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 great car being turned in from a lease. - 2013 Acura TL
  By Steve Stallings - February 7 - 10:54 am

  The only thing I noticed that bothers me is the transmission shifts from first to second to quickly. Its better with faster takeoff. Otherwise this is a great car and I plan to lease a 2016 before the lease ends in March. I also had a 2010 TL that I loved.

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  The 06 TSX: You Wont Be Disappointed - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Jesse - February 6 - 7:33 pm

  Just a tremendous car. I just got home with it tonight after putting on the first 120 miles or so (just driving around), so I may be a bit in that "I love my new car" mode. But, thats the way it should be. The drive is smooth, quiet, and rips around the side streets and highways with great handling. The interior and gadgets are laid out perfectly right in front of you, and it feels as though youre in the cockpit of an airplane. Just superb in every respect.

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  Best vehicle in its class - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Rick From Crofton - February 6 - 3:38 pm

  We picked up our MDX in June 2007. What a purchase! We compared all of the vehicles in the class and selecting this vehicle over all of the others from our perspective was a no- brainer. Here we are with over 10K miles and we just love this SUV. It is so fun to drive. We got everything on the vehicle. The technology pkg, the performance is unmatched. This vehicle has a powerful engine that truly delivers. We did the head to head test drives with the BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne and other top brand crossovers so the buying decision was very easy thereafter. It outperformed everything. Having had several Acuras in the past, the build quality is simply awesome. One test drive will sell this SUV.

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  Best Bang for the Buck - 2003 Acura TL
  By kcwang007 - February 6 - 10:00 am

  Although it was tempting to get an Audi A4 or BMW 3 Series, with all the added options, it would be $4k-$8k more than a fully equipped TL-S (with navi and underbody kit/spoiler). The new Infiniti G35 is nice, however, I didnt like the interior as much and the rear looks really ugly. Performance is quite similar. Acura really has a great product because its a great value and its not too flashy, but itll burn a lot of cars on the road.

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  So much fun - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Marc - February 4 - 3:10 pm

  Just picked up the RDX 2 weeks ago and love it so far. My fiancée wanted an SUV, I wanted a sports car and we settled on the RDX. It has the body and space of an SUV, the interior of a luxury sedan, and drives like a sports car. I spent months looking at similar rides such as the BMW X3, Infiniti EX, Honda CRV, Rav 4 and this car had the most to offer in terms of features and was priced right in the middle of the pack. I couldnt be happier.

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  I bought another one - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Tony V. - February 4 - 12:14 pm

  Had an 06 MDX Touring that was totalled by a drunk driver. Looked around for something different but always came back to the MDX. Bought Sport model with navi and ent. Love it so far. Runs great (400 miles into it). Many compliments on style and looks. Very happy with purchase.

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  Best car Ive ever owned! - 2004 Acura TL
  By John R - February 2 - 8:08 pm

  This is an excellent car. The performance and handling of this car is awesome. The styling, even 4 years after I bought it is still a head-turner. Two things I would change if I could: 1) move to rear wheel drive to eliminate the torque steer and 2) improve gas mileage in the city - I average 17-18 with careful driving. Highway is awesome - 33-34mpg. I hear the 09 TL may move to RWD. Hopefully that will happen. Any way about it, I would buy this car again without blinking. One additional note - get the nav... you wont regret it!

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  RSX - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Duke of Fatness - February 1 - 10:00 am

  Cant say enough about the car. Look forward to driving it every day, fast and handles like a dream.

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  Nice Car! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By SpyderMan27 - February 1 - 10:00 am

  I think the RSX Type-S is a nice ride and looks sweet on the road!! Great purchase!

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  Acura 3.2Cl - 2001 Acura CL
  By kgain2 - February 1 - 10:00 am

  For this price... it doesnt get any better than this!