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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  best sport sedan - 2004 Acura TL
  By pmlay - March 5 - 2:00 am

  whats not to like? well maybe rear wheel drive would be nice. but other than that it is one of the best driving and nicest all around cars i have ever had the pleasure of driving. i cant wait to take it on a long trip.

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  Excellent vehicle - 2004 Acura TL
  By TLowner - March 5 - 2:00 am

  I traded in my 2000 TL for this new beauty.

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  Drivers Delight - 2004 Acura TL
  By dronan - March 5 - 2:00 am

  First time to own an Acura (3300 miles). Hugs turns and corners. Brakes grab securely. Steering wheel controls seem well placed. Navigation finds even obscure locations and remembers them. Dash lights are attractive, and the automated maintenance/mileage/data center relieve alot of worry. I look forward to going places because the driving experience is rewarding. Ive recommended an Acura to my wife.

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  Really nice car - 2009 Acura TL
  By Justin - March 4 - 4:56 pm

  This is an engineering marvel. It is the most intuitive vehicle Ive ever driven. You think about going around a corner and youre there. The ride is a little stiff but thats the price one pays for the performance, at least until you get into cars costing three times as much. The gas mileage isnt great, but after all its not a hybrid. Still, if you go easy on it, its a lot better than youd expect. The interior controls are overwhelming at first, but once learned are easy to use. The exterior styling stands out and I predict will be a harbinger of things to come across all makes. The tech options are second to none. I assume it will be as reliable as my last TL, so well done Acura.

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  Never owned an Acura? Youre missing out - 2002 Acura RSX
  By markycena - March 4 - 10:00 am

  Two Words...THE BEST. This is now the third Acura in the family. Everyone talks about Acura not being a luxury car. They just have never owned one. The quality, the resale, and most importantly...The fun to drive nature of this car. One of the only guarantees in life!!!! Excellent all the way around!

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  Great Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By rmfine - March 4 - 10:00 am

  I have only had this car for a few days but I feel it is the best car I have ever owned. It is comfortable, quite, and very responsive. Additionaly, it looks great.

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  Break it In - 2008 Acura TL
  By !AHA! - March 3 - 11:49 pm

  When I first got my Type-S, I was disappointed: the transmission felt jerky, the tires squealed readily during cornering and hard acceleration, and to top it off I bought an AUTO, which was all they had left. About three months later, the car literally transformed: the transmission was silky smooth, the handling was snappy and nimble, and there wasnt any real torque steer or understeer to deal with. It was still an auto, but that went well with the enormous number of luxury features. I can cruise in comfort and in style, or I can rip through the woods and destroy a Mitsubishi Eclipse at a stoplight. Either way, Im no longer disappointed.

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  Amazing Luxury Car For About 30K!!!! - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Acuraz All The Way! - March 3 - 10:05 pm

  After owning this car for about 8 months I have to say this car is amazing. Excellent performance and reliability. The car handles like a dream for its size and its perfect in the snow with standard tires. Took it on 3 long trips which were about 2400 miles and the fuel economy on the highway was 34 mpg with premium fuel and city averages around 27 mpg. Was looking at Lexus is 250 and Infiniti g35 but got the TSX fully loaded with nav package for at least 7-10k less and the Acura dealers offer amazing customer service.

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  Absolutely Amazing Bang For The Buck - 2009 Acura TL
  By LordOfTheBored - March 2 - 5:55 am

  The car is built like a tank. Totally solid. Every detail seems to have been thought thru thoroughly. Suspension on the FWD car is just perfect. Not too firm, almost no body lean in turns (the SH-AWD car was too firm for me). The technology in this car is amazing and it all works so seamlessly. Ive never seen a better nav system and I come from owning a Lexus ES350. The screen is gorgeous. Power is incredible for a car that gets this kind of mpg. Everything about this car suggests that it should cost $10-15k more. At around $36k its undoubtedly the best bargain in the automotive world. I like this car better than my friends E-Class.

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  Best Car for the Money! - 2009 Acura TL
  By Del - March 1 - 1:03 pm

  This is our 3rd TL after owning the 02 & 06. Ride and comfort are excellent. After looking at Cadillac, Lexus, Infinity & BMW this is the best quality for the $$. The Tech package is outstanding, we love it. The ride improvement is excellent. Drove the 4-wheel version, yes it has more HP and is faster but you give up the smooth ride for the firmer sport ride. The 06 TL was the best road car we have ever had, cant wait to get the 09 on the road. The seats are better than Lexus. The rear leg room is much better than the 06. I do miss the blue dash lights that was in the 06 TL. Its a buyers market, got a great deal. Like the new lines, but the front end needs to grow on you.