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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  80,000 miles never let me down - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Anthony - July 5 - 11:03 am

  Overall a great car with Honda reliability a lot of performance in the sub 25k category, Car and Drivers 10 Best list, and finished 1st place in a 5 car comparison beating wrx, neon srt etc. In a recent trip to Boston got 31mpg in mixed hwy driving. I shoved a 42 Plasma tv in the trunk while still in the box with rear seats folded down. My only gripe was had to replace oxygen sensor at 75000 miles and it was pricey.

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 2009 Acura TL
  By Gatojeff - July 5 - 12:56 am

  I cant say enough about my 09 TL (basic model). It comes equipped with features youd expect to find in a much more expensive car. Best deal on the market.

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  Dianes mdx - 2002 Acura MDX
  By DustyDiane - July 4 - 10:00 am

  Overall a very good vehicle. Could use a little more driver leg room for those of us over six feet.

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  6 month update - 2009 Acura TSX
  By highmiles - July 3 - 9:26 am

  Have owned 6M TSX since Jan 1 and put over 12Kmiles on. Pluses - high mileage, pretty fun to drive, initial reliability is as high as I expected. Minuses - low end torque is light, revs about 3100RPM at 72-75mph. My old 2000TL does 2100@80mph. Other - not sure console display sometimes hard to read, CD slot is difficult to manage at highway speed. I am uncomfortable with long service intervals and change my oil at 5K no matter what oil life indicator says. Overall, good dependable, fun to drive car, would definitely consider another one in a few years.

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  Huge mistake! - 2009 Acura MDX
  By Jessie P - July 3 - 3:28 am

  Generally I buy cars based on my trust in a company. Ive owned a total of 6 Honda products (including Acura - TL), and all of them have been outstanding. This vehicle is a big disappointment!!! Where do I begin? I buy Honda products (and Japanese vehicles in general) for their bulletproof reliability, but Ive had numerous problems with this MDX - been to dealer 6 times! Electrical issues, and a Transmission issue, and some others....and the power/acceleration is very mediocre (300hp?? Yeah, right!), and the ENGINE is VERY NOISY and unrefined when accelerating!!! Shocking for a luxury vehicle. Terrible leather! Sound system, Nav and handling are the only good attributes of this vehicle.

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  It just doesnt get any better than this - 2009 Acura RL
  By Stephanie - July 2 - 9:52 am

  As a business executive and also a mother, I wanted a vehicle that exuded class without snob appeal that needed little maintenance and had the room for my clients as well as my family of four. I found the exterior to be stylish, the interior incredibly plush and the surround sound audio system unbeatable.

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  Great Car - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Sean - July 1 - 2:48 pm

  I bought my White Pearl RSX Type-S back in 2006 right before they were discontinued. I unfortunately have to trade in due to expecting child...I love this car and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys and would appreciate a fun, reliable compact sports car. Acura really hit the nail on the head with the exterior design. My only complaint is the 201 bhp. If it had around 260 bhp I would have been much happier so I could smoke those cheap SS cobalts and SRT- 4s you see all over the road. In all the car is great and I am sad to see it go. If I could I would definitely keep the car. Sound system is unbelievable handling is great car is just perfect to drive since I put 30k/yr on it.

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  09 AcuraTL - 2009 Acura TL
  By Hawaiihi - July 1 - 2:02 pm

  Just bought my new 09 TL base love the car already. I traded in my 02 because the transmission went out right in front of the dealership it must have been a sign. Everything in this car is 100% improved from the 02 model. I looked at ES350 nice car but once you add all the options just too much and the G37 it was too small. Best car you can get out there for the money hands down

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  Great Choice! Would do it again - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Dude - July 1 - 12:46 pm

  I have had my TSX now about 3 months. I love just about everything on the car - the paddle shifters, the stereo system (try real DVD-As), the ipod usb jack, the backup camera, etc. But most especially the engine - what a sweet little V-4 - I have been getting 27.4 MPG in mixed driving. When I do all highway, I am consistently in the low 30s mpg. Agree the steering feels a little remote, but still drives wonderfully. I looked at BMW 3s and Aud A4s, but the cost was nowhere close (yes, may be better but not $10k better). Who needs a 6 cyl today?

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  Acura TLTech with SH-AWD Rocks! - 2009 Acura TL
  By 2AcuraFamily - July 1 - 11:16 am

  This car is one fun vehicle. Great technology, great handling, fast (well fast enough for me) and fun to drive. This is high praise coming from a BMW owner for the past 20 years. I test drove a new and a used BMW 535i back to back with the Acura, and the Acura won my heart, mind and pocket book.