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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  For the money a perfect car! - 2002 Acura CL
  By Alex12345 - October 30 - 2:00 am

  I love this car and this being my first car the expectations are set high for the future. It has awesome accelaration and above average handling. I especially love the 6 disc cd, although the sound can use a little improvement.

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  ACURA 2000 - 2002 Acura RSX
  By ridick - October 22 - 5:10 pm

  I have always driven an Acura. The 1990 acura was the first of its kind to appeal to a younger generation driver. The after market options were endless, thanks to the design of the vehicle. The RSX rare is high and as a result does not corner as well as the 90 gsr or the type R precdacessor. all in all the RSX is a combination of luxury and sport.

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  entry level acura - 2003 Acura RSX
  By primera_gte - October 22 - 2:00 am

  The reason why I bought the RSX is it combines looks, functionality, and price. Its handling is pretty good. However its not phenomenal The RSX has very good accelaration for a 4 cylinder auto. Either manuamatic or the D3 function is more than enough to jet around town and merge onto Socal freeways. The ride quality is poor. You can feel every little bump on the road and any dip or divot is very pronounced. The fold down seats and hatch are very useful. But its a bit disconserting to hear your purchases slide around in the back. The height of an open hatch could cause a problem for people under 56.

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  Details - 2006 Acura TL
  By Chris - October 21 - 1:36 pm

  Nice Car, Only 6000 miles and it already has problems. Window Buttons are falling off and it makes sqeeky noices inside, which is distracting. ALso, it takes to long to get the item repaired. Been waiting a month and it is still is not fixed. Besides the these problems, very nice looking car and it drives and handles very well on the freeway. The moonroof is nice but it can not be opened on the freeway as to much air noise but it very nice in the city.

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  Good comprimise of Space and performance - 1999 Acura TL
  By STORY - October 21 - 2:00 am

  Buyers beware, if your TL is a Canadian version, then it is NOT under warranty in the United States! Either my Sales person was misinformed, or just plain lying....but thats the fact on the issue. Even still, the car is very reliable and fun to drive. The sport shifter is very effective for passing once you get used to it. You can achieve a more sporty appearence with body kit and rear spoiler without sacrificing its classy style. Could use some Fog lights. Different wheel styling and bigger tires wouldve helped enormously with the handeling.

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  Good car for the price - 2002 Acura MDX
  By first acura - October 19 - 2:00 am

  Did not like the look of Pilot. Needed 7seats. Dont want truck based SUVs because dont really need off road capability(just rough road cap. is fine). Fullsize is too bulky and cumbersome. Volvo is expensive and has questionable reliability. ===========> Acura MDX was my choice.

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  Very good, but needs some tweaks - 2004 Acura TL
  By GC - October 18 - 1:16 am

  Ive had my 2004 TL for a little over a year. Ive had a few of the rattles of which others have complained, but the rattles actually seem to have subsided in recent months. Nonetheless, the rattles have been my number one issue. The gas mileage has not been quite as good as advertised. Overall, Ive been satisfied with the car, but not so pleased that I wont look for a different make when replacing it in a few years.

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  Want my ES Back - 2000 Acura TL
  By BuKoDahm - October 16 - 2:00 am

  After two years with a Lexus ES 300 I decided to see what else is out there in the entry-level luxury market. Kind of like dating a girl, shes fine and all but you just never know if something better is waiting for you. Anyway, the car is fun to drive and is very sporty, but overall quality is unquestionably the ES 300. Sure, the Acura is faster (by a second in 0-60 times), but the car that still has my heart is my old ES 300. Guess I shouldnt have left the old girl.

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  better than the more prestigious names - 2002 Acura MDX
  By bjg - October 15 - 2:00 am

  I owned and Explorer, Grand Cherokee and an X5 before buying this one. It drives extremely well on and off road, provides luxury and utility in large doses and has a great sound system. There is also the added benefit of Acura (Honda) quality and I havent even had a small rattle yet.

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  X5 Beatter - 2002 Acura MDX
  By maxw - October 15 - 2:00 am

  I have had an extrordinary experience with my MDX. The ride is excellent and the most features are convenient. I have not been able to get the home link to work with my garage door opener, but otherwise it has been great. The only bad thing to say is the Acura dealiships know they have a good car and are sometimes a little arrogant.