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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  95 Acura Integra LS - 1995 Acura Integra
  By jabo99 - April 7 - 2:00 am

  Excellent Vehicle. Only complaint is that it is really hard to get out of the car because it is so low to the ground. I have to throw myself out of the vehicle.

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  Buy the Accord - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Scott S. - April 1 - 11:23 pm

  I was preparing to replace my Honda Accord and wanted to move up. The TSX doesnt feel any smaller, but the backseat is a full 2-inches smaller for legroom. While 2 inches may not seem like much, it matters when you have children. Then theres the matter of power. This car does not zip. The Accord V6 has 40 more HP, and gets the same gas mileage. If youre going to compare - the Accord V6 with Nav is more comparable to the TL, not the TSX. The TSX feels more like a spiffy Civic.

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  Awesome car! - 1998 Acura CL
  By KevinC - March 30 - 2:00 am

  I bought the car in 2002 with 82,000 miles on it. It now has 122,000 miles and is still tight and reliable. Other than brakes, tires, and oil changes this car has been nearly trouble free. I did have to replace the drivers side electric window motor.

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  A SATISFIED CUSTOMER - 2004 Acura RL
  By Dave in Oregon - March 30 - 2:00 am

  Hi everyone - I leased my latest Acura on Feb. 29, 2004. After searching and driving many cars, and considering the fantastic deal Acura was offering, I made the decision to go with the 2004 RL. I drove the Lexus ES300, the BMW 5 series, and looked at Audi. The RL has a wonderful feel, the instruments are well placed, and with the optional chrome wheels, its quite a handsome vehicle. I do wish it was abit more thrifty with the gas, but its getting a solid 18-22 and still has less than 2000 miles. Hopefully, it will get better.

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  THE CORPORATE INTRGRA - 2002 Acura RSX
  By BRONXBOMBER - March 30 - 2:00 am

  The 2002 replaced an 89 Integra which had 171,000 miles. It is an overall excellent car - but - somewhere, somehow it has lost the little edge that the Intrgra had. It just isnt as fun to drive. I have a Base and use it to commute to work 42 miles a day. The engine is peppy enough. Handling is fine.30.3 MPG. So far no problems.

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  Superb car - 1995 Acura Integra
  By stvr440 - March 29 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned this terrific little machine going on 9 years. It is a perfect combination of sports and practicality and has been a joy to own. Other than routine maintenance it hasnt been in the shop for anything. All in all the best car Ive ever owned and Im going to keep it for quite a while yet.

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  disappointed - 2003 Acura MDX
  By alias6276 - March 29 - 2:00 am

  After owning the vehicle for 6 months I wished I had purchased something else. Its not worth the money. Although the performance is good, it falls short of my expectation for a luxury SUV. The lousy gas mileage (not getting the rated mileage) combined with the premium gas makes me ill every time I pull up to the pump. They say you shouldnt buy a car you cant afford to drive. I can afford it but I would rather spend my money elsewhere. The main reason I bought it was for the resale value, just didnt think I would have to cash in so soon.

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  Excellant buy at used - 2001 Acura RL
  By mecyl - March 21 - 2:00 am

  Excellant built and solid vehicle. Very reliable car with minimal maintenance. Worth every penny if you buy a used vehicle

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  Just torn... - 2005 Acura TSX
  By MB2005 - March 13 - 4:00 am

  It has been almost a year since I got my TSX, and I love it. Navi is great, but fuel economy is not what it is hyped to be. Exterior design is pretty blah and for the price i expect more HP! overall it has been amazingly reliable and a great car. The delay before being able to use navi, radio, or AC is pretty annoying especially when Im in a hurry.. however the Navi has never failed me. As fun as it is to frive and as reliable and affordable (concidering all the ammenities) it could use some improvement...

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  01 MDX Touring Navi - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Promed - March 10 - 2:00 am

  Vehicle was good until the tranny began failing at 63,000 mi. Acura offered to pay half of the $5,510.00 to replace tranny. I paid $2,755.00. Appealed to Acura and dealer for something more, since I am a 15-year customer of this dealer. They said, "No thanks." I questioned trying a first year model, in 2001. Know that replacement tranny was not immeidiately available when my repair was done Dec.02. Seems that Acura is having more wide spread trouble with the MDX than they will admit. Acura extended warrany from 50,000 mi. to 100,000 mi. on the tranny of another model. Not for 01 MDX. Buyer be ware.