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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  Great choice! Cant regret at all. - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Fai - February 11 - 5:41 pm

  So far so good. I drove all kinds of car including Japanese, Europeans and Americans. This one impresses me a lot. Great feeling to drive this car along with luxury feel. All thumbs up. A little rattling problem, but who cares when you can enjoy all the other fun gave you by this vehicle.

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  Great car, but not German - 2005 Acura RSX
  By xxaarraa - February 9 - 3:20 pm

  My first Japanese car. I have had German cars all along and really wanted a Bimmer. But being just out of college, only Acura was willing to finance me so went and bought the Type-S. The single biggest selling point about this car is how it easily satisfies the dual role of daily driver and sports car. Most of the days, I just shift at 3000 around town, but on weekends when I take it on the freeways, I go all the way up to 7000 and still dont hit redline. It gives a very decent 22 mpg in the city and an astounding 30+ on the freeway. Dont expect a Mustang will give you that much and be as reliable as a Honda! Oh, the resale was another big draw. No other sports car, including Toyotas are good

• 

  Maybe its just me - UNRELIABLE! - 1998 Acura CL
  By dxd15 - February 4 - 5:10 pm

  Purchased this car when it had 35,000 miles on it and the first few years were great. Then the problems... wheel bearings, alternator, battery, ABS sensor, passenger side power window, muffler, and CONSTANTLY having to change the lights (head/brake/aux). I now also have a light knocking sound occasionally. Tires lose pressure regularly - what a pain in the rear! My new alternator is also causing my panel and headlights to flicker while I am idling. All this happened before 100,000 miles. What a shame, I thought this was supposed to be a reliable car. I think Ill try a Toyota or Lexus next and hope I will fare better. I do change my oil and do maintain my car. Maybe I was just unlucky :-(

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  Great After 113,000 Miles - 2001 Acura TL
  By dpdiamond - January 30 - 6:26 pm

  This car was my fathers company car. Commuting from Long Island to NJ everyday, he put on about 35,000 miles per year. I have had the car for over a year, and I put on about 2K per year , used as a station car. This car is rock solid, and quality is excellent. The interior is bland, and the styling outside is also bland. The car just went through the transmission recall, and was found to be fine after 113K miles. I will keep this car for another 10 years, specifically as a station car due to its quality and reliability.

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  The Ride is Terrible - 1999 Acura TL
  By JG - January 18 - 12:46 am

  Sold an 04 Accord Lx and purchased a 99 Acura TL with 69,000 miles. The Acura ride is not as smooth as the Accord ride. I am attempting to re-purchase the 04 Accord.

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  Needs Some Improvement - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Drew - January 13 - 6:16 pm

  Dont get me wrong, the Acura TSX is a great car. Both the exterior and interior styling are fantastic, and the quality of the materials is wonderful. It is a very refined vehicle, with nimble handling and beautiful detailing.

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  Its that kind of easy listening thrill - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Miles Lacus - January 8 - 9:20 pm

  Overall, this is a very nice car. I like it but dont quite love it, at least yet. I cross shopped primarily the Mazda 6, Buick Regal turbo, and Honda Accord V6. I got the TLX with the 2.4L 4-cylinder with 8 speed dual clutch and tech package. It is a nice, quiet, comfortable, light on its feet 4 door sedan that has a hint of sport and a great audio system. The TLX won my spreadsheet analysis comparison but hasnt won my heart yet. I found the 6 and Regal to be sportier and more fun to drive, especially the Regal with the HiPer strut and AWD. The Accord v6 was a hoot with that sweet v6. The 6 lost due to aggressive head restraints, a bit more road noise, and it didnt have much top end power. The Regal lost due to poorer visibility and lower quality interior and switches. The Accord lost due to aggressive head restraints that gave my wife a headache and the audio system that wasnt up to my audio standards. For the TLX, my biggest complaint is the transmission mapping. By 25mph I’m in 5th gear. Oh my! I give the car a little gas and it doesn’t do anything. To do anything it needs to downshift a gear or two. I always feel like it’s in a gear too high. Granted, I am coming from a 2007 TSX 6 speed manual that I had for almost 10 years and loved. That was a nice driver’s car! Mat Hargett and Bryan Hourt of Acura say this is a red carpet athlete and it’s also like a horse you know well that won’t tire you out. Well, I do think they are right to a certain degree. It CAN be sporty if you put it in sport plus and corner carve a bunch of empty curvy streets and keep the revs high and the transmission in a lower gear. But I’m so far just commuting and I want it to feel more engaging. If I just relax and drive in a more relaxed manner, it’s more satisfying. The v6 and SH-AWD v6 version were faster but felt heavier and even less engaging. My expectations are maybe not in line with today’s auto practices. My old TSX is nearly 10 years old and things have changed a lot since then. The move from hydraulic to electric steering, going from double wishbone to strut front suspension, and gas mileage maximizing transmission mapping all take their toll on driving fun and engagement. In the end it was time for a new car and the TLX 4 cylinder was the overall best, I liked it, and it was in budget. I was just hoping to love it.

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  Excellent car - 2004 Acura RL
  By acura rl - January 6 - 12:59 am

  Ive had my Acura for over a year now and enjoy it very much. Ive had no problems with it and love the navigational system, Onstar, and XM radio, all standard features. The Acura wont win a lot of races, but the power is adaquate for my driving, and the ride is smooth, quiet and enjoyable. Lots of people comment positively about the looks of the car when its parked.

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  Lot of car for the money - 2005 Acura TL
  By Nick Clifford - January 3 - 6:50 am

  With 195,000 on my 95 Accord it was time for a new car; my first thoughts were to buy a used 5 series but after extensive research found out BMWs cost a fortune to maintain. Ive been spoiled by Honda. Prior to my Accord I owned an 85 Prelude with 220,000 + miles .. original gear box and engine. Buying a TL is easy really, there is nothing that comes close to value for money. If these cars are as reliable as previous models long term ownership should be a dream too. No tune up until 105,000 !! Compare that with BMWs ... only problem so far is rattle from passenger window which surprised me ...wasnt expecting this from Honda. Ride is firm which I like but others used to Lexus may not ..?

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  awsome driving!! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Ron - January 2 - 4:54 am

  I bought this car used in March, 2004. They hold there value well, but there seems to be alot out there. What I like about the RSX-Type S is that you dont seem them everywhere. They seem to be unique.