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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  Very pleased with my RSX-S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By vanderskills - November 8 - 4:46 pm

  This car is a whole lot of fun for the money. It handles very well and the engine sounds great (especially when the vtec kicks in). The interior is very nice and the stereo sounds pretty good too. The Type S has every available feature standard and in my opinion it is the nicest sports coupe available for ~23k. Highly recommended!

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  A beauty which rivals new cars. - 2004 Acura TL
  By Ethan - November 8 - 6:13 am

  The 2004 Acura TL is an anomaly: a car which is beautiful, comfortable, practical, and fun. The VTEC engine is punchy and quick, and the exhaust note is fantastic. Meanwhile, the leather bucket seats are remarkably comfortable with its heating capabilities, lumbar support, and cushy leather. The interior is premium for the price with much of the surfaces being leather wrapped or brushed aluminum. The back seat is tiny, but only to make room for a massive trunk that holds a bookshelf, a sleep in bag, and emergency kit, a thick coat, a marching band uniform, and groceries. This car is very practical despite its looks and performance. The car handles adequately, but it suffers from massive understeer and "boatiness": the TL would benefit from AWD, which would help with the understeer. Other than that, the TL is a fantastic performer with its shockingly quick launch and acceleration, comfortable suspension, and 160 MPH top speed. The best part of the car, though, is the styling. This car is beautiful from every angle- especially the rear end which rivals BMWs and Audis of the same era. If youre looking for the best value for money, look no further than the 2004 Acura TL.

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  A Winner! - 2010 Acura RDX
  By trome - November 7 - 6:16 pm

  I picked up my RDX today and found the fit and finish to be excellent and the seats the most comfortable I have ever sat in except perhaps for Volvo. I priced up a Volvo XC60 and if you option it out with things that are standard on the base RDX like leather, blue tooth, heated seats, XM rado, bi xenon lights, sunroof you would be looking at a 38k car. I paid 31k for my RDX and feel it was the bargain of the century! Especially after considering a RAV4 v6 which the dealer wanted 28k for and it does not even compare to the Acura.

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  Like the car. But expecting little more power and - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Srihari Padmanabhan - November 7 - 4:18 pm

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  Great daily driver - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Ned - November 6 - 8:09 am

  My TSX replaced a 2001 Saab 9-5 Aero, and despite less power, I prefer the Acuras engine. Its smooth, sounds great, revs freely, and has enough power to be entertaining with 6MT. It delivers good mileage too. I love the interior: fantastic seats, good visibility, great ergonomics, and even the base stereo is excellent. For an urban enthusiasts daily driver, the suspension tuning is perfect. Its tight and responsive but never harsh. Only fly in the ointment is the steering. Its numb on center, which isnt great on the highway and detracts from driving feel. But its accurate, with good off-center feel, which works great on twisty roads.

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  A sporty economical car - 2016 Acura TLX
  By gopala vasudevan - November 6 - 7:57 am

  We usually buy Toyotas or Lexus. Not much of a Honda fan. However I am very impressed by the Acura we bought for my daughter who graduated and got her first job. Pros: Very nice interior, low road noise and good acceleration with 1-2 passengers. The car is understated outside but has a very nice interior with nice leather and fittings. Very economical given the 2.4 liter engine. This was a 2016 closeout lease and I got a very good deal from Prime Acura of Walpole.

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  Best mix of fun, features, and value. - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Crowbar - November 5 - 10:00 am

  I did a LOT of research before purchasing this car. I drove a LOT of other cars before deciding on this one. My second choice was the BMW 3 series, which has better brakes and rear-wheel-drive (important considerations for extreme driving enthusiasts). However, after looking at the whole picture, the TSX was simply the smarter choice: Lower price, better reliability, more standard features, and handling that is still comparable to the best in the class. My previous car was a 1994 Acura Integra GS-R 4D. This car was the perfect replacement. Go test drive one and youll see why!

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  Nice look/poor performance - 2004 Acura TL
  By Jonathan1 - November 5 - 10:00 am

  Bought for my wife last winter. Very quick straight line but horrible front wheel drive handling. Torque steer very dangerous and at high speeds car gets very light. Most people are fooled that front wheel drive vehicles are superior but with sport tires on vehicle TL is useless in snow. Bought infiniti G35X for myself and for the same money there is no comparison. Wife now borrows my car every chance she gets. Also every 60,000 miles plan on spending $1,200 on a timing belt. My Infiniti is a timing chain and never needs to be replaced. Thank god we only did a 24 month lease.

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  Acura TL (4 Months Later) - 2004 Acura TL
  By Kennys TL - November 5 - 10:00 am

  4 months and 8000 miles later, Im still in love and on my honeymoon. The TL has not disappointed me. I commute back and forth to Manhattan.....both city and highway driving are a pleasure. Wish gas mileage was a little bit better, but what do you expect for 270 HP. Outside temp gauge shows higher than actual temperature. Acura is only able to adjust reading plus or minus three degrees. Overall....I love the car.

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  LOVE It!! - 2010 Acura TSX
  By laura - November 4 - 9:28 pm

  Love this car! Gas mileage is great. Avg 32 hwy and get about 550 to 600 miles per tank. Lots of trunk space. Originally wanted an infiniti g35 coupe but chose the tsx instead. No problems with it thus far!