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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  Good buy! but minor problems - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Chuck - July 23 - 3:00 am

  I bought this car after reading all the reviews and forums I can find. Everyone said its great, but no one ever saidanything about the TSX brakes. IMO, I think the brakes can be more responsive. I had a 97 civic before this car, and it seems TSXs brakes slower in stopping than my civic. Now, I have to plan ahead in stopping. Another problem is the speedometer. The 40 mph mark is placed at what another car would be at 20 mph. You got to be driving above 60 mph in order to see the needle above the 9oclock mark. That makes driving in city a pain, since the needle position causes me to feel I am going like 20 mph.

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  love it - 2006 Acura TSX
  By hernandez - July 22 - 1:26 pm

  having had a mazda6 for 3.5 years with no issue was great.but,when it came time to look for a new ride i considered almost everything out there.the tsx was at the top of my list.i never had one before.the reviwes were excellent plus for the prize there is nothing better.im in love with it.big difference from my mazda and so far i can safely say acura has a new customer for a long time.

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  Fun to Drive - 2003 Acura RSX
  By bspancake - July 21 - 2:00 am

  This was my first car I purchased on my own. I was in the market for a small pickup truck and had my mind set on a toyota. I got talked into taking the RSX for a test drive and never looked back. The smooth shifting and great handling was enough for me to purchase. The standard features (leather, sunroof, cd player, etc..) was more added incentive. I love driving this car everyday. For a base car with no features, this car gives the most bang for your buck.

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  Great car! - 2003 Acura TL
  By Ozzy - July 21 - 2:00 am

  This car drives like an Audi 03 (a6 quatro) and costs 13K less. Very smooth and quite. Interior is NOT top notch as the eather looks cheap. Seats are very comforable. However, the styling is way too conservative. To sum up, for the money you get 110% back, but this is NO luxury car like an Audi or Benz. Yet, its a great sedan with just enough power to beat many other luxury cars.

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  A very good but not great car. - 2004 Acura TL
  By khmer - July 19 - 10:00 am

  My first TL & Acura. Ive had it for 11 months/13k miles now. I really like the performance and styling, but the annoying rattles (since the car was a few wks old - front doors, front center speaker - unrelated to the sound) prevent me from "loving" the car. Ive not had the time to get them looked at. Maybe next month during the 15KM service. Wait and see what the dealer can do. Sound system is great in specs but the sound is not that great. Thanks to the cheap speakers. Overall, Ive been "fairly happy" with the car (except when I realize that this is a $33K plus car and, more importantly, its an "Acura." This is when the disappointment kicks in).

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  a - 2005 Acura MDX
  By rachelc - July 19 - 10:00 am

  great vehicle, very reliable and comfortable...great navigation and dvd system

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  My Review - 2005 Acura TL
  By acuradriver - July 19 - 10:00 am

  I recommmend this vehicle to any and everyone

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  Best of all cars Ive owned, including S500 - 2017 Acura MDX
  By Anthony - July 18 - 11:02 pm

  Overall, an excellent piece of engineering and design. Its not 100% perfect on design, but its pretty darn close. Let me summarize simply with Pros and Cons. PROS are: Awesome handling with SH-AWD, I mean really awesome. Just about as good as my E92 M3, I totally mean that, for all intents and purposes on the street. The semi-autonomous driving features are great. The Lane Keeping system, the Adaptive Cruise Control with Follow, Blind spot warning, all make it ALOT safer to drive in these days of distracted driving. You must study the functionality of each system to know when you can and should not rely on them. But overall I find them productive and adding to safety for me and those around me. Comfort is 8.5 of 10. Seats are not super duper, but definitely more than acceptable. You can customize the crap out of all the systems, and if you read the 500 page manual like I did, you will be amazed at what this car can do. Walk away auto locking system is quite nice. WIth the right setup in the menu, you never, ever have to take the key out of your pocket/purse. Just walk in, walk out, the car does exactly what you want, when you want it, and you just never touch a button on the remote, EVER. Worried about the car being locked? You can send it a message via your remote, querying the lock status, and Ive tested that at 100 yards remote distance, no problem! Engine is satisfactory - it aint a Porsche, BMW, but it gets the job done. The 9 spd tranny does fine! All these complaints about transmission hunting around for a gear, but I have not noticed it. Auto engine stop awesome, auto brake hold system awesome. Headlights are freaking amazing, SO BRIGHT. Sound system is 8.5/10. I have heard better, but this is totally fine. Mileage is pretty darn good, on a freeway going about 65 you can easily get 25mpg if not closer to 28-29mpg. CONS: the navigation system sort of sucks, compared to Google Maps. You cant beat Google with its machine learning and real-time mobile updates on traffic etc. Plus the processor powering the Nav and the Phone menus is slow and outdated. But usable if you have to. One huge con is for USB flash drives, the search functionality is AWFUL, as you can only scroll the huge list of songs or folders, you cannot search by Artist, Title, etc.... If you want to bring your own music, you better have a large iPOD, in which case the Search/Selection functionality is reasonable. OVERALL: definitely a car you will enjoy taking road trips with.

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  A great car - 2003 Acura RSX
  By jasondeinlein - July 17 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car wanting an everyday sports car, that i could enjoy driving, and burn people occasionally, and wouldnt break the bank - i bought and an Rsx type S and thats exactly what i got.

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  2003 TL Review - 2003 Acura TL
  By TENNJED - July 17 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 2003 TL because of the reliability record, good ride, good resale value. I am unhappy with this car. The car is just not exciting, an adequate Sports Sadan, but should not be referred to as a LUXURY Sport Sadan. I just cant get comfortable in this car, and my legs feel cramped (it needs telescopic steering wheel and higher padded center arm rest). The TL is not as quiet(road, engine, wind etc.) as others in class. The ventilation fan is noisy !! I am very disappointed with the sound system ( desperately needs A-pillar speakers). The TL is a safe choice, but I should have went with the 325i or G35.