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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  Two Thumbs Up! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Dilbert - August 22 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my 2004 TL for about a month now and I love it. A major improvement over the 2003 Type S version. A smooth confident ride and plenty of power when you need it. The sound system has to be heard to be believed, its like being in a recording studio. I bought the 6y/100k warranty to cover all the bells and whistles, but probably wont need it with Hondas iron clad reliability. Dont buy one though, I like being one of the few to enjoy this exceptional automobile : )

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  What a Great Car! - 2009 Acura TL
  By Xpert37 - August 21 - 11:52 pm

  Just got the 2009 Acura TL/AWD/Tech today. Wow, what a great car this is. The handling was superb and the drive is fun and comfortable. I love the Technology Package and especially the voice recognition system.

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  Best car I have ever owned - 1994 Acura Legend
  By RocketRuss - August 21 - 12:43 pm

  Purchased with 80Kmi on it. I put another 80Kmi on the car before I killed it (accident). Amazing car. 1 yr before I totaled the car, I filled the tank with 1/2 107 octane, 1/2 98 octane. Car ran like a dragster for the next 2 weeks. Thereafter, my fuel economy steadily rose. When I bought the car, I barely made 300-320mi/tank. After the 107/98 octane mix, my fuel economy rose to just over 400mi/tank. I always, always used 93/94 octane. I will miss that 6 speed manual tranny. Only thing I didnt like about the car was the front wheel drive. Car looked like a sleeper, but Id smoke just about anyone...and Im no leadfoot.

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  Brilliant Car - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Alex - August 19 - 10:03 am

  I purchased the 2006 Acura TSX after months of research, and have to say this car is brilliant. Interior build quality rivals the best in class, with all buttons are well designed and layouted. Very functional. Very roomy. Exterior... what a beauty. Navigation system is powerful yet easy to use. Fun to drive, has quite a bit of power, feels a bit like driving a V6; has decent acceleration. Very good handling. Best bang for the buck I must say.

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  Very impressed for the $ - 2009 Acura TL
  By acuraconvert - August 19 - 1:31 am

  Fast enough, quiet enough, and lots of tech/features for the money. Shopped 335 and G35 but TL had the best blend of luxury/comfort with performance. Its not a compact sports sedan, but it is everything else that you can ask for south of $35K.

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  185k and still going strong - 2005 Acura RL
  By Bob - August 18 - 1:36 pm

  Ok so Ive had this car since 2005 and have taken it to hell and back. I drive it hard and floor it at least a couple times a day. I spend a ton of time in it and I dont think the drivers seat could be better. Also the audio system is great as is the whole interior. Issues To date: Both side mirrors wiggling (48k) Rear sunshade rattle (55k) HID Bulbs Replaced (110k) Replaced Bank 1 & 2 o2 sensors (140k) Other then that Ive only done the scheduled maintenance as recommended by the maintenance minder system. I can honestly say I will definitely buy the new RL when it comes out I assume in 2011... I might just take this one to the 300000 mile mark!

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  The Best in the Entry Class - 2004 Acura TL
  By ssoni - August 18 - 10:00 am

  2004 TL is indeed a fun car to drive and own. Better value than BMW and much better interior compared to Infinity G35. One ride and I was hooked to it. Sound system and the navigation are added perks.

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  Great Car - 1991 Acura Integra
  By John - August 17 - 10:48 am

  I bought my GS used about 2 years ago, and it now has 219K miles on it. Its extremely fun to drive, has plenty of cargo space, and it is probably the best car Ive owned. I did have to replace the clutch last year, but the previous owner Autocrossed it, so that probably contributed to its demise. I also had to replace the harmonic balancer and will be replacing the idle air control valve, but otherwise theres nothing wrong with it. Over time, I plan on upgrading more parts on it, it already has upgraded springs, shocks, exhaust, wheels, and tires for racing.

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  After 4 yrs & 72k miles, still perfect! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Ralph - August 16 - 9:03 am

  My wife and I bought this car used in 2007 with 32k miles. This is the best car we have ever purchased. Interior is very comfortable. Exterior is very stylish. We have the 6-speed manual and this car gets 26city/34hwy mpg consistently. I commute 45 miles to and from work everyday. This car is very quiet and handles great on the road, rain or shine. I just replaced the original tires at 65k miles. The H.I.D. headlights make it very easy to see at night (they light up the entire road!). The one issue that I had with the car was having to replace the passenger door lock actuator at 44K miles. Other than that, flawless.

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  A lot of value for the $$$ - 2005 Acura RL
  By David - August 15 - 2:40 pm

  This is a wonderful automobile - nice ride, good power, luxurious. Ive driven an Audi A6 for six years and test drove the new 2005 model. The Acura RL has it beat in all but a few features.