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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  Love this car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Mark - December 24 - 1:48 am

  I have a 2002 RSX Type-S with 150,000kms (90,000miles)here in Canada and a daily 2002 base Canadian RSX ( no Sunroof, , no leather, 15 inch steelies. Mine Type-S has an aftermarket Greddy turbo kit, coilovers,and 19 inch wheels. Its been fairly reliable. The engine has taken the boost well. It handles great and looks good and the seats hug you though are a bit firm. Id highly recommend it.

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  An underrated car worthy of becoming a classic - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Antonio Rodriguez - July 23 - 4:36 pm

  I bought this car off a lady that had neglected the car pretty bad, she pretty much just wanted to get rid of it, the car was not running as she had blown the had gaskets, the leather interior was nice on the back but the front seats were (still are) in a bad shape, and the clear coat of the paint was peeling off due to it being parked on the sun. Pretty much a beater, I hired a guy to rebuild the engine expecting a huge bill but to my surprise it wasn´t like that, although I must say PARTS ARE EXPENSIVE AND A BIT HARD TO FIND: BEWARE. Aside from that the car is flawless, in terms of reliability the car surprised me, just make the oil changes and tune ups in time and the car will not break down EVER, it runs very smooth and quiet, TOO QUIET. The engine is mounted longitudinally so it gives the car a great 60/40 balance and a great road feel, it corners hard but its weight (1700 KG aprox) becomes evident when pushing the car to the limits, the suspension is... ¨sporty¨although this was marketed as a ¨luxury sedan¨ back in the day, dont get me wrong the car is really confy but its more towards the stiff side so you can expect the car to remain flat when taking a turn at speed or doing evasive manuvers, it has ABS, 4 wheel disc brakes, dual airbags, Car alarm out of the factory and is study as hell, the seats and interior are great for tall people (I´m 6´3 - 1.96m), also the interior is very quiet, I can barely hear the engine rev and I fell no vibration at all coming from the engine, performance wise the car surprised me two, it has plenty of get up and go in case you need it, the 3.2 liter Honda V6 (C32A) is a great powerplant and though the car is a little past the ton and a half it doesnt feel like it at all, aftermarket wise...Its pretty much non existent, but the way to go with this car would be weight reduction and handling upgrades. So far I´m quite happy with my ¨little¨ beater(The damn thing is bigger than it looks or feels), one thing I dont like is the transmission, mine is a 4-speed auto and is really clumsy from time to time, it shifts at odd moments and sometimes hinders the performance of the car, If posible get the manual transmission with the 6-speed and a Type II engine (has a little more power), economy wise it´s...Okay, the gas isn´t the best as it gives 20-22 MPG city 25 highway if driven properly, if you have a lead foot the car will chug gas like there is no tomorrow, repair wise its a breeze, the car just doesnt die Mine has 300,000+ miles and the engine feels great, if you manage to break it you will find that parts are not too common as the engine is only used in this car and although the engine is the base for most of the current acuras nowadays newer parts will not fit, that right there is $$$, just find a good mechanic and be patient, If you give love to the car it will reward you. the car started just as another beater for me but now I just want to restore it to its former glory, even in its current run-down state I get compliments on the looks, I look forward to buying the coupe version so I can have the pair for sunday driving, If you have the chance of getting one in a good state you are in for a very charming, reliable stubborn ride.

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  Overall -Best car Ive owned - 2011 Acura MDX
  By John N. - May 23 - 10:58 am

  In 5 years and 80k miles the repair bills have been $0, outside of routine maintenance. New tires & brakes last month, 79,000miles each and still had wear to go ( not much). Terrible nav system, Acura is UN-responsive and so is the supplier. Gets lost-cant even find the local hospital. Entertainment system is good but not worth the money. the Tech Package is a rip off. HVAC has some quirks but OK. Backup lights are weak - buy some LED "reflector" type bulbs from Amazon $20. gas milage is poor 18-20. ACC - adaptive cruise control is FANTASTIC. cant wait for lane holding etc. Super luxury it is not -but a nice car that always runs (so far) and doesnt break you wallet.

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  Love it - 2010 Acura MDX
  By John McGreevy - February 27 - 2:55 pm

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  Want a great car , buy one. - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Frank Dombek - January 21 - 7:51 pm

  Never owned a car that never needed repair my Acura is the first. All I had done was just maintance for the 5 and 1/2 years I owned the car. The Acura never let me down.

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  Nice highway suv - 2014 Acura MDX
  By David S - January 21 - 6:10 am

  The mdx drives like a sedan on the highway. Comfortably and very quiet. Surprisingly good gas mileage for a full size vehicle.

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  Speed Demon with Benefits - 2007 Acura TL
  By LEN - December 30 - 7:26 pm

  Great car for performance and great mileage,30 mpg on highway @70 miles per hour.

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  Japanese quality, German performance - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Glen - December 24 - 2:06 pm

  The 2007 model drives and handles like a 5 series BMW. The seats hold you securely on spirited curves. Later models were softened up and "family car" dumbed down. If you want fun, get a 2007. If you want a polite quality family car, get a later model.

