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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  Even better than Honda !!! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By GaryGrach - March 31 - 10:00 am

  Just love this car all its gadgets.

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  Great car, room for improvement - 2004 Acura TSX
  By genejockey777 - March 31 - 10:00 am

  Great character this car has despite the NYTs review regarding lackluster "spirit". However admittedly the exterior needs a little more "wow" to match the wonderful powertrain and handling characteristics of this front-driver. If you like understated capability - that is, not going out of your way to draw attention to your confident self - then this is the vehicle for you. Great to drive in town and on the highway. Gas mileage does not seem to be as good as everyone claims, but maybe its just the way I drive it. Or perhaps the gas gauge is just more accurate than in my old GM vehicle. Some interior rattles noted.

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  Quality Issues - 2004 Acura TL
  By jcmmm - March 31 - 10:00 am

  The Acura TL is definitely a great looking car. However, it has many problems that Acura is not willing to share...well here is the list: The paint has shrinkage. You can see this in proper lighting. I have seen the defects on almost every car. The paint on the bumper cover peels at the mounting point. Rattles in the dash area. Rattles in headliner. The center console will sweat when using the air conditioning. I was told by the dealer that the coil was located in the center console. No fix available!!!

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  my tl - 2004 Acura TL
  By joe lightner - March 31 - 10:00 am

  the tl is great. the biggest and only downfall that i can find with it is the fuel economy. im not getting any kind of mileage what so ever. also the car seems to have quite a few blind spots when looking to change lanes on the highway, but the styling and ride cant be matched by any other car that ive had the pleasure of owning or riding in.

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  TL Rules - 2004 Acura TL
  By I Love TL - March 31 - 10:00 am

  I just cat beleive how well this car rides. Engine, acceleration, finish, interior, standard features. i like it better than my Mercedes.

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  Best SUV Bang for your buck! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Judith Temple - March 31 - 9:36 am

  After having owned the BMW X3, the MDX is a pleasure to drive. Reliability is great for 25,000 miles. Only things wrong are Bluetooth rings and cannot hear whose on the other end and many viable addresses do not show up on Navigation system. Dealer service excellent. A few miss-steps in design no lights for A/C controls at night rear view pic doesnt come on in reverse for 10 seconds, some wind noise, transmission can be rough and erratic. No ipod plug which I didnt realize until after I purchased. Front end design could be improved, very masculine. Sounds like a lot but I do really like this car. Also test drove BMW X5 and Lexus 400.

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  Very satisfied - 2006 Acura TSX
  By rabbit - March 30 - 11:32 pm

  The mileage estimate I think is low - even in Seattles stop and go traffic I range from 30mpg and upwards, at times 35! My fourth Acura and I remain committed to the brand. Great handling, smooth ride, comfortable.

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  Great ride..Better than E 320 Merc - 2009 Acura TL
  By Sal - March 29 - 9:26 pm

  This is my 2nd TL (after 2005). This is BY FAR the best car I have ever driven....

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  A real legend - 1993 Acura Legend
  By verne smith - March 29 - 8:34 pm

  I bought my 1993 legend ls sedan 5.5 years ago and it is still going strong, I bought my car with 195,332 miles, it currently has 261,585 miles and still going, I have never had any engine issues, never changed head gasket or any other engine parts, this engine is bullet proof, the transmission is also bullet proof it currently needs a mount thats it, it revs very smooth. I replaced over the 5.5 years and counting, ignition switch, right axle, wheel bearings, just this week the radiator cleaned the EGR ports and of course regular mentainance oil change etc, I am a very proud legend owner and because of this car I have an acura gsr which is another good car, I am now in the process of buying a 2003 mdx.

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  TL Baby - 2005 Acura TL
  By Brettski - March 29 - 7:50 am

  Just plain awesome. Every electronic feature you could ever need. Very fast with tons of "pick up". 270 horses is more than enough, trust me. Well built and a ton of fun to drive.