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 with the bad - 2004 Acura TL
  By bezee - November 30 - 2:00 am

  Looks Great! Runs Great! Loads of fun to drive. Awesome sound system. Alas, with 1500 miles on it, rattles in the dash and from the glovebox. Not what you expect from Acura. Not what you expect from vehicles in this class.

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  rsx-s - 2002 Acura RSX
  By comanchep - November 28 - 10:00 am

  At exactly 1500 miles the syncros in 3rd gear totally went out. the dealership gave me (immediately) a rsx loaner, next day aired a replacement tranny, and installed it without a scratch. I enjoyed driving the non S-Type with automatic for comparison and was back in business within 24 hours. Very satisfied. No other problems (5590Miles now) Milage with very hard driving style-28-29mpg. LOVE THE INTERIOR . Worst value is the stereo. No "highs" No "Lows" it must be "BOSE". No Volume either.

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  Acura Tl Type S - 2003 Acura TL
  By Herm - November 28 - 10:00 am

  Leased the car in February and have just over 4000 miles. Car is fun to drive does everything well. Plenty of power, looks grow on you and is a solid all around car. Plenty of punch for the price.

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  Get One!! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By I LOVE THIS CAR!! - November 22 - 10:00 am

  I love my MDX!! Considered Pilot, but interior/exterior quality were not the same. No sunroof or heated seats in the Pilot either! MDX does not have some features youd expect for the money - auto/HID headlights especially, and it needs the touring pkg for power passenger seat, 6 disc CD, and without it roofrack is a $300 option. Tall folks will have trouble finding a place for their left foot, and the transmission hunts for its gear on only slight upgrades. Overall, I LOVE IT!! (Build more, please!)

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  Great car for the money!!! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Vipolio - November 13 - 10:00 am

  Very slick exterior and nice touches on the inside with aluminum molding/trim. However, it did fall short of my expectations. I have some sound system rattlings in the back seat, and the durability of the interior seems less than reliable. Well see what the dealer will do about it! Hopefully the customer care will follow through.

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  RSX - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Jon Spiropolous - October 21 - 8:43 pm

  fun to drive,speedy,luxurious

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  Navpackage is not soa. Not recommended - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Ted - October 18 - 4:29 am

  Maps are at least a year out of date on my brand new car. Cant be set to go to a city center like my 10 yo GPS, rather needs a complete address. Ask for a fast food resto with multiple locations, and the order of presentation is screwy. Many times misunderstands verbal instructions. Today it could not map a location for an address it found.

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  get one - 2004 Acura MDX
  By dirthead - October 12 - 2:00 am

  nice looking inside and out. terrible on fuel economy is worse than 8 cyl. jeep...engine looks really cool....a little sluggish from0- 50 ,,,,,off road isnt too good, could have more clearance hits bottom sometimes...very comfortable ride and plenty of room,,and plenty of cup holders. Dont misplace your radio code,,if you lose it and battery dies ,,youll hve no music

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  Mildly disappointed, horrible mileage - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Edkristin - October 12 - 2:00 am

  I had expected a positive experience in the switch from my Volvo V70 to the MDX. The MDX still had its share of initial defects, from a poorly fitting & hard to close rear hatch to missing hardware on the front center consol box. The mileage is atrocious. Im getting 11.9 all-around mileage against an advertised 18-22. It must be a larger issue, because someone stopped my wife in a parking lot the other day to ask how bad her mileage was (he had the same problem). In retrospect, Id take the Volvo Cross-Country over the MDX any day, if only my 3 kids under 6 and their friends fit in one!

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  Is Acura having quality problems? - 2002 Acura TL
  By not-as-happy - October 5 - 10:00 am

  Honda/Acura is the only car Ive ever driven - but Im starting to wonder whats going on over there. My TL rattled more than any other car Ive ever DRIVEN, much less owned. The dashboard and console squeaked and rattled like crazy. I have it on pretty good authority that Acura "knows about the problem and it can be fixed." It was otherwise a tremendous automobile. but the ride was a little too rough for my taste so I took it back for an MDX - Best car Ive ever driven but after 2 months IT squeaks a little. WHATS GOING ON OVER THERE?- YOU GUYS GET YOU QUALITY- CONTROL ACT TOGETHER!