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  Second TL, dont know why i ever left - 2009 Acura TL
  By Joe Simmons - November 23 - 9:35 am

  I find it funny to see how many BMW drivers have switched to this vehicle. I thought I was the only one. this is my 2nd TL and I really dont know why I ever got rid of the first one. I recently traded in my 3 series BMW for this and needless to say I am not disappointed. The TL has a great features ( even on the base model ) that BMW does not offer. the acceleration is phenomenal and the ride is quiet and smooth. it is very easy to set up the electronics in the vehicle as well. the one thing I am missing from the Beamer is the how tight the steering is. in the Acura it is a lot easier to just push the wheel from side to side. also, the leather could be a little better quality. other than that, I think the car is amazing and would recommend it to anyone. as for the design... I think it is a very attractive car. the grill is aggressive looking while the rest of the car just looks luxurious. all in all I am pleased with the trade.

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  Love this car! - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Arathena - November 14 - 1:12 pm

  I’ve had my eye on the Acura TL since it first came out years ago. When I finally had an excuse to get a new car, I made sure to test drive it, only this time the newer model is TLX. I test drove a variety of cars - sedans/sporty cars/SUVs, like from Subaru, Mazda, Ford, and finally the Acura ILX and TLX, not really sure which car I wanted, but I did know that I wanted something that combined elegance, sportiness and reliability, bonus for comfort, spaciousness, fuel efficiency, and if it came in crimson. I didn’t get that last one, but I definitely got everything else with the TLX! Pros: — Great bang for the buck! I didn’t set out to buy a luxury car, though Acura touts it as such, and it’s cheaper than their competitors. I just wanted something that has most of the things I mentioned above, and I got a great deal for them. — LOVE the Brake Hold feature. When it’s on, simply tap on the brake pedal, let go, and the car stays stopped. Step on the gas and off you go. Very handy! — It’s QUIET! I love whatever noise cancellation Acura incorporated. Whether talking on the car speaker phone system, listening to music or to silence, you get the most out of it. — Other pluses are the soft leathers, wood-like paneling on the door handles, a dim light that laminates the door handle so you can easily see it in the dark. The lights on auto adjust depending on how light or dark it is outside, so if I’m in a dark garage building, it’ll go brighter. The windshield wipers on auto can be adjusted depending on how wet it is. The trunk cargo - you can lift up the bottom flap and find extra cubby holes. — AWS rocks! Great handling, steering is stable and braking is responsive. I’ve driven it in light and heavy rain and had no problems. — Though 2.4L doesn’t have turbo, it’s still quite nimble and zippy. — Love the 8-speed Dual Clutch Transmission. It comes with 4 modes: Econ, Normal, Sport, Sport+ (this uses the paddle shifters). In traffic I switch to Economy, but by default I use Sport mode for the higher revs and faster acceleration. The paddle shifters can only be fun for so long, and not so fun when you’re trying to turn the wheel so you can’t easily paddle-shift up or down. Sport/Sport+ mode gives me the feeling of manual shifting, only smoother and without the stick. If they came out with a stick shift version, I would really love it more, but for an automatic, I think it’s pretty awesome! — Fuel economy - my daily commute involves a lot of stop-and-go freeway traffic, but so far I’m getting 25.4 mpg. — Suspension - this is such a comfortable ride! It’s rigid enough to be sporty, but you hardly feel the bumps on the road. Best of both worlds to me. — Infotainment: Generally easy to use. It’s strange at first that there are 2 screens. The upper one can display navigation or music playlist (easier to look at for line of sight, the lower one is a touch screen to control things like settings, climate, music (closer to access by hand). — Except for the front (see cons), I love the look. It’s classy, sleek, sporty. Fantastic wheels even at base model. I get a lot of compliments from my coworkers when they see me driving in. — I opted out of the tech package since I didn’t want to spend an extra $4K, nor an extra $10K for AWD and V6 engine, but if you can afford either, go for it. Very nice to have. Cons: — Infotainment: Slow response for bluetooth and could be more intuitive. It takes longer for the system to detect my device phone or tablet. When I skip a song or go back one, there’s a few seconds delay. It’s annoying, but I can live with it. What does annoy me quite a bit, though thankfully I don’t do much of, is that while driving and trying to switch to my phone that I just connected via bluetooth, if the mode is not already on bluetooth (like it’s on XM), instead of the Infotainment switching automatically to bluetooth and displaying my music from my phone, I have to tap on the bluetooth button. This is an unnecessary extra step. — Sporty, but not that fun on windy roads. This is probably due to the AWS, which keeps the car VERY stable, which means you don’t get the sensation of possibly slipping or tipping over, ha. — Front is a little conservative (it’s growing on me, though). I prefer the sportier look on the front of ILX, but over all I think I got more bang for my buck with TLX, so I don’t mind so much. — Not a gripe, but you should expect this in case you plan to have 4 other people ride with you on a more regular basis: the 4th person who will be sitting in the middle of the back seat will not be so comfortable, I’m told. Definitely not for a tall person, that seat. Make sure when you test drive that you have someone try out that seat.