/2 years. It has about 108,000 miles on it. Its fun to drive, has very little maintenance cost, and responds very quickly. The seat belts respond too quickly, pinning me to the seat when I move rapidly. The only mechanical problem that I find to be a weakness is that I had to replace the radiator after 84,000 miles.

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  Acura Quality Questionable - 2001 Acura MDX
  By FC - January 27 - 10:13 am

  Bought used 55000 and it filled up with water in first rainstorm - bad caulking on firewall seals. Broken front spring replaced. Oil jet kit installed. Tach surges 50-100 rpm every 2-3 seconds - dealer cannot diagnose after hundreds of $s - now thinks it is torque converter. EGR valve replaced on warranty. Plastic vent controls snapped off. Rear wiper droops. Brakes cost > $600 to fix. Road noise excessive. Stereo system is weak. Fuel mileage is poor, especially in city.

• 

  Id buy another X - 2004 Acura MDX
  By kevman1 - January 25 - 1:24 pm

  This has been the perfect vehicle for me because: 1. I drive 45 miles to work, so the 25 mpg I get (driving gently) is great. 2. I can fit anything I need to inside, since it can accommodate boards/items 4 wide. 3. I love the way it looks. 4. It was cheaper than all the other SUVs I was looking at. 5. Ive had NO major issues with it for 78k miles. 6. I can perform my own maintenance (all 4 fluid changes).

• 

  Just Got This One - 2005 Acura TL
  By Larry Jay - January 23 - 9:16 pm

  Although this car isnt as beautiful as the Lexus GS I chose it over, it is very impressive. Theres lots more room than the exterior suggests. The controls are clear and convenient. The power reserve, for a slow commuter, is terrific, and I long to wind it out. I miss two things from my previous Lexus: the automatic tilt-away steering wheel, for easy in and out, and the full leather seats. While these seats look fantastic, they appear to be leather only in the perforated, middle areas. Still, I expect a long, solid life from this car.

• 

  Great except for transmission - 2001 Acura TL
  By don denton - January 22 - 10:15 pm

  TL has proven an excellent auto with a quarter million miles plus over less than 6 years. Only gripe is the transmission. Acura replaced the first one at 92,000 miles at no charge, and I replaced the second one at 230,000 miles at an expensive charge. Other than this one negative, the auto has had only one small problem, which cost <$150. High-end Michelin tires last 120,000 miles. This auto has been a very high value buy.

• 

  OK, but.... - 2003 Acura TL
  By catcher10us - January 15 - 7:23 am

  This is my third acura, a vigor, 1999 3.2 TL and the 2003 3.2 TL. All in all, a good value, but far from perfect. Brakes and brake rotors have been an issue, from the 1999 to the one I have now. Suspension is a little soft and if you push the car around a corner, you can feel it. Then there are the tranny problems, legend for TL owners. Compared to whats out there in the price range, the TL, especially the new one is a good choice, but, the bloom is off the rose for me in some areas. My lease is up in about 6 months and I will explore all options. The fit and finish on the Acura is still far above that of the Maxima.