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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  Great SUV - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Tim - August 2 - 7:31 am

  Im in the market for a new vehicle to replace my other car and since I have been relying so heavily on consumer reviews from this website, thought I would write one for the MDX. Its a great car - very reliable, no problems whatsoever. Quiet, luxurious interior, tremendous AWD handling, smooth transition, nice power, flexible interior. Fuel economy is not great - I get around 23 MPG on the highway at 73 MPH with cruise set, but around 17 in town. The car is just awesome and now that I am looking for new cars again to replace our other one, I am focused on the Acura brand for its quality. If you are in market for upscale SUV, this is the one to get.

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  My favorite vehicle ever owned!!! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Michael Miers - August 1 - 12:39 pm

  I love my MDX. Nothing wrong with it, and have had no problems. This is my favorite vehicle I have ever owned. Bluetooth works great!

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  Best Lookin Bang for your buck! - 2006 Acura RSX
  By MiKoLoR - August 1 - 12:03 pm

  So much fun to drive. The fastest N/A 2.0L inline 4 on the market. I love corners and quarter miles but hate speed bumps, steep driveways and large pot holes. Amazingly reliable and takes the beating of burnouts and high revs! 8100 RPM redline!

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  The near perfect ride - 2005 Acura TL
  By D Brennan - July 31 - 3:23 pm

  Just about all aspects of the TL are all any enthusiast would want unless social pressure makes you buy the blue and white propellor. Power is very more than needed for a performance sedan. Brembo brakes with the wonderful 6-speed and limited slip differential are endlessly entertaining. Stereo is killer. Fit and finish are superb though thats a given with Honda. The downside. Lots of "fishheading" of the front end under heavy foot. Shouldve got the last gen. CL. Maybe next gen. will be SH-AWD. Turning circle like a Budweiser truck. Its based on the Accord- an enviable place to start- but with some of the built in compromises.

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  VERY HAPPY WITH NEW ACURA - 2005 Acura RL
  By JEFF - July 31 - 2:30 pm

  This Acura RL replaced my BMW 745i. The ride in the Acura is comparable to the BMW---only the Acura is MUCH more reliable. I have had the Acura for 3 months. My BMW had been towed twice in the first three months!

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  Love My TSX - 2004 Acura TSX
  By TSX FAN 2008 - July 31 - 12:38 pm

  My 2004 TSX is by far the best automobile I have ever owned. Quality and reliability are a Perfect 10!! After 80000 miles Ive only had to replace one rear light bulb.

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  Awesomeness - 1994 Acura Legend
  By justASK1 - July 30 - 6:10 pm

  This car has aggressive, yet smooth styling, and is very good-looking inside and out. Great for the value: I think the car is awesome. Many great features like heated leather seats, heated mirrors, 4 wheel abs disc brakes, fully automatic climate control, 6 disc cd changer, etc. Mileage is somewhat poor, but thats to be expected since the car weighs 3500 pounds and has a drag coefficient of .34 (not very aerodynamic even for a sedan). I believe the poor mileage is also due to the ambiguity of the 4-speed automatic transmission, and although the car has a lockup torque- converter, the fact that the engine was mounted longitudinally contributes to power losses in drivetrain.

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  Excellent Car! - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Steve - July 28 - 1:29 pm

  Great everything! Handles well, great MPG, no complaints whatsoever. Everything about the car is just what it needs to be right down from the great quality leather seats to the blue nighttime light that lights up the center console. Best thing about it is, everything you need comes standard.

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  The Realtors vehicle of choice - 2005 Acura RL
  By Roberts - July 28 - 12:00 pm

  Excellent comfort for ALL passengers! Plenty of leg room, quite and wonderful handling. All the power you will ever need! Beautiful interior design with just about everything "voice actuated!" The only negative thing I can say about the new RL is that the trunk space is a little too small for my "for sale" signs.

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  ACURA IS BEST - 2004 Acura MDX
  By ANDY FU - July 28 - 2:00 am

  FIRST, THANK YOU HONDA. SECOND, THANK YOU ACURA. YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST. GREAT LOOKING, POWERFUL , AND QUICK CAR... LOVE THE NAVIGATION SYSTEM.