Acura Vs. Honda Comparison: Brand, Models & Reliability

Acura vs. Honda: Their History

As many drivers know, Acura vehicles and Honda vehicles are closely related.

The historic Honda brand got its real start after World War II, with a focus on making reliable, efficient, and affordable transportation for a war-torn Japan. Their mission was a success, and their world-renowned motorcycles got the Japanese public back on the road. Shortly thereafter, they introduced their first cars. These vehicles were made with the same spirit of accessibility, dependability, and engineering mastery as their motorcycles.

When Honda began selling cars in America, they struck gold. In a market of massive, expensive, and fuel-hungry "land yachts" faced with tightening fuel economy and emissions regulations, the fuel-sipping, low-emissions 1974 Honda Civic CVCC was revolutionary. Combining agility with practicality and efficiency with fun, this model introduced our streets to the Honda brand's skill of making quality, wallet-friendly vehicles.

Nearly eight decades after its start, the world-renowned Honda lineup is still centered on reliability, efficiency, and affordability.

So, where does the Acura brand come in? As most people know, the Acura vs. Honda comparison involves the Acura brand's status as a Honda offshoot. Despite their wonderful virtues, Honda vehicles are not luxury cars and are often deficient in sportiness. The Acura brand was created by Honda in 1988 to make luxurious, sporty versions of beloved Honda vehicles.

The Acura Legend luxury sedan came first, proving that a true luxury car could also be relatively affordable and reliable in stark contrast to the pricey, often temperamental European luxury sedans it had in its sights. Next, world-shaking sports machines like the Integra and NSX arrived. Once the first Acura SUV debuted, the future looked dark for the competition.

Today, Acura vehicles like the RDX still share a platform and reliable engineering with Honda vehicles (the CR-V in this case), but they add a lot more luxury and performance. We think that this easily makes Acura the winner of the Acura vs. Honda history comparison, as they share everything that makes Honda vehicles great but with exclusive luxury interiors and enhanced high-performance powertrains.

Acura vs. Honda: Which Brand Is More Reliable?

Most drivers consider both Honda and Acura to be great choices that aren't as hungry for auto service, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Acura vs. Honda reliability is a tie. That's not just our opinion: RepairPal.com gave both the Acura and Honda brands a reliability rating of 4.0 out of 5.0.^{4, 5}

Returning to the RDX vs. CR-V comparison, we find that these individual models also received the same "Great" reliability score from J.D. Power.^{6, 7} So, as we've mentioned before, we think that Acura is the winner of the Honda vs. Acura comparison because a new Acura for sale offers the same attractive spirit as a Honda with more fun and luxury surrounding you.