Acura Builds Great Cars, But Are They Exciting?

In 1986 Honda introduced the Acura brand in the North American markets. Their first cars were the Honda Civic based Integra and the Legend luxury sedan. Through the 1990's Acura brought out various front wheel drive sedans, the mid size Vigor and redesigned versions of the Legend. My favorite Acura was the mid engined NSX sports car. In 1990, when the NSX came out it had a 270hp 3.0L V6 and a brilliant chassis layout. The NSX is a car that despite being 18 years old still seems modern, especially the facelifted 2002-2005 versions with 290hp. The NSX was never as fast as the Ferrari 355 and Lotus Esprit, but handled as well as either of those. However, in the late 1990's some faults with the NSX's handling were uncovered. It turned out that at its limits the NSX's rear end would slide out and it could easily crash. That was fixed, but what makes the NSX great is the fact that anybody cared when the NSX was 9 years old, let alone when it was 15 years old. The NSX was designed to compete with the Ferrari 348, 964 Porsche 911, and the Lotus Esprit before the twin turbo V8 versions, cars that don't feel modern at all now. In 2005 there were still lots of NSX fans were devastated by the NSX being discontinued and Top Gear drove the NSX Type-R to encourage people to buy these great cars. Now you can get a 2003 or 2004 NSX for $50,000-$55,000, so if you want a $50,000 sports car you can choose a 245hp Porsche Cayman or a 290hp 2003 NSX. I think the NSX will someday be one of those classic cars people love like the Ferrari Dino. Acura had some cars that were big hits, the MDX sold well, the TL sells very well, and although it didn't sell terribly well the first generation TSX was a great car.

Acura's new cars are very different now than the plain designs they started with. The new TSX is again a rebadged version of the European Honda Accord. The new TSX is a good car, but the new one has a big problem, engines. The new car is much larger than the old one, but has the same engine, a 201hp 2.4L I-4 and it needs a V6 or the RDX's engine. Acura has a new TL for 2009, it's larger and looks completely different. It has a lot more lines in the bodywork than the current one and a rear end that is very weird. The engines are a 280+hp 3.5L V6 and a 300+hp 3.7L V6 on the AWD version. These TLs will be very good, all the TLs have been good. The Acura RL started out as a updated Legend and was boring, expensive, underpowered, and slow. The RL has a new front end and engine for 2009, the grille is like the MDX grille and the engine is a 300hp 3.7L V6. The RL has is full of technology, it has a navigation system that can tell you traffic levels and gives you names, ratings, and directions to restaurants. This car is boring, there is no excitement driving the RL. It's a good car, but there is something missing from it, so I would buy the Hyundai Genesis instead. The Acura RDX is a small luxury crossover that competes with the BMW X3. The RDX has a 240hp 2.3L I4 Turbo engine, that makes the RDX quick, 0-60 takes 6.5 seconds. The RDX has good car like handling and comfort, one thing the X3 doesn't have, but the X3 has more space. The new MDX is the best vehicle Acura makes, it has almost all the technology of the RL and the same engine, but with a version of Acura's SH-AWD that send more power to the rear wheels. The MDX handles well, is comfortable, fairly fast, has a good third row seat, a great second row seat, and plenty of space. It won a Car And Driver comparison against the BMW X5 and Mercedes M-Class. The MDX is by far the best SUV in its class. A fully loaded MDX is $47,000 and the least expensive version is $41,000, making the MDX the best value of mid size luxury SUV. Acura makes lots of good cars, but the RL is just too boring and making the sportiest luxury SUVs isn't good if you make luxury cars to compete with German sport sedans. The new TL and a turbocharged TSX might make Acura's cars as sporty as they should be.