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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  Fantastic car - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Isabella - August 10 - 12:16 am

  Has been a blast to own. Very fun to drive, solid car. Only issue is the backseat is a little tight.

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  Sweeeet!! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By dendron - August 8 - 2:00 am

  My last love was a car...this one. Have had this sweetheart for 11 mos., and its just about the most perfect blend of performance, luxury and economy (avg. 28-30 mpg in town when the foots not headed south)available in its price range. When the iV-Tech kicks in around 6000 rpm it feels like 10 lbs. of turbo boost and will really plaster a grin on your face. Unfortunately, it doesnt last last long enough to the 7900 rpm redline ;-) Overall the few nits are just plain blown away by the upside this ride posesses. It makes commuting almost entertaining (!!) and is a flat-out blast to drive.

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  Good value for the buck - 2002 Acura TL
  By SKARPGOLF - August 8 - 2:00 am

  Have had for about 4 weeks no complaints nav system excellent. I do not understand what some folks think nav should do. It gets you alot closer than if you had to guess where to go. Would like to see DVD updates on regular basis. Fun to drive extremely quiet and responsive handling. Bose system has exceptional sound, Six cd in dash a real plus. Would like to see automatic headlight system and possibly some driver info system. Having the nav plus on star a big selling feature for this driver.

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  Awesome Performance! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Performance King - August 6 - 10:00 am

  This is no doubt an incredible vehicle from an incredible manufacturer. I love my Acura TSX. I used to drive a 63 Gerbil Hatchback with an 8-Track...wow, what a difference! My old Gerbil had 48 horsepower which I thought was a lot...it did 0-60 in 42 seconds....not my TSX! 0-60 comes in way under 8 seconds! Pure performance, handling and power!

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  04 TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By TL04 - August 6 - 10:00 am

  Bluetooth tech works great with T-mobile A great ride with plenty of power. No promblems 6 months

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  let it run - 2005 Acura TL
  By mannyfresh - August 6 - 10:00 am

  This car is no joke fast,nice,and ect. First new car I buy, but I driven other new car and none compare.

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  Six Weeks - 2009 Acura MDX
  By MDXer - August 5 - 8:32 pm

  Ive had my Tech Package MDX for about 6 weeks now. I love it. This is an amazing vehicle. Comfort, power, handling, technology and the sound system is amazing. I would highly recommend this vehicle to anyone shopping in the luxury SUV market.

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  No pain if maintained - 1995 Acura Integra
  By MG - August 5 - 2:04 pm

  I have owned this car for 6 years, and have put on 31k miles. It is now at 116k miles. Only this year did I start having to replace certain engine components, including a center pipe, muffler, tail pipe, timing belt, water pump, starter, front axles, and the other belts. I was extremely lucky because the timing belt snapped on me while I was in idle/neutral at a light. Luckily, there was no valve damage. The car is ultra reliable, always starting on the very first key turn whether in Wisconsin blizzard or Tennessee heat wave.

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  Amazing:) - 2009 Acura TSX
  By lovin my TSX:) - August 5 - 12:19 pm

  I traded my 2007 Mazda Miata for a 2009 Acura TSX. I thought I would miss the sporty feel the Miata had...but boy was I wrong. I love my TSX. I have only had it about 2 months...but it is amazing:)Plus all the bells & whistles are pretty nice. And the gas mileage is great...I actually got 38.1 mpg on the interstate during an hour and half drive. Usually around town it gets between 28.5-32 mpg. I definitely would recommend this car to anyone.:) Great buy for your money!

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  Solid Performance Sedan - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Alex - August 5 - 11:27 am

  Just purchased this car. A used 08 with 20K on the odometer. What sold me was the incredible build quality, handling, comfort and the performance of the 2.4L VTEC engine. This is a fantastic sport/luxury sedan. Clean lines and no "fast and furious" body work. Im used to an AWD sedan so Im a little concerned about this cars bad weather handling with the Michelin Pilots. Have to wait and see. So far in the dry heat and heavy thunderstorms of summer, its handled very well. The car inspires you to test its limits. The VTEC is very eager to rev and run.