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 Value but needs to improve handlin - 2002 Acura CL
  By Moby1234 - February 28 - 2:44 pm

  great value

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  acura - 1998 Acura RL
  By biz - February 28 - 12:30 am

  I like an automatic transmission/it is smooth driving/roomy/

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  Great, American made car - 2000 Acura TL
  By Neighborhood - February 27 - 4:10 pm

  This has been an outstanding vehicle. So much so, that I am now searching for a 2nd Acura for our household.

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  Upgrading to a CL 3.0 - 1998 Acura CL
  By Dee - February 27 - 4:52 am

  The proud owner of an Accord Ex 4cyl with a strong hunger for more power. I like the look of the V6 Accord Coupe, however the much smoother transmission of the CL 3.0. Like my 1991 integra with 207K miles, the CL 3.0 will also be in the family for some years to come.

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  Tremendous Car Except for Two Things - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Brian Terr - February 26 - 8:54 pm

  From climbing steep mountains to go skiing to formal dinners where I valeted next to Rolls RoyceÂ’s to picking top execs up from the airport this car is a champ. The only two problem with this car is I have replaced the radiator twice. The automatic transmission has also slipped since the day I bought it. It is pain to hear the engine rev when you step on the gas going around the corner. The only other thing that is worth a casual mention is the poor visibility when parallel parking.

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  ACURA CL 2.2 - 1997 Acura CL
  By JOHN - February 26 - 1:21 pm

  GREAT CAR... JUST HAS LOTS OF LITTLE DEFECTS THAT COMPANY SHOULD HAVE TAKEN CARE OF. THE WARRANTY IS A GOOD THING, HOWEVER IF YOU TAKE IT TO THE SHOP, YOU HAVE TO PAY 45.00 TO DIGNOSE IT, BUT IF IT IS UNDER WARRANTY YOU DONT HAVE TO PAY. THE SEATS ARE VERY UNCONFORTABLE WHEN TAKING LONG ROAD TRIPS. AND VERY DIFFICULT TO TAKE CARE OF. SOMETIMES IN SMALLER CITIES, IT IS HARD TO FIND SOMENOENT TO FIX IT

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  Great SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By rsbell - February 25 - 5:30 am

  Ive only owned the vehicle for 1 day, but have put 300 miles on it. There IS some turbo lag, but once the turbo winds up, youre pressed to the back of your seat. A bit smaller than I expected, but appears to have ample rear space, especially with the back sets folded flat. Very nice, leather. The tech package is with voice control is very detailed, and very complicated. Will definitely take a few good days of use to get all of the commands andm options down, but looks to be well worth the effort.

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  A great little car - 2000 Acura Integra
  By D - February 22 - 3:09 pm

  This car is fun to drive, especially on curvy fast roads like the PCH. The engine is fairly noisy inside the cabin, but I like that. There is hardly any headroom in front and the back seat has almost no headroom at all. The cupholders are not adjustable and get in the way of the gearshift. If I have anything larger than a cup of coffee, I cant put the car in park. Ive had no mechanical problems, except sometimes it is hard to close the hatchback. It takes a few slams before it stays closed.

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  2002 RSX - 2002 Acura RSX
  By BOKOZ - February 21 - 10:00 am

  NICE AUTOMOBIL,FUN TO DRIVE, DONT LIKE THE ODOMETER IN RED, SOMETIMES DISTRACTING TO SEE RED IN THE CORNER OF YOUR EYE OTHERWISE VERY NICE CAR TO OWN AND OPERATE AND IS A PEOPLE PLEASER

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  Very Good Deal For The Money - 2005 Acura TL
  By TomCLR - February 17 - 6:30 pm

  You get a lot of useful things in the Acura TL that all come standard that would normally be extra on competitor models. Very good power and control in everday driving, although on snow or slick surfaces the car lacks control at times. Navigation System is superb, as well as the overall look of the interior. Exterior is very smooth too. Interior quality has been questionable as Ive had quite a handful of rattles, and part of the headline covering the rear center brake light is coming off. Seat leather is so/so in quality, although comfort is very supportive in the front seats, but real not so much especially on long trips. Although, You really do get a lot from this vehicle from you money.