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 blend performance + value - 2009 Acura TSX
  By 3pedals4me - April 25 - 5:01 pm

  Have 2500 miles on new TSX. Its a very nice well rounded car...very good at everything though maybe not best-in- class at anything, except price/value. Drives very well, taut but not too stiff, nor mushy like Camry. Manual tranny is super though still getting used to that 6th gear. The engine, while not stout, performs superbly...you hardly notice when running at high revs...and MPG compares to my old VW Passat turbo despite being a heavier car (though the MPG reading calculated by the TSX is inflated about 10% vs actual). The interior comfort, esp the seats, are great...and the features (Ipod XM homelink bluetooth) are amazing for the price. Definitely worth a close look!

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  Acura TL - A W E S O M E - 2005 Acura TL
  By Bonnie Campbell - April 25 - 1:53 pm

  Absolutely pure fun to drive! Has the great combination of power and handling that Ive been looking for and has been more than reliable in snow and rain. No skidding, hydroplaning. Perfect feeling of safety in this car. Sound system is superior and find myself taking the longer route so that I can drive longer because I dont want to get out of the nice warm seat (bun warmer) and the great handling of the car combined with the awesome stereo sound and the XM satellite radio.

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  2nd Acura - 2009 Acura TSX
  By lots of miles - April 24 - 9:07 pm

  TL was last minute compromise on the last day of 2008. Still have a 2000 TL with over 160K on it so Acura reliability is a big plus. I looked at TL-SHAWD, but could not get over the BEAK. I also wanted a manual, fund to drive car with high reliability, low maintenance costs and good gas mpg. This car fulfills all of that and is a pretty comfortable driver to boot. Mileage is averaging 28-31 mpg, 6 spd is easy to use and car is not so "hot" that I am adding too many speeding tickets to my collection. Stereo is good, I dropped XM subscription after new car trial and use an Ipod instead. Overall, a pretty good deal with a low cost of ownership.

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  GREAT car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By flipboiee - April 24 - 2:40 am

  great car! great value! great maintenance! LOTS of fun! enjoy

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  Good but not great - 2009 Acura TL
  By rickpoole - April 23 - 11:29 pm

  After test driving 3 different 2009 TLs w/Tech while my 2007 TL was in the shop I found it was improved in many areas but took a few steps backwards that would keep me from trading my 2007 TL for a new 2009 TL - not worth the price difference. Main issues was worse city mileage 09 ratings are supposed to be fairly accurate, 07 ratings were high by 10-20%. Both were rated at 18. Driving my 07 conservatively I can get 19-20, driving the 09 the same way only got 16-17.

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  Somewhat disappointed - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Texas Trix - April 23 - 1:38 pm

  This is my first experience with a Honda product. Purchased the car directly off the showroom floor. Beautiful black exterior with tan leather seats and wood grained interior rear spoiler, loaded but without the navigation system. Unfortunately, the dash had a rattle from day one. After 6 trips (and counting) the dealership has not been able to resolve the rattle, and it continues to be worse and never stops - not something I expected from a Honda product. Previously I drove Ford Explorers, Mercedes C230 and Mercedes SLK 320.

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  Acura TL 3.2 - 2003 Acura TL
  By JesusFreak1986 - April 23 - 10:00 am

  This is a very nice car to have, I am only 17 and I love it. It is build very solid and is reliable, I have already driven it almost 20,000 miles and have only owned it for 8 months and I have loved every minute. I have driven to several states and I enjoy showing it off to everyone and anyone who looks my way, and they love to look b/c it is a beautiful piece of art-work.

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  A worthy successor to the old TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Bobbo - April 23 - 10:00 am

  I upgraded to the 2004 TL from a 2002 TL (non-S) and have been amazed. Compared to the previous model, the interior is truly luxurious. The seats are firm but comfortable. Driving this car is much more fun than with the old model because of the increase in power and the improvement in ride control. In all, this car stands head and shoulders above the old model in looks, interior, and driving. Its my favorite car yet.

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  BETTER - 2004 Acura TL
  By Virg - April 23 - 10:00 am

  After driving a 2002 type S TL. this is a top driving experience. A good driver and riding vehicle.

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  First on the block! - 2004 Acura TL
  By mathvixen - April 23 - 10:00 am

  I was able to buy my TL the first day that they were available. I work at a community college where we train Honda mechanics. When I drove my car to work, I was surrounded by students enjoying the look of my new car. Many of them were going to be working for Honda. The car is as much fun to drive as it is too look at but the best surprise is the audio system.