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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  power shortage - 2002 Acura RL
  By dtcom - June 25 - 2:00 am

  It is a nice comfy ride,but it is surely missing some character like a little more horsepower would be nice,,it lacks a solid pickup but once you drive at 40 mph it kicks in pretty nicely...the ride quality is great so is the looks of it,,, hope Acura realy recharges the new models ,perhaps something like a TYPE-S version.....and a triptronic trans.

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  Good Car - 2002 Acura TL
  By Honda Rocks - June 24 - 10:00 am

  Great car! I have had a few issues with road noise, seat squeaking, and paint. Everything this else has been wonderful although Pohanka Acura is not where I will purchase my next Acura!

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  A really good decision - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Narsi - June 24 - 6:10 am

  Bought the vehicle in February, nimbus grey with taupe interior. We were in the market for a SUV with a third row that doesnt feel heavy to drive and we have the near perfect combination in our X. We have put close to 3000 miles in it. Loving it so far. Being a tech geek, it has kept me grinning everytime I take it out of the driveway. Cant wait to take it out on a long trip. I have become a shameless show off after this purchase. Our son loves the entertainment system, I love the ELS stereo though I still havent figured out the speciality of DVD-A. My wife loves the navigation and everyone is happy.

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  My Car - 1992 Acura Integra
  By M.L.B - June 22 - 2:00 am

  This has been a very good little car. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a used car for their child.

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  Can you say versatile? - 1990 Acura Integra
  By 90tegLS - June 22 - 2:00 am

  Tons of cargo space with rear seats down, good power, handles great, dead reliable. Been solid daily driver/weekend Solo II racer.

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  Acura 3.5RL, - 1996 Acura RL
  By Acura RL lover - June 20 - 2:00 am

  Got the vehicle with 50,000 miles on it. still drives like new with 89,000 miles on the odometer. very nice car. why buy new when you can get a used one for much less, but with almost the same performance as a new? no one is going to notice if your car was bought new after a few years. save yourself money and buy used.

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  You just cant go wrong... - 1998 Acura Integra
  By Acura Boy - June 20 - 2:00 am

  This is my 2nd Integra (I also owned a 95 2 door LS hatch), and this is simply the best bargain of a vehicle ever. Nothing --- NOTHING --- has ever gone wrong with either of my Integras. While "only" 140 horses, Honda gives you a nice high-revving engine, that even after 4 years remains exhilirating. My only regret is that I didnt spring for a GS-R and get those 30 extra horses, but hey, I had to make a compromise with my wife...

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  tsx - 2004 Acura TSX
  By intricate molder - June 19 - 10:00 am

  tsx is excellent car but could use more horsepower. Ride is stiff so if your on rough road u will feel every little bump. Nav is awsome The sound system is not that good 360 watts sould sound better

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  First 3 months with 2004 Acura TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By gzam - June 19 - 10:00 am

  Looking at the outside at first I didnt really like this car. It seemed too small to me. However, once I drove the car I thought it was great. The sound system, voice recognition, hands free link and navigation was impressive. The inside was set up well and showed quality.

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  WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BIG HEADLIGHTS!!!!? - 2000 Acura TL
  By jtran - June 18 - 2:00 am

  NOTHING BUT LUXURY AMENITIES IN THIS CAR.