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:

• 

  Could be a great car - 2016 Acura TLX
  By acuradriver - February 28 - 4:35 pm

  Transmission is awful, 9 speed ZF just isnt right choice. Interior desighn is a bit rough and poor for luxury car. Handling is great. AWD SH is awesome. Could be a great car if Acura didnt cut corners and did not put that awful 9 speed transmission in. Also, poor customer service at acuralink, but Radley Acura where I got this car is outstanding.

• 

  My RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By Allen - February 27 - 8:53 am

  I have had this 05 RL just 2 months, but I love to drive it. Build quality is perfect and Honda has thought of most every comfort and luxury. This car is a very close match in handling, comfort and luxury to my former 02 BMW 530i - which was problem prone from day one.

• 

  Great SUV - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Lou123 - February 26 - 2:00 am

  I test drove 9 different SUVs and this was by far the best one out there. It is perfect for me because I dont do allot of 4 wheel driving and I just need something to haul stuff and drive well in the snow. This SUV is smoother, faster and quieter than my Acura TL!

• 

  My Best Acura - 2005 Acura TL
  By Eric Kushins - February 25 - 2:10 am

  This is my fourth Acura. Prior to my 2004 TL experience the best car Id owned was my 93 Legend. I then drove two RLs which were well built but under powered! This TL has it all! It is comparable in quality and performance to high-end German sports sedans, and frankly exceeds some of them which cost upwards of $15K more. It is tightly built, extra responsive, and has terrific eye appeal. Acura has always rewarded owners with a lot of car for the money, however, this TL with its big basket of technology is far and away the winner in this catagory. And the 2005 RL appears to be taking us to an even higher level.

• 

  Review - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Lana Adams - February 24 - 10:00 am

  Car is a great value for the price..Only issue is there is a little bit of wind noise driving on highways

• 

  rating my honda acura - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Kiara - February 24 - 10:00 am

  This is a great car the kids love it. There friends say that they have one of the best cars. Its very comfortable and is a very easy smooth ride.

• 

  nice Acura - 2005 Acura RSX
  By rsx type-S - February 24 - 10:00 am

  I test drove 05 type-S two days ago and was really surprised... My current car is 04 WRX and no, type-S doesnt have that raw torque and power of my rex BUT it is VERY quik ( 0-60 in 6.5 seconds) and for that price its defenly great choice. The car also has great potential for automarket parts and handles like a real sports car from Japan. Also it is a beauty from the outside and has absolutely great interior. 6 speed tranny is top-notch and here comes an advice for all customers who had problems with that transmission: let it warm up a bit and there will be no grinding. i-Vtech sounds incredible.

• 

  Great Car! - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Joaquim Tavares - February 24 - 3:48 am

  Typical Acura quality... so far Im very happy.

• 

  Car flies - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Lisa Estok - February 23 - 6:15 pm

• 

  Dont believe the bad reviews - 2004 Acura TL
  By BJohansson - February 21 - 5:43 pm

  Ive read numerous bad reviews - dont believe them. My TL has been awesome. Seats are perfect, the quality is better than the Lexus I own, and the performance is unreal. BMW 3-series does have better steering, but I cant live with RWD in upstate NY. Had to replace bad OEM tires, but the dealer did so without batting an eyelash. Other than that, Ive had no problems in the 10 months Ive owned the car. No rattles, no CD problems, or any of the other issues raised in other reviews.