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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  ACURA TL ARE JUST O.K. - 1999 Acura TL
  By ANT612 - May 7 - 2:00 am

  IVE HAD MY 99 ACURA TL FOR ABOUT 9 MONTHS NOW AND HAVE HAD TO CHANGE THE IGNITION THE TRANNY AND THE CAT. CONVERTOR AND A WHEEL ALIGNMENT AND IVE ONLY PUT ON ABOUT 12,000 MILES..ITS A BEAUTIFUL CAR DONT GET ME WRONG BUT THE RELIABILITY IS QUESTIONABLE !

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  Gas Guzzler - 2000 Acura TL
  By Heide - May 7 - 2:00 am

  I love my tl.The only thing is I feel like Im gasing up every other day. Other than that I love the handling, comfort, and style.

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  well worth it 90 rs - 1990 Acura Integra
  By worthit - May 6 - 2:00 am

  My wife bought the Integra before we were married.I took over the Integra and its been nothing but fun. I replaced distributer and plugs/wires. Had new alternator and battery installed. It runs great. Only real problem is every once in a while it wont start right away on hot days. Took it to several mech. who say they cant find the problem. Well worth the money considering engine will last well into 200k

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  Great import - 1990 Acura Integra
  By nakedchef22 - May 6 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with 214ks on it. Obviously the car wasnt well maintained towards the end, because it needed some routine work (brakes, alternator, cv shafts), but otherwise the car was extremely reliable, good on gas and had some kick. Over the year and a half that I owned it, I put roughly 30,000ks on the original engine and tranny (tough to tell since the odo was broken for awhile). Im laughing now, because just when the tranny was about to totally pack it in at 245000 clicks, i traded it straight across for a 92 fifth ave with 185,000 ks. Its not the most comfortable car in the world, but it ran great and was a total looker car.

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  1995 Integra RS 5spd - 1995 Acura Integra
  By YJ - May 5 - 2:00 am

  purchased used in May 2001 from a friend with 107,000km. Ive driven it for 3 yrs/88,000km. I do a lot of highways and its not best cruiser but it handles very well. The reliability has been superb. Other than wear & tear and some minor repairs, no major repairs done. The interior design is very outdated. original paint quality is only about average (rust started to build up on the rear wheel fender 3 yrs ago). some people said the fuel efficiency is good, but no. Its worse than more powerful(150hp) honda accord 4 cyl. I think its due to the gearing (does 3,000rpm at 100km/h on 5th)

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  Fun but expensive - 1990 Acura Legend
  By slindenbaum - May 3 - 2:00 am

  I bought it with 45,000 miles on it. It is fun to drive but have had repeated problems with the ABS system. Replaced rear window regulators (left one twice), steering rack, distributor, and numerous other parts over years. Now paint is shot and leather front seats are severly cracked. Spending $1000+ annually. Am replacing it with a 3.2CL-S 6-speed.

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  Integras OK - 1998 Acura Integra
  By ANJY - April 29 - 2:00 am

  Though the Integra was an exceptionally reliable vehicle, its got some minor electric problems in components such as basic lock functions and A/C functions. CD player tends to die before its time due to harsh ride on player balancers.

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  Integras OK - 1998 Acura Integra
  By ANJY - April 29 - 2:00 am

  Though the Integra was an exceptionally reliable vehicle, its got some minor electric problems in components such as basic lock functions and A/C functions. CD player tends to die before its time dur to harsh ride on player balancers.

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  Pretty Basic - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Jersey~Girl - April 25 - 2:00 am

  Fun car to drive, but pretty basic features. Car lacks outside temperature display, lighted visor mirrors, stereo controls on steering wheel, good interior lighting and trip odometer. EXTREMELY NOISY AND BUMPY ON HIGHWAYS - NOT A CAR FOR LONG DRIVES. Tires that come with the car are noisy and have fair traction.

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  Powerful. Classic. Cherished. - 1994 Acura Legend
  By casper90651 - April 24 - 2:00 am

  This was my first luxury vehicle. Though it was used and not new, I was looking for a vehicle that I loved when I was a teenager, but obviously couldnt afford it. It certainly met every expectation. Sure, it doesnt meet the same interior styling and options of modern vehicles, this vehicle has a certain flavor that will continue to be a very modern looking, yet classic vehicle.