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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  Would buy it again! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Rags - January 9 - 2:51 pm

  Ive owned my 04 TL automatic with Navi since April 04 and I have to say that I love this car. Reliable, great ride, fun to drive, good gas mileage (up to 30 mpg when just freeway driving) and lots of goodies like heated seats, xenon headlights and great sound system are all standard. Acura quality and performance.

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  New Acura Owner For Life - 2004 Acura TL
  By Logan - January 8 - 4:00 pm

  I bought a used 2004 TL automatic with approx. 75K miles on it, have put another 4K miles on it, and I couldnt be happier!!! It drives beautifully, the interior material is top notch, it has all the gadgets you could want (especially for being a 2004..way to go Acura for making all those amazing features standard on all base models!), and the exterior still turns heads. I put a lot of review into my purchase, especially from this website so I thought it was fitting I put some back in. The car does slip a little bit more than my last car in snowy conditions but i think thats mainly due to the torque.

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  Terrfic TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By Matt - January 8 - 12:23 pm

  I have always driven Hondas and have wanted a TL since they changed the body in 04. Finally bought a used 05 in Oct of 08. Love it! Sharp looking, powerful, comfortable, reliable, relatively economical. Mine is silver with gray leather. Bought it with 25k on it and Ive put 28k on it since acquiring it. I commute 33 miles to work 1 way. Have seen 33 mpg on the highway a couple of times but average 31 on hwy. City driving is a bit more dismal in the high teens. Overall average is 25-26 mpg.

• 

  Top of the Line - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Discerning - January 7 - 9:52 pm

  Switched from BMW X3 for more cargo room but did not want to give up handling. This one handles like a vehicle much smaller than it is and it has lots more bells and whistles than the BMW. Its hard to beat the way a BMW handles but this one is close, especially for its size. Great comfort and conveniences. Plenty of pep and a smooth ride. Exceptional technology. Perhaps the best luxury SUV value in the market.

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  A few issues, but love it - 1994 Acura Legend
  By Legendzero1 - January 7 - 9:12 pm

  I always thought Acura made a mistake when they stopped making the Legend. I bought mine new in 94. I loved it so much I had the heads done when the gasket went on it last year. Some people have had BHG issues, some havent. Mine was properly maintained and it still went. I still however, LOVE this car. Along with the HGs, the only problems Ive encountered are a bad main relay, oxidized paint(to be expected after 15 years), cracking leather(also to be expected), and the typical HONDA rear wheel well rust issues. The styling is unmatched and the ride is sporty and luxurious.

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  Very Good for FWD - 2008 Acura TL
  By Mike M. - January 7 - 3:33 pm

  Reliable, pretty good looking,brakes modulate well, steering is well weighted, but understeers like FWD always does. good engine, needs 50 more hp. Excellent highway cruiser. Got 31 mpg at 70 mph on long trip.

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  Plenty of power - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Great Car - January 7 - 2:26 pm

  I have the Type-S model, and it has plenty of power. Although the handling of this car is phenomenal, even given the fact that it is a front wheel drive car. The car has stood up to me well and just recently has the engine light come on but I must say it was caused by me running over a groundhog. Other than that I love this car! The 8000 rpm red line is amazing,And so is the i-VTEC system. Remember, this is the little brother of the NSX, and it will not let you down, and is simply amazing!

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  The good just got better! - 2010 Acura RDX
  By Acuraman - January 7 - 7:15 am

  This is the second RDX that I have owned. Acura has done an excellent job in this mid- model change improving those areas of complaint by owners of the 2007-2009 models, such as road noise, braking performance, ride stiffness, etc.

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  This is no Honda Civic - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Scotty - January 6 - 7:48 pm

  I was pleasantly surprised by the cars handling and performance. Its a 5 speed Tiptronic automatic with a 2.0 L4 Vtec engine. The car also handles great and easy to make lane changes. Since the car is pretty light, it doesnt need a huge displacement engine to make it go fast, although a turbo would be nice aftermarket upgrade for those who had the type-s model. I dont usually like 4 cylinder engines, but this one is quite a bit larger than most (Most are 1.6 L). Its also quite a bit torquey for one as well (can get it to squeal on brisk acceleration). The 05/06 Models have the upgraded lighting and wheels which give it more of a luxurious look then previous years.

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  Great Car, but takes a lot of fuel - 2010 Acura TL
  By Kiran - January 6 - 2:39 pm

  I got the 6 speed manual. I was looking at 2010 Audi S4 with 3.0L V6 supercharger and this acura. I test drove both cars. Audi has alot more lower end torque than TL does. Also, it gives over 30mpg on highway. I bought TL over S4 is because it was 15k less. I had car for 3 weeks now. I cant say much about reliability and so forth, but I can say is that I love the car. It drives nice and sporty. Many people dont like the front grill. Actually I like that. It makes the car look different and I think its a good design.