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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  Its an Acura - 2004 Acura RL
  By joan - December 22 - 4:08 pm

  Since I have been driving Acuras since 1996, all I can say is that they are very reliable cars. All the bells and whistles one could wish for come standard with the exception of a navigation system. Your mother would love it as well as your child.

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  Vroom Vroom - 2006 Acura TSX
  By nametabm - December 21 - 10:15 pm

  I am a self proclaimed car-snob and the only vehicle that met all my criteria was a Honda CR-V but I couldn’t bring myself to buy it (I’m terrible, I know it). I continued looking and was dead set on something reliable and an SUV because I had a Land Rover (hence, looking for something more reliable…) and I didn’t want to sacrifice the height or the AWD. While this car doesn’t have AWD, I realized I only drive in the snow 5 - 7 days a year – and honestly, if it’s that bad outside, what are you doing out on the roads? After endless back-and-forth, I chose between the car I can afford and the car I would like to be seen driving.

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  The Underdog - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Coolguy - December 20 - 2:00 am

  Great Car/SUV

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  Lovin It - 2005 Acura TSX
  By From Nissan to Acura - December 17 - 8:07 pm

  I just bought my Acura, it was my fourth car in 3 years. Ive had a 2000 Celica GT-S, 2003 Infiniti G35, a 2003 NIssan 350Z and then my Acura. All manual transmission. I must say that when it comes to performance, I have not been able to beat my 350Z. But isnt that what Nissan is about? BUT when it comes to comfort and reliablity my Acura tops my list! I love it. I feel safer and it uses a LOT less fuel then my last car. LOVE IT TO DEATH. More sensible for New York winters.

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  After 2 years, still lovin it - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Vince - December 15 - 9:08 am

  Overall, I love this car. It blends performance along w/ luxury in a very valuable package. Yes, the gearbox is a little finicky at times, but you just have to row thru the gears prior to driving, especially when cold. Yes, my car has many rattles. Ask any owner of a sport compact w/ a very stiff suspension. Its just the nature of the beast. Used to drive this thing 160 miles everyday for work. Road noise gets tiresome and stiff suspension causes backaches, but gets very good MPG. Compared to other cars, may not have the most luxury or features. Honda owner for life.

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  New owner... - 2004 Acura TL
  By Bill Cuthbertson - December 14 - 10:15 am

  Recently traded in a 2004 Maxima for the TL. The TL is a much better car for my age (26) but is definitely not as comfortable as the Maxima. Seats are cheaply made with sub-quality leather. Paint leaves a lot to be desired. No automatic headlights either. However, those are my only complaints. Everything else is amazing. It is a very fun car to drive and handles well for a front wheel drive vehicle. There is an issue with "torque steer" when starting from a stop making a turn (a right turn at a light, for instance). If you get too heavy on the accelerator you will lose traction. All in all a great car. A little overpriced, but a good value in terms of longevity.

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  Great car but 18 MPG - 2007 Acura RDX
  By drtimko - December 11 - 4:33 pm

  Great car and just bought it last week. I use it for business as a home care doctor, but 18 MPG is killing me. The ride is great and acceleration is awesome with turbo. The seats are a hard ride and wish they were softer. Great interior look. Best car in mini SUV category for the money. Drove a 3 series BMW last car and this car handles very well. Bluetooth not compatible with most Sprint phones. That needs to be updated because Sprint big in my area.

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  Bland - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Thomas Omalley - December 1 - 2:05 pm

  I travel a lot and rent every kind of SUV to use for business around this country for work. When I get home I really appreciate everything about the MDX except the mileage. It stinks. I get 14 mpg consistently (no matter how I try to feather it) around town, but on the highway I easily get 22-24 mpg. It is quick compared to all SUVs I have driven. Plenty of room for 3 in the backseat (2 carseats and me).

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  Unhappy - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Andy - December 1 - 6:53 am

  This vehicle is very expensive, needs a lot to improve, power steering is very hard, wind noise, low fuel mileage, noise in front suspension.

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  Fun car, some quality issues. - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Mark - November 29 - 9:15 am

  I chose this car over a few other performance cars that offered more features and/or were a better value - I liked the styling, and the fuel economy is excellent if you drive sedately. If you do push the engine up to 7k+ (no point buying a Type-S if you dont), youre in for a lot of fun. The ride is very stiff - if you need a comfortable ride, look elsewhere. Handling can be skittish when accelerating hard. Some quality issues: the shifter often didnt want to go into 3rd (mainly when the car was cold - solved by replacing the stock transmission fluid with a better quality one), lots of rattles (moonroof, dash, hatch), and the paint chips easily. The Bose audio system is awful (see below).