By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Our favorite Acura sedan up to now was the third-generation TL (2003-2008), which caught our imagination with just-right styling, a perfect size, excellent handling traits and a hearty V-6 engine. It was a mature interpretation of what we thought a luxury sports sedan should be. Then Acura seemed to lose focus, producing softer more mainstream sedans with questionable styling features.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

There were a number of good things to write about with the Acura ILX entry level luxury sedan after it arrived on the scene as a 2013 model, but performance and driving excitement were lacking — at least in the hybrid edition we were evaluating. Our conclusion at the time, the ILX didn't make our recommended list.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

While Acura trimmed some significant weight from the latest version of its best-selling MDX crossover it also cut horsepower and subtly advanced the design. This may sound like playing it too safe with the all-new third-generation, but we discovered that Acura actually took a solid step forward. The proof is in the details — and the driving.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Acura's flagship RL sedan has been in need of a complete redesign for several years, its last complete makeover coming in 2005. In the last couple of years it has been relegated to an afterthought, noted by its meager sales of just 379-units in 2012.

Acura finally and belatedly came to the rescue early this year with the introduction of the 2014 RLX, a modern, near-full-size luxury sedan that comes loaded with the latest in safety and entertainment technology, a competent direct-injection V-6 engine, and a supremely quiet and comfortable cabin loaded with rich leather and wood trim.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Acura developed the new compact ILX sedan to target first-time luxury car buyers, young people with luxury car intentions, but not yet with a luxury car budget. The ILX, starting at a seemingly affordable $26,795, has been given the same job once handled by the long-departed Integra.

The ILX imparts a more luxury persona then the Integra, last sold in 2001, but the Integra in some guises had a sportier, harder edge persona. This time around, Acura has elected to go with a mainstream entry-level luxury sedan aimed at young buyers more interested in luxury amenities, a quiet cabin, refined appointments, and stellar gas mileage than in road-carving capabilities.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Over the past few years we have talked to several Acura RDX owners who proclaimed a love for their luxury crossover, but wished for better gas mileage and the option of pumping the less-expensive 87 octane regular into their tanks.

Acura has granted half their wishes with the all-new 2013 RDX. The turbocharged 2.3-liter 4-cylinder, which propelled the first-generation RDX, has been scrapped for a smoother driving 3.5-liter V-6 that gets between three or four more miles to the gallon in highway driving, and with increased horsepower. But premium gas is still recommended, Acura says.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

 By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The Acura TSX Sport Wagon is a charming addition to the Acura lineup and is the beneficiary of spectacular timing, its greatest attribute being its fuel-sipping 4-cylinder engine rated at 30 miles to the gallon in highway driving, just as a new era of rising pump prices began accelerating.

A selling point certainly for a very pleasant and entertaining entry-level luxury hauler as gas prices again take a bigger bite out of the family pocketbook. Perhaps that’s why Acura decided not to put its V-6, an optional choice in the TSX sedan, in the newly minted wagon.