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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  Good Purchase - 1994 Acura Legend
  By REG - March 8 - 3:04 pm

  I love this coupe. I purchased it used, and it was the best value for my money. Ive even had four offers for purchase on this car! The plan is to drive it until it blows up and then Ill report on how many miles I was able to get out of it.

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  TL - 2001 Acura TL
  By Jackie - March 8 - 12:51 pm

  Love it.

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  Disappointed - 2003 Acura MDX
  By r.g.harrison - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I drove a 3.2Tl for 90k with never a glitch, but the MDX is a different story. Its been back to the shop 3 times for engine warning lights; a high-altitude problem my Colorado dealer says, and tells me Acura is working on it. The voice activated nav system doesnt recognize all the commands its supposed to -- again,Im told Acura is working on it. GM uses customers as test drivers, but I expected more from Acura.

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  Love it but rattles drive me nuts - 2005 Acura TL
  By gware - March 5 - 11:16 am

  Ive had my TL for 16 months now and enjoy the car, except for all the ratles. I had a 2000 BMW 323i before my TL and it never had rattles. I have rattles in my driver side door, in the sun visors, and around the moon roof. I didnt expect that from Acura. On the plus side the car is very well equipped for the money. The engine is strong and smooth and the handling is tight for a front wheel drive.

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  My FAV - 1995 Acura Legend
  By csid - March 4 - 9:53 pm

  Absolutely love the car, the way it handles, looks, and impresses others.

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  Satisfied - 1998 Acura RL
  By bigtom - March 4 - 9:26 pm

  I have always liked Acurs automobiles. My first one bought in 1990 and it is still running strong with over 130,000 miles showing. We have leased a 1198 Acura 3.5 for the last four years and liked it very much. 5 cyl with automatic transmission. We are not getting aproximately 21-22 miles pe gal. I like the car.

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  2008 MDX-Tech - 2008 Acura MDX
  By V V - March 4 - 4:16 pm

  I just bought this about a month now. Driving is so fun, comfortable, easy to use the navigation. At night the interior looks just like a cockpit (I heard this word from my friends who saw my SUV). Most of the essential features are standard, so there are no additional expenses for a luxury SUV. The handling of this SUV is very nice, any sharp turn, neither passinger nor driver feels much body sway as like other car or SUVs. I rate this SUV 8-9/10 for most of the features.

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  Happy owner - 2002 Acura CL
  By scl23 - March 2 - 10:03 pm

  Im very happy with my purchase. Its a great compromise between luxury, performance, and reliability. Im a happy Acura owner and wouldnt change a thing.

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  ONE GREAT CAR-BUT - 2002 Acura CL
  By Buba - March 2 - 6:30 pm

  For the money this car cant be beat. However the paint quality is very poor. The only time my blue cl looks good is after it is detailed. The car is full of scratches, and it has never been to a car wash. I love the car but look out for the paint

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  One Texans Opinion - 1996 Acura RL
  By Mike Russell - March 1 - 9:36 pm

  I purchased this 1996 3.5RL off a 39-month lease. Buy pre-owned and drive luxury at a reduced cost. Built for comfort - performance seekers look elsewhere. Dependability and reliability is second to none. Power window regulator only problem between 68K and 98K miles. Time now to look for the same model in a pre-owned 1998 or 1999. Best car Ive ever owned.