It’s well known that Acura is Honda’s luxury line of vehicles, however, the two brands share a lot of the same features, and the same chassis, across their respective lineups. What’s more, Honda keeps improving upon its lineup with enhanced features and dolled up interiors that they look just as luxurious as their Acura counterparts. If that’s the case, is it really worth it to buy an Acura over a Honda?

Honda and Acura are the same, but different

The folks over at U.S. News did a comparison between Honda and Acura and they found that that the two brands unsurprisingly had a lot in common. But what was surprising were the differences that they found. For example, while both brands were basically the same as far as safety ratings and equipment went, U.S. News found that Honda’s lineup as being more reliable that Acura’s. They came to this conclusion due to the fact that four of Honda’s models (Insight, Ridgeline, CR-V, and Passport) all received a 3.5 out of 5 stars on J.D. Power’s reliability ratings whereas only two Acura models (RLX and NSX) received 3 out of 5 stars, all the others received 2.5 or 2.

When it came to price and performance, U.S. News scored in favor of Honda due to the lower price point of the Honda models across the board and the availability of performance-oriented cars as well. We have to agree as Honda currently has the Civic Si and the Civic Type R for speed-hungry buyers to choose from, but the Accord Sport 2.0T can also fill the need to everyday speed. On other hand, Acura models like the ILX and the current-generation TLX drag the performance quotient down a bit for the lineup, but of course, the less-obtainable, but high-performing NSX brings things up a bit.

It still really depends on what you’re looking for

At the end of the day, though, both Honda and Acura have great model lineups and you technically can’t go wrong with either. But it depends on what you’re looking for. For example, is choosing a Civic really a smarter move than an ILX? We think so. You can get a Civic with more tech-savvy features like a better infotainment system and a well-sorted interior for a lower price than an ILX. Although, to each their own.

But you don’t really need to get down to all of the details to figure out which one is best for you. If you’re looking for a small SUV, then the Acura RDX is a much nicer choice than the CR-V. It has a more potent engine, more engaging driving dynamics, and was even rated as a Top Safety Pick Plus by the IIHS. But if you need something bigger, then you’ll be faced with choosing between a Honda Pilot and Acura MDX. Sure, the MDX technically has nicer interior materials and a quiet ride, but you can get a lot of the same features on the Pilot at a lower price point. And they both fit the same amount of passengers.

Is it worth it to spend the extra money for an Acura?

Depending on the car, not really. Again, if you’re shopping between the ILX and the Civic or the Pilot versus the MDX, then you can a lot of the same features in the Honda products as you would in the Acuras but at a lower price point.

However, if you’re waiting for something like the 2021 Acura TLX, which has been completely redesigned to showcase a lot of new tech features from Acura, then that could be the better way to go over an Accord Touring, per se. In the end, it’s the buyer’s choice, but if you’re looking for the best value when it comes to each brand’s respective feature sets, then we would have to say you might be better off sticking with the Honda variants for now. Although, the new TLX could be a taste of new things to come for the Acura brand.