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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  A Truly Great Automobile - 2002 Acura TL
  By Lynne - March 15 - 10:00 am

  This car has it all. Great styling, speed, comfort and handling. You really couldnt ask for more

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  This Car is a BLAST! - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Moms Car Rocks! - March 14 - 3:47 pm

  I looked at Lexus, BMW 3s, Audi, Benz & Infiniti. Feature to feature, sticker to sticker, NO CONTEST. Classy look, beautiful interior, every option standard (not nav.) for $5-10K less. Ive owned 2 Hondas before, 1 Audi, and 1 MB-E class. This is a great car for those $3.50+ per gal. fill-ups without feeling like you are stuck with a boring ride. It handles great in the corners, stops swiftly, hauls tail on the freeway and still gets my blood pumping. I love this car, but when they get a V-6 or turbo, Im soooo there! I needed better mileage, which the TSX delivers (26 in major traffic everyday). The TL was too heavy feeling for me and I know I would be getting WAY too many speeding tickets

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  What a car! - 2008 Acura TL
  By henry - March 13 - 7:05 pm

  This Acura TL is a step up from a fully-loaded 2003 Accord V6 that I previously drove, and wife continues to love it despite 320,000 km on it (bought it brand new!). So far, Ive had very little regret from choosing it over Audi A4 and Lexus IS 250. The car drives beautifully, esp. on the highway! This car gets the most bang for your bucks!

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  08 TSX - 2008 Acura TSX
  By 08 TSX - March 12 - 7:16 pm

  Replaced 03 TL-S and while I miss the power of the V6, the trade off of better handling and trimmer size was worth it. Good power above 3000 RPM, responsive manumatic makes it easy to stay in the power band when needed. Build quality is flawless. Fuel mileage has been the only disappointment-only 24MPG, about the same as the heavier more powerful TL. Overall, I am very happy with this car, and think it is a great value.

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  Try It Youll Love It! - 2008 Acura RDX
  By CHdriver - March 11 - 11:38 am

  The RDX was the last car we looked at before we were going to commit to an BMW X3. Are we glad we looked! Absolutely great price and deal, and so much car. Saved at least $7,000 of the X3 and we still got everything we wanted.

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  So Far So Good - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Chunster - March 9 - 1:30 pm

  Having owned this car for less than a week, I can tell you it was a better choice than the other cars that I have researched (VW CC, Camry XLE, Altima 2.5SL and Hybrid, Maxima S). My goal was to find a car that was the best bang for a price range of $25-30k. In the end, the TSX had the most features for your dollars, as well as a luxury feel and quality. The only negative is the premium fuel requirement. The other thing I will need to get use to is the seating requires you to lean back more than I am use to (comfortable feeling but different from the other cars). I hope to put in another review after a few months of use.

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  Heres the skinny... - 2002 Acura RSX
  By pocket - March 9 - 10:00 am

  Excellent overall. I choose the base model since the difference in performance was was not of great importance to me (.7 sec faster for type-s 0-60 and 1/4 mile) Handling is particularly admirable. I had a 3- series BMW before this.. and this car handles every bit as good. If you want to smoke people while drag racing, get a WRX. If you want a classy car at a great price, the RSX is fantastic. Great value for the dollar.

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  Great Driving Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By goleonar - March 9 - 10:00 am

  I bought it for my wife, but I keep looking for excuses to drive it. The power, predictble and precise handling (for a for door sedan) make driving effortless and enjoyable. Wish it had a stick.

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  GREAT car! - 2008 Acura TL
  By Rio Rebel - March 9 - 9:41 am

  The bigger engine in the TL-S made a big difference to me. I was set to get a G35 until I drove the S model. Great quality, thrilling to drive. I LOVE this car. Only thing I dont like is the lip spoiler in the S. In fact, my wife loved it so much we got her a base model TL two weeks later!

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  Best value in class - 2005 Acura TL
  By tngm - March 8 - 12:53 pm

  The combination of speed, comfort, handling, luxury and features is a true marvel at less than $40K. The BMW 3/5 series handles better but falls short in every other category. The Infinity G35 is quicker but doesnt have the build quality and falls far short in all other categories. The Lexus is for those that want total isolation from the road and cant remotely be considered a "drivers car". I purchased mine on the way to the BMW dealership to by a 330!