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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  So far - Great - 2017 Acura RDX
  By TiggerEsqOC - May 29 - 5:42 pm

  So far this car is what I expected. It is a good value which is the main reason I chose it. I wanted a small SUV but not too small, with good MPG and some creature comforts. My base with Acura Watch Plus does not have navigation, which I did want but it also doesnt have some of the custom ability that I would like and am used to. Such as unlocking all doors when unlocking one, the passenger seat only has 4-way adjustment. The acceleration is good, and it has the power I need. I was driving a $60k Audi Q5 as a loaner before I got the Acura RDX, and that was an amazing car, but I didnt have $60k to spend on a car, for the price difference (I paid $34,000) it is a great option.

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  The best under $25K for coupe/hatch - 2002 Acura RSX
  By cheeku - May 29 - 10:00 am

  Been a month since I got the car. No problems whatsoever,car is zippy enough, great mileage even without using premium. I had shopped against a VW jetta(1.8T). Too much body roll on the jetta.Ideal car for someone who is single although the back seat is not too bad for short drives. Handles very well on the twisties. If anyone is from Austin take it on 2222 and youll be sold.

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  Despite shortcomings, best value overall - 2003 Acura TL
  By jnsacura - May 29 - 10:00 am

  Compared to other sedans in its class, the TL type-S falls slightly behind the best in performance and comfort, however the lower price, high reliability, favorable insurance crash test results and high resale were too practical to ignore. They even outweighed the numerous shortcomings, some of which are listed below.

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  A Vigor review (preceeds the TL) - 2003 Acura TL
  By Scott Packard - May 17 - 2:00 am

  My wife owns a 92 Acura Vigor, the predecessor of the TL. 5cyl 2.5L engine. Weve turned 180k miles last week. She had committed to buying a new car two years ago, but went back on her promise, mostly because this car is still too reliable. I do most of the repairs myself, but on most weekends I have nothing to do. Even the accessories have all held up (something which I know to break on Merkin cars). The alternator has never been rebuilt, the power steering pump finally gave out at 176k, and Ive put on the 2nd timing belt (90k change intervals). Who would think Id be on my third belt!?

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  2003 Acura TL - 2003 Acura TL
  By cmdvorak - May 12 - 10:00 am

  I purchased my 03 TL July 02. Since I have only had a safety recall. It has been a great car to have due to previous cars i owned that were in the shop on a monthly basis. The value, style, and status symbol the car gives for the money is the greatest thing.

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  allo - 2003 Acura TL
  By undao - May 4 - 2:53 am

  really fast, powerful car, good price, just some bland interior and exterior degins.

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  A Great car that needs a few changes - 2004 Acura TL
  By Dan - May 2 - 9:53 pm

  Ive owned this car for about 4 months now and have enjoyed it a lot. The power is excellent and rivals many other vehicles in its price range. Interior comfort is premier. The navigation system is the best in the business (Alpine has always had the best in my view). Exterior styling is great! And a factory audio system that wont leave you wanting more. There are drawbacks though. Front- wheel drive. Poor turning radius. Voice recognition system that apparently understands what it wants to.

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  Rattling Sound - 2005 Acura TL
  By Got A Lemon - April 29 - 4:16 pm

  Bought a new 2005 TL. Love the power, sound, responsiveness. Only 1800 miles, and dealership cannot fix rattling sound. Now dealing with Acuras Customer Representative, dead-end there. Tells me its a known problem with this model. I got a lemon.

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  Why two screens?? - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Diann Cox - April 26 - 2:51 am

  The car drove very well with good acceleration. It would have been on my contender list except for the awkward navigation display. The car actually has two screens, one a touch screen and the other is a navigation display screen. The screens take up so much room and the navigation screen is pretty far from the driver...too far to touch and a little tough to see.

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  Great car 12 years strong - 2005 Acura TL
  By todd gower - April 24 - 10:42 am