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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  7 passengers and no sweat !!! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By united_airline - March 8 - 2:43 am

  I was very impressed with my 04 Acura MDX touring, navi. I had 7 adults and this baby climbs hill like I was sitting alone by myself. I dont have to add additional gas. I did not hear the engine make any noises when going up hill. It is truly remarkable.

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  Love my Acura TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By AZ_michael - March 7 - 7:00 pm

  I have been waiting 2 years to get a TL. I have been watching this car since it came out in 2004. Researched and test drove all of the others 325i, G35, C230, ES330 and others. This car is the flat out best car for your money. The car drives like a dream no rattles and it is FAST. The Navi is awesome and voice recognition is very cool. You can say "go home" and the car will calculate the best way home. Love the interior quality, leather is plush and cushy. Interior layout is advanced but not overwhelming. Love the LED blue lighting. If your looking for a car with great features test drive a TL youll want to buy one.

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  Performance with Style - 2008 Acura MDX
  By seamas - March 7 - 1:26 pm

  The experience in driving the MDX is in a category altogether different to any other SUV I have driven. The handling is superb and when coupled with the comfort and styling of the interior makes it an exhilarating and luxurious experience which was unexpected.

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  2 year and still happy - 2006 Acura TL
  By TL Fan - March 7 - 8:24 am

  All things considered, the car is a joy to drive. Powerful engine can cause the front end to pull to the left when you floor it. I tend to drive with fuel consumption in mind and this car consistantly gives me around 25 mpg in mixed city/hwy and 30mpg hwy. A friend who has one drives aggressively and gets much lower results. Overall the car is a great combination of a sport/luxury car. Only disappointment is the nav system. Info was somewhat out of date when delivered and it is very annoying that you must hit a button on the screen to activate it everytime you start the car to acknowledge that you will use it with common sense

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  Better than a BMW! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Peggy McCool - March 6 - 10:00 am

  Everything about this car is luxurious. It isnt austentatious but it isnt boring either. I have never had so much fun or experienced so much comfort when driving. In short, I am in love with this car

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  A Lot of Car & Fun - 2008 Acura RDX
  By CHdriver - March 6 - 8:51 am

  Have owned the car for almost 3 weeks. Wife & I been looking at BMW X3 & Highlander (go figure). Looked at the RDX as a lark! Both of us immediately fell in love with it. It offered so much for the price.

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  Best Car Ive Ever Owned - 2006 Acura TL
  By Chris - March 6 - 8:50 am

  Ive only owned two other Acuras, RSXs before this TL. Being about $12,000 more it is so worth the extra money and bigger monthy payment. The car has class is very well designed and has plenty of power on tap if needed. Its also has a really great, thought-out interior, everything is within reach. Its very quiet and the sound system is awsome! Buy this car you will not regret it. I plan to get at least 10+ years from it.

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  A lot of fun for 4 doors - 1996 Acura Integra
  By cowboycoffee - March 5 - 3:58 pm

  Picked this little four door up to use as a high-mileage commuter. Putting on 100 miles a day might sound abusive, but after two solid years Ive only changed the oil and one set of rotors. Runs aggressively fast if youre not afraid of high revs and its very, very nimble. Great comfort in the seats for long drives with the adjustable lumbar support. Nice big trunk and the fold-down rear seat is genius for carting home the assorted skis, lumber and other necessities. All in all, a great performing commuter and a sporty weekend curb-hugger. Highly recommend taking one out for a spin.

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  Great Car - 2007 Acura TL
  By TLover - March 5 - 3:39 pm

  Most luxurious sedan for this price range. Very satisfied with the interior qualities compared to other competitors.

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  Great Car! - 1995 Acura Integra
  By Tom - March 5 - 3:17 pm

  Best car I have ever owned. Never had a problem with this car, it never had to go into the shop. The car has 187,000 miles and has not had one repair or problem! If you just change the oil, brakes, timing belt and keep it tuned up the car will be fine. The car still drives like it did when it was new. This car was built in 1995 and gets almost 35 MPG. Today most cars dont even get that.