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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  Nice Vehicle - 2004 Acura MDX
  By tfmeisen - September 29 - 10:57 am

  I decided that I wanted a luxury SUV. I drove several different types and I believe that the Acura MDX is one of the best vehicles for your money on the market today. It has the size, and space of an SUV, but rides like a luxury car. The interior is plush and the features are great and easy to use. I had every option except for the navigation and DVD player. It had plenty of power and still got good gas mileage, on a long trip I could get over 22 mpg which is incredible considering the size. The only problems I had: the cruise control broke, and I somehow broke the front motor mount and it was expensive. The other downside is the vehicle has to be serviced by Acura for most things.

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  Great choice for our family - 2009 Acura MDX
  By No1UKnow - September 29 - 7:24 am

  After 6000 miles this summer, Im extremely pleased with our MDX. I really wanted a station wagon with a 3rd row seat and this was our best option. Great leg room for the kids in the second row and Ive ridden in the 3rd row. Love the NAV. Easy to use. Bluetooth actually understands me! Love how stable and responsive the car is. Plenty of power when I need it on the highway. Tons of cargo space. Even with every seat in use, plenty of room for backpacks behind the 3rd row. Didnt want a minivan and I feel like weve finally found the perfect family car. I often take 300 mile+ trips by myself with the kids and I feel very safe in the car. I occasionally let my husband drive!

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  Great car, horrible reliability - 2002 Acura TL
  By value man - September 28 - 6:29 pm

  Why the whole world has not made a big issue that the reliability of this model years transmission is absolutely horrible is beyond me. Acura should be embarrassed - this model year is a black eye to their reputation of reliable cars.

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  V6 is Great - 2010 Acura TSX
  By oldrndirt - September 28 - 4:46 pm

  This is 3rd Acura I bought this year. Love them all. Thought we were going to buy an Audi A4 this time but after test-driving, the TSX feels and handles so much better. More comfortable and better visibility. Better options. Trunk is enormous for this size car - fold-down rear seats are terrific. Car looks awesome. Gets compliments and doesnt look like all the other homogeneous competitors.

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  Best Vehicle Ever! - 2009 Acura TL
  By Joey - September 27 - 3:19 pm

  I might be writing this prematurely as I have only had my new Acura for a week. But wow, this car in unbelievable. I test drove Infiniti G37 and Lexus GS. I cant imagine a vehicle with more bang for the buck. I love the styling, performance, handling and navigation system.

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  Acura has a winner!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By SpyGuy - September 27 - 10:00 am

  Best car on the market for under $30k. Superior quality and comfort. Bought for my wife back in April - picking up the Type-S version for myself next month. Extremely fun to drive. Plenty of power with 225 horsies. Has all the extras youd expect to find on a much more expensive sport-performance sedan. Acura has won me over!!

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  Great car for the real world - 2009 Acura TL
  By ah7771 - September 26 - 11:00 pm

  Hands down the best interior in its class. I love the exterior too. This is one car that wont get lost in the parking lot. I have the pearl white and get compliments all the time. This car handles beautifully, especially around corners. When it comes to how people drive 99.9% of the time, this car wins hands down. If you are instead intent on taking your car through a slalom course, maybe pay the extra $10k for similarly equipped BMW or sacrifice interior luxury and resale value and go for a g37. My 2nd TL and Ive been very impressed with how solid these cars are. Never had problems with either.

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  2013 vs. 2016 - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Buck Stone - September 26 - 2:25 pm

  Not sure what they did but my 2013 off the line was incredible...2016 not...

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  09 TSX Review Plus - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Hajimoto - September 26 - 7:23 am

  Downers: navi glare, fuel economy 27.5 highway only (mountains). Car is overwhelming in first 24 hours, but quickly becomes more fun to drive the longer I own it. The many features to learn can be intimidating.

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  Even better than my 06 - 2010 Acura RL
  By Doug - September 25 - 4:42 pm

  The 2010 has the new face, a tighter feel with handling and has more power and room. With an Ipod hook up, a great finish and a classier interior, I like my 2010 way better than my 2006 I just sold.