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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  The Air cond. doesnt cool in Arizona - 2006 Acura TL
  By Jim - May 15 - 12:36 am

  I loved this car for the 1st 18 months I owned this car except for the over weight front doors that are out of balance. Performance, comfort, handling, gas mileage and overall looks were all great. Last summer it stopped fully cooling down on hot days. I took it in for warranty service 3 times and they said it was working as designed. Really sad, now Im trying to get rid of it. You cant have a car with bad air in Arizona during the summer.

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  The BIGGEST MISTAKE of my life!! - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Justin N. - May 12 - 3:28 am

  Where do I start? Sure this vehicle is "fun to drive" and handles like a dream, and the interior is full of nifty features, like bluetooth, the Nav system and the phenomenal sound system. But thats about it!! Everything else about this vehicle is simply the worst. The turbo-4 is VERY NOISY when accelerating, and a good amount of ROAD NOISE enters the cabin. Very tiring on long highway drives!! FUEL ECONOMY is HORRENDOUS (about 15city/20hwy)- A huge disappointment for such a small 4-cylinder SUV!! (and for the most part I dont even drive very aggressively). I wish I could just return it and get something else!!

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  Ferocious & Luxurious - 2002 Acura TL
  By Nader - May 12 - 2:40 am

  The 2002 TLS is the best car Honda/ACURA has ever made. This vehicle is the total package! I am truly in love....

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  Acura TL - 2007 Acura TL
  By nfdapice - May 12 - 2:40 am

  I tend to keep vehicles for 10+ years, and previously owned a 1998 Honda Accord 4cyl which I had clocked 190K+ miles and was looking to upgrade. After looking at the 2007 Accord 6cyl, I was attracted to the body style and features of the Acura TL. The negotiated price was close to that of the Honda fully loaded. Since I adore the reliability of the Honda engine and drive train, I decided to give the Acura a closer look. I am not disappointed. The car is quiet, gets great gas mileage (I average 30-32 on the highway), and has power to spare when needed. The inside is comfortable, the ride solid but not too stiff. I love it. Turning radius & high octane gas are the only negatives; its worth it!

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  Car Stolen and Stripped - 1995 Acura Integra
  By PK - May 12 - 1:59 am

  Im the original owner and the car was wonderful with only 96k miles. It was stolen and stripped a couple of weeks ago. We are so bummed the car was worth so much more to us than insurance will ever pay. I was hoping to get 280,000 miles like the other poster. BEWARE that these cars are easy to steal. I was told this a million times after it was stolen never heard about it before. What a shame. Loved the car-it was a blast to drive.

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  First Acura - 2009 Acura TSX
  By BlueTSX - May 12 - 12:28 am

  Although no one is ever going to be happy and you can never please those who are picky. I enjoy my Acura a lot and I believe that I have made a wise choice. This is my first Acura and I am very happy with this vehicle.

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  6sp Manual type S - 2003 Acura CL
  By tom - May 11 - 11:50 pm

  Incredibly fun car to own and drive. Beautiful and high quality interior, especially considering the price. Seats grip your sides and hold you in during hard turns. Smooth and quick shifting 6 speed manual. This car is fast too.

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  2009 Acura TL 3.5 - 2009 Acura TL
  By bernard edwards - May 11 - 10:04 pm

  Picked up our Acura tl Saturday May the 9th 2009 and we were extremely impressed with what a beauty it was, and when we saw it sitting there all cleaned up I fell in love right there. We have 575 miles on the car, and 530 miles was on the first tank of gas, and I was getting over 26 miles per gallion. Love styling, high quality, ride is firm but very planted, great sound system, polished metal exterior, what a class act and love the paddle shifters and dealer will install rear spoiler Tuesday to really set off the beautiful rear of the car, also love the exhaust tips as they look awsome. Manual way too thick and confusing, roomy rear seat, big trunk, and we just love the sleek hunkered down look.

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  Fun to Drive - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Zel - May 11 - 9:03 pm

  A great SUV. My first Acura and SUV. My family had a long h/o driving Mazdas but the CX-7 or Murano were no match. The interior is just right and the body design turns heads. I purchased 18" Inspyre RonJon rims and they look great. A definite recommendation to make it a bit sportier helped a bit. As a single male in his 30s I am the demo they were going for and they succeeded!!

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  Happy - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Sharon - May 11 - 3:58 pm

  I happy with my acura. I bought it from a private party and the previous owner kept it in great condition. Fun to drive, really happy with the fact that the back seats drop which creates a good space to store stuff. Draw back. Dash rattles, and the headlights begin to dim.