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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  Ha ha, funny. - 2002 Acura NSX
  By corvette z06 - May 2 - 2:00 am

  Obviously people who want this car want to go fast. Why blow 90K on a V6 3.2L? For better performance, save 40K and get a Corvette Z06. Its faster, made in America, and has a HUGE engine advantage over the NSX. Or if you are Corvette alergic, get a Dodge Viper. Way better and still saves you 20K.

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  Luxury ride with super GPS navigation - 2002 Acura RL
  By MR - April 25 - 2:00 am

  One of the best luxury car values in its class since just about every option comes standard. I was able to negotiate with the dealer just slightly over the invoice price. Additionaly the less than 1% interest rate or money factor offered by American Honda on the lease at that time lowered the payments. Prior to buying the RL I drove the 3.2 TL-S which had lots of power but lacked refinement. I didnt care for the cheap looking wood, silver instrument panel and poor handling which suprisingly had a worse turning radius than the larger RL whose radius is very good. I Would definitely recommend test driving the RL against the more expensive competition.

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  Overall an excellent car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Morpheusss - April 24 - 2:00 am

  Overall a good car.

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  Funest car out there - 1991 Acura Integra
  By Grider - April 24 - 2:00 am

  This car is awesome even though the horse power says 130hp, in reality this car can pick up very quickly, it is a car that you can modify in every aspect including exterior and engine in order to be able to make it even faster. I highly recommend this car you will not regret getting it.

• 

  Old but still runs - 1990 Acura Integra
  By mittasch - April 23 - 2:00 am

  if you want good fuel economy with low maintence, this is the car for you

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  Uncomfortable seat design - 2001 Acura TL
  By SusieQ - April 23 - 2:00 am

  2002 TL-S,10 months old, 22K miles. When driving or riding, I having pain in my hip that runs down my leg from a sciatic nerve problem that had occurred years before during the time I was driving a 1984 Honda Prelude. I can sit in other vehicles comfortably without pain. Seat bottom seems to have little padding and the lumbar support is weak. The headrest pushes my head forward uncomfortably. The overall seat design doesnt fit me. Passenger seat is worse because it cant be raised. Paint chips on the front end no clear coat? Carpet is thin and wearing. Great gas mileage, great power, beautiful car, but its gotta go.

• 

  Auto Transmission Woes for CL - 2002 Acura CL
  By rallyhat - April 20 - 2:00 am

  My 2001 CL Type S went through its transmission in just over one year. Getting a replacement took a month. (I was told they were in extremely short supply due to high failure rate.) Apart from this, my only complaint is mysterious rattles from the passenger side that nobody at the dealership can find. This adds to the noise level that already seems a little high given Acuras reputation.

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  2.3 Underpowered - 1999 Acura CL
  By Ford-Mustang-GT - April 17 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my 2.3 for 3 years and the only problem I had was with the horn assembly a month after it purchase. For whatever reason, it caused the car to lock in Park. But, I havent experienced any serious problems thereafter. My only complaint would be that the 2.3 is a bit underpowered and it sometimes has a rough idle.

• 

  2.3 Underpowered - 1999 Acura CL
  By Mike C - April 17 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my 2.3 for 3 years and the only problem I had was with the horn assembly a month after it purchase. For whatever reason, it caused the car to lock in Park. But, I havent experienced any serious problems thereafter. My only complaint would be that the 2.3 is a bit underpowered and it sometimes has a rough idle.

• 

  Keeps on going - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Darren - April 11 - 2:00 am

  This is a great vehicle for people under 510". Whenever I wear a baseball cap, the cap keeps hitting the sun visor. The radio is to far of a reach to change the channel comfortably. After a couple of years the antenna does not go up and down. My friend has a 1994 Integra which looks identical to mine and his antenna did the same thing. The integra is reliable, quick, fun in the turns but under powered @ 140 hp with an automatic.