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 EXPERIENCE - 2003 Acura MDX
  By PETE MANALE - August 15 - 10:00 am

  GREAT SEATS AND COMFORT. THE NAV IS FUN TO USE AND WHEN NEEDED, A "LIFESAVER" FROM GETTING LOST. THE BACK VIEWING CAMERA HELPS A LOT IN TIGHT PLACES. AUTOMATIC WIPERS ARE A PLUS. HIGHWAY MILEAGE IS GOOD. RIDE IS AS GOOD AS MY WIFES LEXUS. QUALITY THROUGHOUT IS IMPRESSIVE AND DRIVES EASILY ON HIGHWAY. FIT AND FINISH ARE EXCELLENT. I WOULD BUY IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT. WAS COMPARING THIS CAR VERSUS A SEQUOIA AND DROVE BOTH. INTERIOR OF SEQUOIA WAS NOT AS GOOD AS THE MDX AND THE SEQUOIA DIDNT SEEM TO HAVE THE POWER OF THE MDX.

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  Awesome vehicle - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Bob La Salle - August 14 - 5:16 am

  I have about 2,500 miles on it now and I get about 19 mpg all city driving, 26 all highway, much better than the other reviews. It helps fuel economy if you keep that turbo gauge needle pointing down at the bottom, but the power is there when you need it. It is really fun to drive and just the right size awesome stereo & interior electronics sporty to drive & sporty/plush ride.

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  Amazing SUV at an amazing price point - 2008 Acura RDX
  By dep - August 13 - 2:12 pm

  Wow! For the money the RDX really delivers. I think of it as a cross between the TL Type S and the MDX. Power is ample and the turbo makes it fun. Grip, hold, and road feel are spot on. The RDX makes you feel like you are attached to the pavement with no chance to ever come loose. Acura, as they tend to do, has really invested a LOT in the technology and engineering that you will never see. From the SH-AWD to the first of its kind dual stage turbo. So far, we are really impressed with the RDX.

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  Excellent car for the money - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Nate - August 13 - 12:42 pm

  I just bought my 5 speed Acura last week in desert silver metallic for $10,300 w/42,000 miles on it. For being six years old this car is very stylish. I am a 20 year old just out of college. I needed a car for under $11,000 that looked good and got good gas mileage. The moment I drove the Acura I knew it was it. I was previously looking at wrxs and eclipses but this beats them both as far as the money to quality ratio is concerned. One word EXCELLENT!

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  You will love your Acura MDX - 2017 Acura MDX
  By BigBob - August 13 - 4:21 am

  The MDX with the tech package has everything you need as far as safety and comfort. We added thee otional heated steering wheel sunce we live in the northeast. Great vehicle worth every penny!

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  Sport and Luxury! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By GFunk - August 12 - 9:06 pm

  Ive put about 2K miles on this car so far, and it has been a true pleasure to drive. It is comfortable for daily driving and long drives. I took it on a trip from San Diego to Las Vegas, and it was a real pleasure. However, it really shines on the twisty roads. Ive taken it up into the mountains, and it flew through the turns with little body lean. The sports shift was almost as fun as a manual!I looked at a number of other cars in the sports sedan segment, and the TSX offers the most balanced package: sporty, luxury, reliability, and inexpensive.

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  The best car ever! - 1991 Acura Legend
  By Legend LOVER!!! - August 12 - 2:00 pm

  We got our 91 Legend sedan in 2002. Since then we have had basically 0 problems. I love the design of this car inside and out! Extremely fun to drive! Very powerful car. A timeless beauty. Amazing car!

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  Nice Car - 2006 Acura TSX
  By John - August 10 - 7:36 pm

  This truly is a sport sedan. A little of a rougher ride, but handles like a sports car. Acura really did a great job with all the amenities, and keep the price under $30,000.00, which is where all the other cars in its class are. What a deal, and the dependability of dring a Glorified Honda, can not beat it. Traded in a 99 E320 4Matic, once in a life time, everyone should feel the joy and the pain of driving a Mercedes, never again. The maintance costs to drive a German vehicle are insane. Thank You Acura, for putting such a nice car package together. Recommend getting the 6 speed manual,and no need to worry about the car only being 4 cylinders, plenty of power, Sample this car last,& buy

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  Great Car. - 2005 Acura TL
  By Jeremy - August 9 - 11:06 pm

  I was deciding between the TSX and TL, once I drove both, there was no comparison, the TL was a bigger engine and much smoother ride. The fit and finish is also far above the TSX.

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  Farewell to the best car Ill ever own - 1995 Acura Integra
  By ken - August 7 - 9:51 pm

  I felt obligated to write a review after selling my 95 Integra. I really hope this review will help others who are considering buying a used Integra. I bought her back in 2003 with 115k (paid about $5k and hoped for the best). Most Ford/GMC fans thought this was high due to the year and mileage, but I owned a 91 Civic, so I was pretty comfortable wth my decision. Ive only had to do normal service to this car over the past 4.5 yrs. The Integra will be remembered as one of the greatest cars ever built, period! I come from experience with other cars: I own a 90 Mustang GT and entire family drives US cars.