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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  Beware! - 1999 Acura CL
  By Vivek - September 11 - 2:00 am

  Purchased it used off a lease in 2001. An attractive coupe, comfortable interior and good gas mileage. But has potentially serious handling problems on wet roads. Even with limited amount of rain, it is hard to control over speeds of 55-60 has tendency to hydroplane. (My Acura Legend in contrast is rock steady.) I have to slow down to 50 to keep the car steady. (The tires are new and the inflation is at the recommended levels.) Even on dry roads, it has a tendency to float around - there is a constant need to control the steering a pain when driving long distances on the highway. I wonder whats up with the suspension, aerodynamics or ??

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  lots of problems - 2001 Acura MDX
  By always at shop - September 9 - 2:00 am

  my acura had a faulty gas tank (could only pump .10 cents of gas at a time) that to my knowledge is the only one ever totally replaced and had to have roof liner taken out the first week to fix "chirping" in the sunroof. since then, have had lots of smaller issues- noises when braking, FOUR front dash vents have fallen out, transmission problems at 38-42 mph., and popping behind glove box.

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  Best car for the money - 2004 Acura TL
  By ECB - September 8 - 12:56 pm

  Got a certified used 2004 NAVI TL (9000 miles on it) and I agree with most of the reviews. Performance is amazing. Navigation, handsfree and bluetooth systems work perfectly. Handlng and power and great. Interior/Exterior finish is very good as well. Only complaint is there is a fair amount of rattling (mainly in the front console) but Ill get that taken care of when I take the car to the dealer for its 15K maintence. Also, the ride can be a litte rough (but I attribue that to its sport car type features) and the aluminum trim along the sides of front console scratch very easily

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  Fix the Clicking - 2002 Acura MDX
  By shortyjw - September 8 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car after driving many and doing our research. Love the car, but hate the clicking noise the brakes make every time you switch gears. Weve had it in for service and called Acuras customer help line. Everyone says this noise is normal. It doesnt sound normal- especially for a car made by Acura that sells for almost $40,000. Dissappointed that Acura doesnt seem to think this is a problem, nor are they trying to fix it.

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  So far, not satisfied - 2004 Acura TL
  By Mike140 - September 6 - 2:00 am

  We have only had the car for a short period of time but we have already noticed rattles and the Check Engine light just came on. Otherwise, we are very happy with the car. It is comfortable and fun to drive. Probably too early to tell, but we are worried and annoyed already.

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  I like it but... - 2001 Acura CL
  By acura lover - September 5 - 10:00 am

  I finally bought an adult car having always owned hatchbacks. I compared the CL to Audi,BMW,Lexus,Infiniti and Volvo and found the CL to be the best value for the money. The CL has the biggest engine, horsepower and amenities. However, I do have a several complaints. I wish the doors would lock when I start the engine and unlock when I stop the engine like in the Integra. Also, could they put back the side moulding. The most annoying part is the door ledge. There is a little ledge that always gets dirty when it rains and my pant leg hits it getting out of the car.

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  Frustration - 2005 Acura TL
  By Frustrated - September 4 - 9:40 am

  My fifth Acura and this is the first with a major problem. Randomly, when starting the car, the exterior temp display goes blank and the temperature settings go crazy. Twice, I have had a dead battery, first time at 1000 miles, and this car stays in the garage. Dealer replaced the original battery but had another dead battery three weeks later at 3000 miles. Guess Ill be working through exercising the "Lemon Law" and hope the dealer responds favorably.

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  if only - 1998 Acura NSX
  By billibob - September 1 - 2:00 am

  once in a lifetime youre able to drive an exotic at merely a luxury price give the nsx a try. great driving thrill on curve or staight . Acceleration is truly exhilarant . Balance is amazing -I felt glued to the road on curves. While the cockpit is comfortible my bald spot atop my 6ft frame kisses the targa roof. This car seems to hold a good resale value. I picked up a 98 in flawless condition for 50k. Not a bargain but given the slight design and performance changes over the last 12 years I feel like im driving a new car selling in the $90s.

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  My Teal Acura - 1995 Acura Integra
  By John L - August 31 - 2:00 am

  I bought my 95 Acura Integra AT Coupe new in 1995 and really wanted a Green one, but had to settle for the Teal (Blue Green) color. This has been a fabulous car - very reliable and fun to drive. Only problems I have had with it was early in its life the antenna kept breaking but it was under warranty and the dealer fixed it twice. The last fix worked because I havent had any more trouble with it. I got 75K miles on the original Michelins and had to change out the radiator around 100K, but nothing else serious. It does go through brakes around every 15K to 20K. Its never left me stranded and has never broke down on me.

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  2004 TSX Automatic non Nav - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Miko1970 - August 27 - 10:00 am

  I had been shopping to update my 2000 3.2 TL to a 2003 Type S, but since premium gas is priced what it is, the 2004 TSX really made more sense. My expectation was clearly too high on the performance, gas mileage and fit and finish. I was completely spoiled with the TL. I feel that between the automatic transmission and low torque a manual transmission is the best way to experience this car. I also wish I had known what kind of people I was dealing with a Duval Acura in Jacksonville, FL... Buyer beware and ask for a CAR FAX!