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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  Love it, Love it, Love it - 2008 Acura MDX
  By DG - September 2 - 1:32 pm

  Looked at everything out there and the MDX won hands down. Ride is excellent, handling is great, sound system is incredible. Voice activation for almost everything you want to either control or get information on. A little temperamental with recognition of commands but if youre clear then its OK. Blue tooth is great. Added chrome side steps, body molding and luggage rack. Black on black combination turns alot of heads. Acura doing great financing and going way low on pricing. First time I ever owned an Acura, will definitely consider Acura for other vehicle purchases. Lots of power in engine although premium should probably be used most of time.

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  Just Perfect - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Sophie - September 2 - 10:00 am

  Sorry guys, but for me, its the perfect girly car... It looks like your boyfriends car, snuggs you in the comfy seats like your boyfriends arms, wrooooooooooms like your boyfriend, but it can be YOURS! - for less than other cars... Love the design, love the color (red), love everything. I hope Ill still love it after 100.000 miles and a few bumps. BTW, the sequetial gear box is great. I live in hilly SF and I need to force into 1rst gear up hill and down hill in my street. Works perferctly. My husband loves it too, whenever he wanna feel younger :-) He had an Integra and loves the RSX.

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  An amazing car for the price!!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By sk - September 2 - 10:00 am

  I still cant beleive what a great deal my Acura TL was. I almost bought a Honda Accord last year for about the same price as I paid for this car and this car has so much more. It is safe, sporty, handles well, the basic warranty is better than honda or toyota. The overall quality put into this car is great!

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  Acura TL Type-S is a MONSTER!! - 2008 Acura TL
  By vegasrph - September 1 - 6:43 pm

  Ok. This car likes to go fast, very fast. It feels very secure, but she likes to "boogie"!! I test drove a lot of cars before leasing the TL-S and I have to say, I made the right choice. Fuel economy isnt bad, isnt great either. So far I am averaging 20mpg, but for a car that has 286HP and F-1 style paddle shifters, its not bad. :) The car has room for 4/5 adults and golf clubs, plus it MOVES down the road with a lot of autority. The exhaust note is seductive, NAV is awesome, paddle shifters are sweet, handling is secure and often feels neutral, very much a "sleeper" on the street and easy to blow the doors off a BMW/Lexus/MB and give you a grin ear to ear. Get one, you will LOVE IT! :)

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  2007 Acura MDX Base Model - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Jeff - August 31 - 11:16 am

  I find this vehicle to be exceptional in design, comfort, and responsiveness. My initial concern of possible road noise was unfounded. Rides very well. Only surprise was the original equipment tires were only DOT rated Traction/Temperature B/B. Disappointing for a luxury SUV. Had optional roof rack and cross bars installed since these are no longer standard equipment.

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  The MDX is simply the Best Crossover - 2009 Acura MDX
  By Richie Rich - August 29 - 1:09 pm

  Simply the best crossover on the road. I drove the X5, the Mercedes, Infiniti FX and none could compare the right blend of comfort, fun, performance, handling. Not sure how anyone could even compare the Mazda CX9 to this vehicle. You can never go wrong with the MDX

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  An Awesome Vehicle - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Lukeg22 - August 29 - 10:00 am

  This is by far the most enjoyable car I have ever owned. We recently completed a 900 mile trip one way, and the car handled without a hiccup. There is not one thing that I would change. I have had many people comment on how sharp the TSX is, and some have talked about needing to go to Acura to look at cars.

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  Glad I Bought the New TL: - 2004 Acura TL
  By Keith Patrick - August 29 - 10:00 am

  I have to admit that I was a little nervous about spending 30+ thousand on a car. It is a little more than my wife and I wanted to spend. But, it was well worth it. There is no doubt that the extra money we spent is worth the investment. The safety features are nice and the interior is perfect. The dealer experience was pretty good. The finance guy did push the extended warrenty, entirely too much. Over all the care rides nicely, handles well and accelerates like a $50,000 BMW. While getting on the highway last night, I gunned it. The car took off like canon. It felt great. Plus it is an Acura, and hopefully we wont be buying a car anytime soon.

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  Best Value - 2004 Acura TL
  By Alfred344678776 - August 29 - 10:00 am

  The new 2004 TL is a great car. I have very few bad things to say about it. All that is important is that I do not regret buying this car one bit. Dont fall into the BMW trap. The TL is a much better car. All the performance reviews will say BMW is better, but come on, who drives either of these cars to the extreme??? The TL is loaded and luxurious. The BMW is a overpriced piece of Bavarian crap.

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  What a value - 2008 Acura TL
  By Tim - August 27 - 9:26 pm

  We could not be happier with our purchase. Plenty of power, very comfortable seats, awesome sound system. 30 mpg on a recent trip, 22-25 overall. After purchasing an 07 Civic, my wife was impressed with Honda. She traded her beloved SUV. My co-workers don`t believe I have a TL because my wife won`t part with it, even for a day!