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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  good car - 2003 Acura TL
  By bubby - June 17 - 2:00 am

  good car good dealer

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  BMWho? - 2003 Acura CL
  By Chaptorial - June 11 - 2:00 am

  This car has been nothing but a joy since the first day I picked it up at the dealership. The overall performance out of the 3.2 liter V6 is more than adequate for daily driving. The interior is laid out perfectly in my opinion with all the instruments in easy reach of the driver. Navigation with Onstar is great. For me the Five-speed automatic shifts perfectly by itself and when I feel the need to drop from 5th to 3rd on the highway, the Sport Shift option works great. Torque steer is minor. Overall you wont find all of these features anywhere for this price.

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  I Want My Integra - 2002 Acura RSX
  By BelieveMeIveLooked - June 6 - 10:00 am

  Ive driven Integras for 13 years so I was excited when the RSX came out. On paper, I liked everything about it: gas mileage, features, etc. But, in person, the car is smaller than my 91 Integra--I felt like I was getting in a coffin. Im only 5-10 and 160 so dont think its my size. Good performance, but I just couldnt get over how much I longed for my Integra.

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  ok - 2003 Acura TL
  By vjgvdj - June 6 - 10:00 am

  this was only okay for 31k. i wish i got the avolon by toyota. overall it is okay.

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  Nice for Price - 2001 Acura CL
  By Kobe - June 6 - 2:00 am

  Really like the performance of this vehicle and the styling is far superior to earlier CLs. I am coming up on end of 3 year lease and may actually buy it. Only issue is minor quality issues such as sunroof, radio and faulty indicator lights.

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  Love the Integra! - 1997 Acura Integra
  By MaryAlice - June 5 - 2:00 am

  If you are looking for an extremely reliable sedan, look no further than this car. Ive owned my car for 4 years & have never had to service it other than normal maintenance & new tires. This car is fun to drive and is fairly quiet on the highway (when the sunroof is closed) Open the sunroof & its a differant story. Other than that I give this car Highest Ratings!!!

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  After 7 years, an excellent car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By Madrid - June 5 - 2:00 am

  After 7 years Im about to sell my Integra and will definately miss it. This car is rather spartan in the interior (a disappointment when I bought it), but the engineering (engine, manual transmission and brakes, especially) are the best of any car, hands down. In the first few months we had to replace the drivers airbag and the sun roof got stuck, but since then its been near perfect. At 105,000 miles I recently had to replace the radiator (they use a cheaper plastic top as an original) and, incredibly, Im still on the original brake pads!! Unfortunately, Ive gotten too many tickets with this car and its time to move on.

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  Good Little Car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By RockLobster - June 4 - 2:00 am

  My Girlfirend and i bought this car mainly for her to drive. The only complaint i have so far is that its auto transmission seems to be poorly programed and deteriorates the cars responsivness. The AT has to much slop for a car of this type and can be quite frustrating in its ponderous search for the right gear durring more aggressive driving. If buing this car i reccomend steering clear of the auto transmission. Else i can vouch that this is by far the most reliability for the money. These integras are top of the list for reliability. It is for the most part a quick car that is quite fun to drive.

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  Roomy thrill with cash to spare - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Unemongod - June 2 - 7:36 pm

  After trying on 40+ cars over the last 9 monthes, this was one of 2 cars that made the grade. (The other was the Acura MDX) Its a comfortable ride for those of us who cant fit in most other cars. Im 64" and moderately knock-kneed, which gives me leg room issues. The RSX fits like a glove, like only Honda seems to understand. The car drives like a car should, with a clean feel of the road, and a hi-revving powerplant that is truely another Honda marvel. There is more comfort and room than most sedans, and still the thrill of a sport coupe.

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  I think I got a Lemon - 2004 Acura TSX
  By bennero - June 2 - 10:00 am

  Bought this car in Feb/04 and have driven a loaner for 3 weeks and 2 rentals as this car cannot stay out of the shop. Going back in for new seatbelts that the dealer got oil all over. New rim as the coating was coming off. Rear welds came apart above the struts, Im on my third console from all the squeaks and rattles. Does not compare to the excitement of the BMW 325i which I sold to get this automatic. Ratings were good, I think I just got one that was made Friday afternoon.