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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  A wonderful car. - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Lanny - August 15 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle has performed very well. It is great to have a car with climate control, an awesome sound system, good gas mileage, and some real power that can be tapped when necessary.

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  TLX is the perfect blend of features and cost for - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Gary Schnitzer - August 13 - 9:08 am

  There are higher performance cars out there, as well as ones with more plush interiors. But for a perfect blend of sportiness, quiet, smooth ride, comfort, tech features and outstanding stereo system, and cost, I found the TLX to be the perfect car for me. So much intelligence and consideration for the driver went into this car. I got the 4 cylinder, 2.4 liter, dual clutch 8 speed transmission with Tech Package, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a practical but enjoyable blend of sportiness, luxury, and affordability.

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  Fun to Drive - 2009 Acura RDX
  By rd - August 13 - 8:43 am

  I love this car! I have an Acura MDX too but this thing is fast. The seats are very comfortable, cabin noise is minimal. I do not understand the poor mileage complaint. I have driven the car for last 7000 miles and I have consistently gotten around 22 mpg. Nice leg space in rear seats. Good sound system. Great value for money and without sacrificing the fun part. Fast acceleration when needed. If you are looking into CR-V or RAV4 with all options, please buy this instead. Worth it! Nice ride too. Truly, not bumpy at all. They must have and have softened the suspension since the original 2007 model. Its as good as any other SUV.

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  I love this car - 2006 Acura TSX
  By grandmageek - August 12 - 11:31 pm

  I have been driving this car for 3.5 years. It is the best built car I have owned and is fun to drive. It has been trouble free, is very well equipped and gets excellent mileage. On a recent 375 mile highway trip I topped out gas mileage at 37.4. I average a 22.4 city driving. The reliability of bluetooth depends on the quality of your phone. I have had 3 phones since I purchased the car. The cheap free Verizon Samsung worked horribly. It works great with iPhone. The suspension is very stiff and gives a harsh ride on bumpy road, but handles amazingly well. Very relaxing to drive on long trips.

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  Acura TLX - A Great Car - 2016 Acura TLX
  By john scarano - August 12 - 12:34 pm

  I was a former Acura TL owner and was blown away by the performance of the TLX. Even though its a mere 1.5inches shorter, and car is extremely comfortable, quick, and has all of the features of a luxury car at a great value.

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  JP Acure TL - 2003 Acura TL
  By jp - August 12 - 11:53 am

  I traded in my 1995 Legend...ths is more car for less cost!!!

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  Acura TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By max33 - August 12 - 10:50 am

  This car rocks!! The stickshift is lots of fun, the brakes are awesome, all the toys that are standard make the car interesting and fun. I am amazed that Acura could build such an incredible car for such a good price. An equivalent BMW (5 series) would cost 20K more and the Lexus (250/350) is to small and doesnt come with nearly the amount of standard features. I use the car as a family sedan, which it has more than enough room for, but it drives and feels like a sports car. The NAV combined with XM is simply awesome.

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  Truly A Great Automobile - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Acura Driver - August 12 - 10:00 am

  We have two Acuras, a CL Type S and the TSX. We drove a TSX loaner for two days and compared it against the new Mazda 3 and 6, the new Subaru GT Turbo, the 04 Acura TL, the 04 Accord V6, the Infiniti G35, the Lexus IS300, and some others. The TSX is the best driving and handling by far. It also has the best seats, outward vision, and features and safety set. And all this comes for the lowest price except the Mazda 3. Everything works extremely well and all the switch gear is typical Acura with a high quality feel. The dash illumination is simply georgous. Sporty, fun-to-drive, fast and real-world torquey, you cannot buy a better automobile in the small mid-size class. A real winner!

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  Acura = Advance - 2002 Acura TL
  By Blindside - August 11 - 11:59 am

  This is my first Acura, had less than 50k miles when I bought it. I love everything about it, my friends are jealous of my ride. Now has 124k miles and no issues. I have upgraded the brakes and rotors to high performance quality, the engine with a Cold air intake and new sparkplugs. Upgraded the exhaust system also. Changed the factory headlights to 10k Blue HIDs. Even installed brand new aftermarket speakers with Amp and sub, and kept the original stereo. Love it all! Best car Ive ever owned.

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  Great step-up from the Accord - 2009 Acura TSX
  By howardhonda - August 10 - 4:30 pm

  I have only had this car for 10 days. For myself, over the past 25 years I have only purchased Honda Accords (all manual trans.). My last 2 have been EX- L and I have always been happy with them. I was planning since last year to buy myself another EX-L Accord (4- cyl) and just by chance I checked out the TSX. I loved it. It came with everything, factory installed, even options like memory seats, passenger power seats, home-link, and directional signals on outside mirrors that you couldnt even get on a loaded 4cy EX-L Accord. In my opinion, the car is so much more solid & luxurious than the Accord. And the gauges and trip computer are awesome!