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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  Edmunds mpg Correction - 2001 Acura TL
  By A Owner - September 11 - 2:00 am

  I found the TL gets between 26 and 30 mpg depending on the type of driving and octane rating of the gas. I have no idea where Edmunds got the 20 mpg on their rating service.

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  07 TSX - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Detar24 - September 10 - 2:00 am

  Very good car with decent performance and great visibility. The fuel economy is excellent, especially for a car of its size. The styling is also a plus. Only complaint is the brakes. This is the second Honda/Acura weve owned with premature brake wear. Parents are having a similar issue with a 2006 Accord.

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  Couldnt Be Happier - 2010 Acura TSX
  By mkdubs205 - September 10 - 2:00 am

  This is my first real car coming out of college and i couldnt be happier with this vehicle. I opted out of the V6 tech package simply because of money, but either way the 201hp on the 2.4L moves quick. The ride is exceptional, i have not heard any noises or clunking from other reviews that ive read, and all the standard features that come equipped with this car gives it so much value. Everything is so well designed and ergonomically perfect for the driver. So far ive been averaging 24.3 mpg but its been steadily going up. Coming out of a 1995 Pontiac bonneville that ive drove since highschool for 7 years this car is simply a dream to drive. So much fun, so comfortable and the best value

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  93 acura gs-r - 1993 Acura Integra
  By frosty - September 9 - 2:00 am

  best car id ever owned.fast quick lil car.if youy maintain it good wont havent a problem.i put about 200k sometihing miles and still runs like champ...is my project and it a rare claasic legnd integra.

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  Very Happy - 2005 Acura RL
  By fargin - September 9 - 2:00 am

  One of the best cars I have owned and the Acura dealer is always nice. I have had Audi and Bmw and Acura is so much better overall in every category.

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  Awesome, but blind spot a deal breaker - 2010 Acura ZDX
  By dwcannon - September 9 - 2:00 am

  Reviewers mindset: Adrenaline before luxury. I went from pure joy of the ZDXs luxury and looks to missing my RDX in just two weeks. The ZDX is a hot rod in sport mode, but without the scary (exciting) surge of the RDX. The ZDX makes curves unnoticeable that my RDX has to work at. However, my RDX feels much more agile and fun. The ZDX is incredibly comfortable but bangs heads with adult rear passengers on entry. The ZDX CAN race through traffic, but its TERRIBLE drivers side blind spot and dimensions took a lot of effort to overcome. So I cruised slowly in ultimate luxury, but this got old quickly. I WANTED to LOVE the ZDX. Thank God it was only a two week loaner.

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  A well rounded SUV - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Newowner - September 9 - 2:00 am

  I cant believe its almost better than a sedan, the way MDX controls its body roll, sudden stop with almost no head bobbing. Very quiet compared to my TL04 and a ton of gadgets. Ive always said that Im not really into SUV (not fast enuf, heavy bodyroll, poor handling and sipping gas like crazy). Those impressions I got after i test drove X5 n RX but MDX adv has both world. With Adv models price, I cud go with X5 premium or diesel, but reliability is my main concern. 7 seat is also a plus, bigger than X5 and it seems MDX sells better. After watching a youtubes video how MDX was compared with audi/RX in 20-30 degreed steep climbing an icy/snowy ramp, I knew my choice.

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  Everything is Perception - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Adrian - September 9 - 2:00 am

  This is my first Japanease Car and after owning many American and a few German cars I am profoundly dissapointed. First the headliner was coming off and had to be replaced, second the rear shock was making an annoying jingling noise and had to be repaired and now I have a thumping noise everytime I step on the brakes and evertime I takeoff. This car feels like its falling apart and it only has 3500 miles on it. The interior is very well appointed but the side dash cover plates do not seem to be well installed. The car has good power for a four cylinder and great fuel economy as compared with large American SUV that I drove before. However just dont see this quality every raves.

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  Do your research - 2007 Acura RDX
  By My 3rd "Honda" - September 8 - 9:29 pm

  I bought a certified 2007 last month with 33k miles on it after lots of research. This is a great car. Gets 20mpg city/hwy which is just what I hoped for with a 3900lb turbo vehicle. It handles like a dream. It hugs curves like no other. The ride is bumpy, but not as bad as other SUV/ CUVs Ive been in. This car is FAST! Im not a lead foot, but I punched it a couple times and I was gone! The seats are comfortable and supportive. Theres lots of leg room in the back. The cargo area with seats up or seats down is more than adequate for this class and size of vehicle. This is a great vehicle for a family of 3. It nice after driving an Accord for 15 years not to see myself coming and going.

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  AWESOME CAR.WOULD BY AGAIN 5YRS FROM NOW - 2010 Acura TSX
  By taikien - September 7 - 8:06 pm

  Great design inside and out. Would recommend to family and friends. Great job Honda keep up the good work!!!!!!!!