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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  13 years with a Mercedes, now my Acura - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Bru - April 7 - 4:42 pm

  I leased a Mercedes C280 sedan new in 96 then bought out my lease. I had considered replacing it since about 03, looked for a new car every so often but couldnt find a worthy replacement, test drove many cars. This TSX was love at first sight. I had no idea Acura had redesigned the TSX until I visited the dealership - old one was a little too small & plain for me. Love It! Awesome! Fun! Intuitive! I feel like Im driving the best looking car (definitely under 50K!) on the road. Honda/Acura reliability, 0-60 faster than the inline-6 Benz I sold, handles great, all the gadgets you want. Didnt get the tech package because a 6 disc changer is so 90s and I want a portable NAV. Cool!

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  Beautiful Looking & Driving Car-Love It! - 2006 Acura TL
  By AmyB - April 7 - 2:29 pm

  I bought a 2006 in Feb of 2009 and I love it! Best driving car Ive owned, even compared to a luxury sports car I have. A mechanic I know described it as "the car that you feel one with when you drive it!", and hes exactly right. Smooth, beautiful, easy ride, without being cushy or boring. In other words it has great road feel in a good way, but is not hard...its nimble, agile, firm but smooth as silk. Beautiful interior....open & airy, with classic sleek styling and perfect ergonomics. This is a lovely car, inside and out. A lot of comfort, luxury and style for the price range. Only been two months but so far so good....Loved it instantly upon first test-drive and even more now!

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  Bang for the buck - 2007 Acura TL
  By lions208487 - April 7 - 8:16 am

  I test drove the new G35, and well the Acura cant quite beat the Infiniti as far as straight off the line power, however, when it comes to the complete package for the money, nothing beats the Type-S. Test drove the BMW 3 series, Mercedes C-class, Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura. I went with the Type-S simply for everything you get with the car. Fun to drive, great power, and all the extras that you would have to pay more for with another vehicle.

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  Great car - 2009 Acura TSX
  By no - April 6 - 8:10 pm

  I was a confirmed small car driver but this car has changed my mind, it is not the big slow mid size but a taste of luxury I was not expecting at the price point. It is smooth and effortless to drive and gets me 31mph which is close to my old mini.

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  Great car, keep those PINs!! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By seanandre - April 6 - 12:26 pm

  Bought it b/c baby on the way. Yeah, car was working perfectly. Interior light left on drained battery, got a jump... Need the pin numbers for both radio and nav to start working again. Had incorrect pin for nav, cost 90 bucks to pull system out and ref serial number in database... If you buy car used (like us) get those correct pins AND serial numbers. Car is great other than that, we live in DC, the nav system is awesome and a must, much better than BMW, space is great (been remodeling condo and moving furniture). Gas milage from 15-24mpg depending on city/hwy. Not a hardcore 4x4, but just snowed and we never felt the vehicle lose ground on hills or get bogged down, just powered on through

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  Drives like a dream - 2007 Acura MDX
  By mnozek - April 6 - 10:32 am

  This is the first Japanese SUV we have had in a while. Last SUVs were Yukon XL and Envoy XL. This beats them out by far. Performs almost as well as our Mercedes e class but has the utility of our Envoy. We always take this on trips and it is very comfortable. The third row is great for smaller children but not so much for adults. Best SUV so far. No problems within our almost 2 years ownership.

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  Amazing - 2004 Acura TSX
  By jonesab4 - April 5 - 10:00 am

  Complete luxury car feel without luxury car price. Plenty fast and a ton of standard features.

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  Awesome Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By MLynn - April 5 - 10:00 am

  This car blows BMW, and Benz out of its class. This car is fun to drive yet it still handles like a luxury car. The navagation on it is great! This car is by far worth its money!

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  Love it! - 2002 Acura TL
  By mario messina - April 3 - 5:37 pm

  I purchased the car after my sons lease was up. Since I have had the car its been great. The gas mileage is very good and the maintaince cost have been minimal. I have had 23 new cars, and this TL has been one of the best!

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  Incredible SUV!!!! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Pat - April 3 - 4:06 pm

  The prelim reviews were great, and I anxiously awaited its arrival at dealerships. I purchased one the 1st day they were available and have no regrets!!! Its incredibly powerful. After driving a suburban for 6 years, Im loving this SUV! Ive driven some great performance vehicles in the past, and this is definitely at the top.