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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  A great car for the money in its class - 2003 Acura CL
  By Paiste - October 2 - 2:00 am

  To get any other car in this class was just simply not an option for me when shopping for my CL. The 6 speed is awesome, as is the navigation and the power, there are plenty of mods available, including a supercharger for this model alone, that make this car a substantial value for the 27,500 I paid for it. To get a identically equipped pre-owned Bimmer or Audi or Mercedes that would be slower, I was looking at 36+.

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  Good SUV, crunchy brakes - 2002 Acura MDX
  By ParkerMDX - September 29 - 2:00 am

  Overall, this is a great vehicle. I noticed when it had about 6,000 miles that when I would come to a stop (mostly after it sat idle for a bit) that the brakes make a "crunching" noise. I took it in for its 7500 mile check and it passed. I recently took it back in for the 15K check and verbalized the same concern. They could find nothing wrong and said that even some of the sedans made the same noise and that was typical for Acuras. There have been no safety issues, but that same noise continues.

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  going back to my maxima - 2001 Acura TL
  By robertabear - September 25 - 2:00 am

  After a Camry and a Maxima which were great for over 150,000 miles, we bought our first "luxury" car. Today, after 3 years and 30,000 miles, it is getting a new transmission. As soon as we get it home, well trade it in for something more reliable. Otherwise, why not expect another problem at 60,000 when we are no longer under warranty? What a disappointment!

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  MDX - good but not great - 2003 Acura MDX
  By amarlow - September 25 - 2:00 am

  Bought MDX about 6 weeks ago. Really like it except that I find the drivers seat very uncomfortable (too firm) and there is an annoying rattle that I need to take back to dealer to fix. Looked at many SUVs and thought this was the whole package.

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  Should have kept my old car!!!!! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By CARFREAK - September 24 - 2:00 am

  Great Looking Car, but thats it! If you do alot of driving dont consider this car. I had experience knee problems while driving this car for more than 2hrs, due to the sporty seats sitting too low inside the car, This car was only bulit for the DRAG STRIP. (short distance travel)

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  Surprised... - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Michael Anderson - September 19 - 2:00 am

  Im a former RL owner, and was pleasently surprised that the MDX offeres all the creature comforts of the RL, with the Storage capacity of a truck. The ride is better than that of the RL in my opinion, probably due to the improved suspension system.

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  Grown ups Integra - 2002 Acura RSX
  By trishlj - September 18 - 2:00 am

  Ive had two Integras and this car by far is the quietest as far as road noise goes. Better handling, killer brakes, short clutch. You cannot find a nicer car for 20K with the features and reliability.

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  transmission problem - 2002 Acura TL
  By Cnslr56 - September 15 - 2:00 am

  Beautiful ride. Transmission replaced at 20000. under warranty. Shaken confidence, air conditioning not that great (cooling) seems not to cool adequately in 100+ degree weather, however my car is black with black interior. Great service at dealership, no pressure.

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  nice car, i love hondas - 1995 Acura Integra
  By enzo ferrari - September 14 - 2:00 am

  Givin this car is a Civic underneath and the suspension creeks when I get in and out of the car, it is fun to drive. I put Pirellis on it and the handling improved immensely. Who cannot love a 8000+ redline. I also have a2002 Gti VW, and while the VW is quicker off the line, but the GSR will crush it in top speed. AS far as style, I dont especially like the rear of the car, but I like the side view and think the front is styled after the NSX. How good is that. I reccommend this car especially to someone who wants a five speed and loves to shift. You need to work the gearbox.

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  6 month review - 2003 Acura TL
  By Twenty03 Type-S - September 13 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my Type-S for 6 months. Overall the car is still a great value. However, the squeaks I keep hearing in the interior are driving me crazy - from the seats, seat-belt buckets and dash. And, of course, the dealership "cannot duplicate the problems." Quick car for its size and weight. It would be much more fun, though, if it had RWD instead of FWD.