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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  Even better than Honda !!! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By GaryGrach - March 31 - 10:00 am

  Just love this car all its gadgets.

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  TL Rules - 2004 Acura TL
  By I Love TL - March 31 - 10:00 am

  I just cat beleive how well this car rides. Engine, acceleration, finish, interior, standard features. i like it better than my Mercedes.

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  Very satisfied - 2006 Acura TSX
  By rabbit - March 30 - 11:32 pm

  The mileage estimate I think is low - even in Seattles stop and go traffic I range from 30mpg and upwards, at times 35! My fourth Acura and I remain committed to the brand. Great handling, smooth ride, comfortable.

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  Great ride..Better than E 320 Merc - 2009 Acura TL
  By Sal - March 29 - 9:26 pm

  This is my 2nd TL (after 2005). This is BY FAR the best car I have ever driven....

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  A real legend - 1993 Acura Legend
  By verne smith - March 29 - 8:34 pm

  I bought my 1993 legend ls sedan 5.5 years ago and it is still going strong, I bought my car with 195,332 miles, it currently has 261,585 miles and still going, I have never had any engine issues, never changed head gasket or any other engine parts, this engine is bullet proof, the transmission is also bullet proof it currently needs a mount thats it, it revs very smooth. I replaced over the 5.5 years and counting, ignition switch, right axle, wheel bearings, just this week the radiator cleaned the EGR ports and of course regular mentainance oil change etc, I am a very proud legend owner and because of this car I have an acura gsr which is another good car, I am now in the process of buying a 2003 mdx.

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  TL Baby - 2005 Acura TL
  By Brettski - March 29 - 7:50 am

  Just plain awesome. Every electronic feature you could ever need. Very fast with tons of "pick up". 270 horses is more than enough, trust me. Well built and a ton of fun to drive.

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  Great vehicle - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Kevin - March 28 - 2:06 pm

  I have had my MDX over a week now and love it. Never had an SUV with the power and handling the MDX has. Even in the comfort mode, handles like a dream. Gas mileage has been fair. (17 MPG mixed hwy and city.) Very fun to drive. The navigation system is awesome. Easy to use and many features. Stereo system very impressive. Head lamps light the road very well at night. Seats are very comfortable and the heated seats work very well. 3rd row seats are OK. Great for kids or adults on short trips. The rear entertainment is very nice. Good screen and easy to operate. Wireless headphones give great sound. Would like to have seen the vehicle have a built in phone holder, and coin holder.

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  Awesome Car - 2003 Acura MDX
  By ali3622 - March 28 - 2:00 am

  The MDX is the best car I have ever owned.

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  Value, Luxury, Quality, Efficiency - 2003 Acura TL
  By JimmyP - March 28 - 2:00 am

  Compared & drove Nissan Max, Infinity, Lexus, BMW 3 series, Cadilac CTS. DO NOT waste the incremental dollars on BMW, Lexus, Infinity or Cadiilac CTS to get a similarly equipped car. If your looking for the "prestige" and its worth $6k-$10K, go ahead. This car has it ALL over each of them.

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  follow-up to 8/2002 review - 1996 Acura RL
  By prophet2 - March 28 - 1:10 am

  Its 6-1/2 years later and my 96 RL is going strong at 153K miles. Some issues: tach malfunctioning, dealer estimates $1400 repair. Also, $1420 to replace steering rack assembly $1427 for leaking rear main seal/O-ring $240 for re-sealing power steering pump $500 to replace rear tail light assembly. Thats $5000, exceeding the cars value. An independent mechanic found nothing wrong with the steering mechanism. Fluid has leaked from a hose to the rack assembly and rear main seal area, making it appear that those items are leaking. His estimate is $675, saving me $2400. The dealers service department has a reputation of up-selling service jobs.