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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  Still Going Strong - 1996 Acura Integra
  By ACIN - February 28 - 2:00 am

  Just another satisfied owner. With plenty of acceleration for fun or slipping through traffic, the GS-R is a car for drivers. I bought mine new eight years ago and Im still satisfied. Following the standard maintenance recommendation (more or less), I havent had a single problem in my 100K+ miles.

• 

  Great car - 1998 Acura TL
  By GaryJB - February 28 - 2:00 am

  Tight turning radius is a plus. Speedy acceleration, smooth ride at high speeds. Quick warm-up on cold mornings - heat in the seats.

• 

  Survived! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By btray - February 26 - 2:00 am

  I give the RSX Two Thumbs up for safety. I unfortunately was involved in a car accident and totaled my RSX. I walked away with minor Whiplash. I impacted the center median at over 60 miles per hour almost straight on, and there was NO cabin damage. In most cars I would have had an engine where my knees were. ItÂ’s a very safe car.

• 

  Just voting - 2002 Acura RSX
  By FastFox - February 24 - 2:06 pm

  But love the car.

• 

  lost its value - 2002 Acura TL
  By gary kennedy - February 21 - 2:00 am

  I have had the car for 2 1/2 years and it has 102,000 miles. No problems, not even brake replacement. Mileage is 30 mpg, better than rated. Very quiet,no wind noise, squeaks, or rattles. I was shocked when the dealer offerred me less than $10,000 dollars for trade on a new $35,000 TL.

• 

  pretty good car - 1990 Acura Legend
  By D.D. - February 20 - 2:00 am

  This car was great cinsidering it is my first car, but it has also cost a bit, for example, 500 bucks for a/c fixing and another 700 in a/c repairs still needed, power steering leak (a couple hundred) new battery ($100), a new paintjob and a few other repairs, nothing too huge, but right now, i think my transmission is slipping and it makes a funny noise when i turn

• 

  Solid after 154k - 1996 Acura TL
  By upton pt - February 16 - 2:00 am

  I bought the car in 97 as a certified pre-owned. With 154k miles, the car has held up extremely well and still going strong.

• 

  TYPE S - 2002 Acura CL
  By JAMES THURSTON - February 13 - 2:00 am

  GREAT ALL-AROUND CAR.VERY RELIABLE,THE ONE FEATURE THAT IS A BOTHER IS THE FRONT SEAT BELT SYSTEM WHICH DO NOT ALLWAYS RETRACT AND GET CAUGHT IN THE DOOR WHEN THE DOOR IS CLOSED.

• 

  Ready anytime! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By dboe - February 9 - 2:00 am

  This is a great utility vehicle, while having nice style, and good comfort. Acceleration is brisk, and handling is above average for any vehicle in its class. It is very stable on the road, at speed and/or under windy conditions. Space utilization is great. While it easy to load it up, the towing capacity is on the small side. Mileage is not bad for the weight of vehicle. Brakes are just adequate. They should be better, this is not an easy vehicle to snub down from speed quickly. Interior materials are on the cheap side. But so far everything seems to be holding up just fine.

• 

  reality of nsx - 2004 Acura NSX
  By duke3333333333333 - February 8 - 2:00 am

  STUNNING, AND LESS THAN 200 PER YEAR ARE MFD, MAKING MY RIDE SPECIAL. MAJOR PROBLEMS ARE FACTORY TIRES ARE TOO SOFT, LIFETIME OF RUBBER IS APX 6000 MILES IN DAY TO DAY DRIVING.ACURA SHOULD USE GOODYEAR F1S.RIDE WOULD BE BETTER AND RUBBER LAST TWICE AS LONG. THE LAST TIME I BURNT A CLUTCH OUT ON A SPORTSCAR- WAS IN 82, ON A 74 TRIUMPH TR6. CLUTCH ON THE NSX WEAR INCREDIBLY FAST & ACURA CHARGES 3G+ TO REPLACE. REASON 1 PURCHASES EXOTIC FROM HONDA/ACURA WOULD BE RELIABILITY. HOPEFULLY THE NEXT NSX WILL BE DESIGNED WITH THAT IN MIND. HOWEVER, I LOVE MY NSX!