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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  SLX Premium Package I Love It - 1996 Acura SLX
  By Gremlenman2000 - April 18 - 2:01 pm

  I love this SUV! 20 MPG. Tows an 18 ft boat well. No problems in the boat ramp. Slips in and out of 4WD with ease. I would buy another. I wish I had bought this SLX new. Thanks

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  Great Luxury Sedan - 2004 Acura TL
  By B52 EWO - April 18 - 2:16 am

  Great Car, have had no problems. A thrill to drive. First required service was after 6500 miles per the cars diagnostic.

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  Dedicated Acura Owner - 1999 Acura Integra
  By Erica - April 17 - 4:37 pm

  I bought an Acura Integra GS-R and have owned it for 9 years. It has been extremely reliable, fun, and great gas mileage. It doesnt have a lot of power off the line, but the V-TEC kicks in around 3500 and you feel it! The back is very limited in leg room, but you can fit 2 (short) adults in back in a pinch. I have done regular maintenance, and the only thing that has failed on the car was a cracked radiator (driving from Phoenix to Tucson in July). Its a great car for younger drivers, but is safe and reliable for long trips.

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  Nice Road Car - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Fredo - April 17 - 10:00 am

  Great value. Great car. Very much fun to drive and really holds a line on curves.

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  Great Car - 2002 Acura TL
  By Michael B - April 15 - 8:58 pm

  Car has mostly been a pleasure. Only problem is that transmission has been recalled and I am on tranny #4. Acura is great though and warranties it for life. Performance for this car when it came out was amazing and it still competes with todays best. Besides the transmission issues there have been no problems. The nav system is the best in the business. Gets me from A-B in style and fast!

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  Amazing - 1997 Acura RL
  By aly - April 15 - 6:36 pm

  I love this car, great pickup, awesome handling, smooth quiet ride. Easily the best car I have ever owned.

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  2008 Acura MDX - 2008 Acura MDX
  By v10Acura - April 15 - 1:16 pm

  The only other car I was considering with it were the X5 and ML. The handling of SH-AWD simply blew us away. In my opinion it had significatnly less body roll then even the others. The ride is very confidence-inspiring in rain, sun and snow. The sound system is absolutely incredible. Furthermore, I for one also really like the knob instead of touchscreen navigation. I find that the engine power is good from a standstill, but could use more power for passing. Certain speeds dont allow you to shift down to reach high revs required for optimal torque. As such sometimes you dont get sufficient acceleration. i also really like the styling.

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  A 10-year owner - 1998 Acura Integra
  By Ken - April 15 - 1:53 am

  This little car is something hard to beat with its versatile interior design. Its hatchback trunk is something hard to find these days with about the same styling. Though I had bought a new car, I am still not letting go this wonderful car of all time.

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  Cant Get Enough - 2005 Acura TL
  By Dimitrios T. - April 14 - 5:06 am

  I really enjoy driving this superb vehicle. Even my wife who did not want it at first, now I cant get her out of the car; she loves it! It drives as great as it looks, and the interior features are just heavenly. I looked into many vehicles for quite a while, and the Acura TL is the way to go. It offers a lot and for a great value. It is eye-catching, and I always get compliments. But the real satisfaction is being behind the wheel.

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  Great First Car! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By RSX_Fan - April 14 - 2:00 am

  I test drove this car after I test drove a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. The RSX was $2,000 less and overall a much better car. I bought it in a rush and couldnt be happier. I drove it from Indianapolis to Las Vegas 2 days after buying it and driving had never been so fun. Dont have to downshift out of 5th gear to pass, so even with 160 hp it has power to spare. A definate recommendation to anybody who wants a sporty 2-door thats affordable.