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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  Great vehicle - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Kevin - March 28 - 2:06 pm

  I have had my MDX over a week now and love it. Never had an SUV with the power and handling the MDX has. Even in the comfort mode, handles like a dream. Gas mileage has been fair. (17 MPG mixed hwy and city.) Very fun to drive. The navigation system is awesome. Easy to use and many features. Stereo system very impressive. Head lamps light the road very well at night. Seats are very comfortable and the heated seats work very well. 3rd row seats are OK. Great for kids or adults on short trips. The rear entertainment is very nice. Good screen and easy to operate. Wireless headphones give great sound. Would like to have seen the vehicle have a built in phone holder, and coin holder.

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  Anyone else had problems? - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Me - March 28 - 2:00 am

  I just bought my car new last weekend. First time it rained (only five days after I bought it)my sunroof leaked bigtime into my car. The car pulls to the right when driving and also the carpet looks terrible. The carpet is all wavy throughout the vehicle. I am very dissappointed with my purchase. No one else seems to have any complaints. The carpet looks old and all the RSXs seem to be like that. Anyone else having problems?

• 

  Awesome Car - 2003 Acura MDX
  By ali3622 - March 28 - 2:00 am

  The MDX is the best car I have ever owned.

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  Value, Luxury, Quality, Efficiency - 2003 Acura TL
  By JimmyP - March 28 - 2:00 am

  Compared & drove Nissan Max, Infinity, Lexus, BMW 3 series, Cadilac CTS. DO NOT waste the incremental dollars on BMW, Lexus, Infinity or Cadiilac CTS to get a similarly equipped car. If your looking for the "prestige" and its worth $6k-$10K, go ahead. This car has it ALL over each of them.

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  follow-up to 8/2002 review - 1996 Acura RL
  By prophet2 - March 28 - 1:10 am

  Its 6-1/2 years later and my 96 RL is going strong at 153K miles. Some issues: tach malfunctioning, dealer estimates $1400 repair. Also, $1420 to replace steering rack assembly $1427 for leaking rear main seal/O-ring $240 for re-sealing power steering pump $500 to replace rear tail light assembly. Thats $5000, exceeding the cars value. An independent mechanic found nothing wrong with the steering mechanism. Fluid has leaked from a hose to the rack assembly and rear main seal area, making it appear that those items are leaking. His estimate is $675, saving me $2400. The dealers service department has a reputation of up-selling service jobs.

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  Artfully Subtle Luxury and Performance - 2008 Acura RL
  By Paul J - March 27 - 6:50 pm

  Does everything well instead of compromising one performance area to excel in another. For example, corners as if on rails but preserves quiet, comfortable ride. The engine is smooth and quiet around town but makes operatic noises at the top of the rev range. This is the perfect luxury car for with enough confidence to eschew driving a visible status symbol. I drove Audis before they went upscale to compete directly with Mercedes and BMW. This Acura now fills that niche of artful, understated luxury that makes one look smart, not status conscious.

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  Integra LS - 2001 Acura Integra
  By Nematoad - March 27 - 5:23 pm

  I have had my Integra for over 139000 miles. It is incredibly reliable, spacious and roomy. Can carry 8 foot 2x4 lumbers, and lots of big boxes. As well as be a really cool sports car. Has not been in repair shop for anything too major. Appears to have very strong body design, after being rear ended, by stupid drunk driver, body shop replaced all bumpers and repainted and is like new again.

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  so nice - 2006 Acura MDX
  By toomanypetz - March 27 - 10:07 am

  We replaced our Honda Pilot with this car. I really liked my Pilot but to get all these features it would cost so much more. The Acura has a smooth quiet ride and plenty of room. I feel very luxurious with all the leather and comfort. It makes me feel less like a "soccer mom". We love it!

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  Excellent SUV - 2008 Acura MDX
  By fort99 - March 25 - 5:26 am

  We bought ours a week ago. So far so good. Excellent handling especially compared to 4Runner. It would be perfect with less tire noise.

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  A new MDX - 2017 Acura MDX
  By Minnesota MDX owner - March 24 - 2:31 am

  We just acquired a new MDX from Bloomington Acura and Edward Kaspustin. A truly great buying experience. Edward spent a great deal of time before and after the purchase going over the MDX and its features and followed up after the purchase to see how it was performing and how we liked the vehicle. Outstanding