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 Performance Sedan for the Money - 2009 Acura TL
  By New To Acura - September 4 - 2:27 pm

  Had a 2005 Mercedes E500 4Matic and was looking for a car that had the same size engine and same size interior. Have had the TL SH AWD HPT for over a month and this car does not disappoint. The handling is unbelievable and the power/acceleration is very good. Drove the G37x and the CTS 4 and the TL was just a better car for the money. The ride can be a little stiff and you can feel the bumps on a rough road which is why I gave a rating of 8 for comfort. Overall, though, the ride is good and the cabin is very quiet. Also, the tech package is a must. Easy to use and I use the real time weather a lot more than I thought I would. And I like the front/back design. It is edgy/different.

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  Mr - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Edward Bianchina - September 4 - 10:00 am

  Great Vehicle. Fun to drive and comfortable. Interior very functional.

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  Bling Bling - 2003 Acura MDX
  By GMoneyGrill - September 4 - 10:00 am

  Ive had my fully-loaded 2003 MDX since March and I absolutely love it! Ive researched it since 2001 and found it to be the best all-around SUV for the money. Love the 260 HP and after owning it for almost 6 months (11,000 miles already), I found things I like and dislike. I like the power/torque, 5- speed tranny! style, features (ala- backup camera, navi system- breadcrumbs!, DVD-wireless headphones, moonroof, memory/heated FRONT SEATS, BOSE stereo, auto wiper/headlights, and 2nd/3rd row fold-flat seats. Things I dislike are the lack of storage in the front area, premium gas, towing capacity, no dead pedal, navi system seems outdated, interior plastics.

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  GREAT Car! - 2010 Acura TSX
  By HOWARDHONDA - September 4 - 9:41 am

  I have had this car now for about 5 weeks (1,900 miles). For myself, over the past 25 years I have only purchased Honda Accords (all manual trans.). My last 2 have been EX-L and I have always been happy with them. For the past year I had been planning to purchase for myself another Honda Accord EX-L and just by chance I checked out the TSX. I loved it. It came with everything, factory installed, even options like memory seats, passenger power seat, home-link, and directional signals on outside mirrors that you couldnt even get on a loaded 4-cyl EX-L Accord. The TSX is more solid & luxurious than the Accord. And the gauges and trip computer are awesome! Plus the sales person was great!

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  Best car in its class - 2006 Acura TL
  By vince M - September 4 - 5:33 am

  Chose the 2006 TL after extensive research and after 1500 miles I think it,s a very good but not excellent car.Sure the look, the nav., the audio, are all very nice but the important issues are the dynamic and handling qualities.Here goes:It is fast,powerful,corners well when dry,shifts smoothly, and fun to drive.Now the negatives: Front wheels spin too easily on take off,torque steer is moderate,only fair in rain and snow,turn circle poor.

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  Dont buy - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Steve Jones - September 3 - 8:37 pm

  This vehicle has been the most unreliable vehicle I have ever owned. In the last 5 months, I have spent over a $1000 on the transmission (torque converter and another switch) and another $700 on the power steering (a loud whine). Both of these problems have numerous complaints against them, but Acura wont do anything since its not under warranty. There are service bulletins out for these issues, but Acura wont do anything until forced to by a recall.

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  Outstanding Family Vehicle - 2005 Acura MDX
  By IZJ - September 3 - 5:30 pm

  The MDX is overall a truly outstanding family vehicle. Ours has 74,000 miles of intense use and wear. The balance of comfort, utility, passenger space, cargo room, handling and performance is remarkable. Honda is a packaging genius for figuring out how to create so much space in a reasonably compact vehicle. Acceleration is good for a heavy vehicle. Interior room is excellent and the leather seats are comfortable and durable. Many long road trips have been completed with enjoyment and ease. My wife and I have 3 children, aged 4-11. Gas mileage is solid, 16 city, 24-25 pure highway. An early electrical problem was fixed and we have had no other issues. We will keep our MDX for years.

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  Great Car - 2010 Acura TSX
  By MM - September 3 - 2:33 pm

  I recently bought the 2010 TSX and it has exceeded my expectations so far. I love the interior and exterior styling as well as all of the standard equipment. I looked at all of the other sedans (BMW, Audi, Lexus) prior to making my purchase and they just dont compare in terms of value for your money. Ive only had the car a short time but Ive gotten a ton of unsolicited compliments. Do yourself a favor and test drive one. The car has decent pickup for a daily commuting car and it is fun to drive.

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  Why I chose this Acura but not others - 2007 Acura TL
  By BMR ETR - September 2 - 8:05 pm

  This is my 2nd TL - love the style. Also have a 2003 G35 which Im thinking of trading but in no way will I buy the new 2009 TL. Its become one of the ugliest new vehicles on the road (also heavier & bloated). I think acuras 25 year old 2009 vehicle designer needs some design school mentoring. Also the new ZDX not only has the ugly front but it also has an "asteck" type rear. 5 of my professional colleagues who now have Acuras will not come back to the new - gen. quirky styles. Too bad its really a good engineered vehicle but then so are many of its competitors. The G37 stats will blow out the new TL stats - and its not UGLY. Disappointed in Acura.

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  12 Years of fun - 1996 Acura Integra
  By GSR Fan - September 2 - 6:41 pm

  Recently sold my GSR. I put about 150K on it before selling. Never had any major issues, except regular maintenance items that need to be addressed in an older car brakes, clutch, suspension etc. Very fun car to drive and I got about 28 mpg on average.