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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  SLX - 1996 Acura SLX
  By MissMrozik - August 20 - 2:00 am

  Great car, very few mechanical problems. Vehicle is large and my husbands LX470 Lexus, but it gets 17.00 mpg, 4 more than the Lexus. Acura dealers treat certified used car purchasers very well.

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  Sunroof wind noise - 2002 Acura RL
  By Sirsmokey - August 18 - 2:00 am

  Overall our experience has been very good except for the languishing wind noise coming out of the sunroof for which the dealer can do nothing about. We have to keep inner sunroof door closed at all times, especially at high speeds.

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  A very well kept sedan - 2003 Acura TL
  By Dan - August 17 - 4:40 am

  Car is overall in great condition, but transmission is shaky and fuel economy is below average. Ive taken car in for service and had taken all preventive measures in boosting fuel economy but only time will tell.

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  Great vehicle - 1999 Acura TL
  By bus - August 16 - 2:00 am

  This vehicle has been great overall. Small issues that have appeared are rear view mirror when turned on auto shade has shade gradient, middle console makes squeaking noise even after being replaced once. No mechanical problems have appeared. Keeping tire pressure at maximum increases performance significantly.

• 

  Not Luxury Quality - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Frank Barton - August 13 - 2:50 pm

  Purchased new two months ago, we have put 5000 miles on the MDX. At about 1500 miles the LCD display locked up (froze) causing loss of the ability to use the nav or to control the heating and air conditioning (a real bummer when youre lost in a strange city). After turning the car off for approx. 1/2 hr. it appeared that the electronics cooled off enough to start working again. The thermostat on the heater/air conditioner has never worked properly and the interior fogs up easily on humid days. Several other things, like loose retaining screws on some of the external body parts,etc. indicate a general lack of concern for quality.

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  Satisfied on Cape Cod - 2004 Acura MDX
  By kj on cape cod - August 12 - 2:00 am

  Very pleased with purchase of Acura MDX. Decided to trade-in a 4 door BMW due to lifestyle (18 month old)and am very happy I did so. She is so much happier now that she can see everything when we drive. Of course, love the spaciousness, esp. of the back when shopping. Truly enjoy the ride, the interior design and all the features. Test drove many SUVs before we bought and have no second thoughts on purchase.Almost bought a Honda Pilot, but felt for a few more dollars, the MDX gave you alot more. Other SUVs (X5, Toureg, Land Rover) much more overpriced for what you get.

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  Cheap thrills? - 1993 Acura Integra
  By Integraholic - August 11 - 2:00 am

  My Integra GS is like a Civic on steroids. Classy car, fun to drive, generally reliable but very expensive to fix. Bought two years ago at 100k miles: since then have driven 40k and have replaced the motor mounts, brakes, radiator, and alternator. A/C compressor (its 2nd) is going south, and the evaporator leaks Freon. Plus, it rattles a bit (the frames not rigid enough). All in all, love the car, hate the repair bills.

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  They cant all be winners - 1990 Acura Legend
  By ceo_mr_man - August 11 - 2:00 am

  Every time I drive this car, I wish I hadnt bought it. It had 145,000 miles, so I expected to make some repairs. Ive replaced the motor, the master cylinder, the alternator, the radio, some calipers, and inumerable other things. Its on its third transmission. The power seat is stuck, the seat memory broke, the ABS motor is shot, the power windows are broken, and the power antenna is stuck down. The A/C compressor is dead, the vent only vents hot air, and the car reeks of exhaust when the windows are down, as they have to be, given the above problems. There are too many more things wrong with this car to list. Oh, and its rusting out badly.

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  Pretty Good - 2000 Acura TL
  By Liam - August 10 - 2:00 am

  I like this car. It is fun to drive, good acceleration and handling, and gets decent mileage,. I came out of a 1997 Infiniti I30, which is in the same class. For a while, I thought the I30 was the superior car, but after owning both for roughly 3 years, I would get the Acura again before the Infiniti. Decent leg room, I am 64", and it is more comfortable for me than many SUVs.

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  Opinion Counts - 1999 Acura SLX
  By DEH - August 9 - 2:00 am

  Family likes the visibility and cargo space this vehicle offers. Center console can be a challange due to controls being too accessable to accidental engagement. Otherwise we like it.