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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  Loved It Until 130K - 1998 Acura TL
  By caitkmc - July 31 - 11:10 pm

  Bought my Acura in college at 66K miles, no major problems or complaints for the first 4 years! I drove it hard too. But as soon as I hit that 130K mark EVERYTHING started to go. My car quickly went from being valued above 5K to now Im hoping to get 1K for trade in. The breaks, the radiator, the intake system (?), and the timing belt all went within 1 year of each other. VERY EXPENSIVE TO FIX!! The three different mechanics all told me the same thing - it can cost 2 times the amount to fix these high performance cars as even just a basic Honda. I wouldnt advise anyone to buy one of these cars with high miles, especially if maintenance costs are a big concern. But always drove beautifully!

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  Best entry level luxury/sports sedan! - 2008 Acura TL
  By mik18 - July 26 - 1:12 pm

  Excellent handling for a FWD sedan.Sticks to the corners like glue.Totally satisfied with the purchase. Car looks great, drives awesome and has a lot of technology at a very fair price when compared to other cars in the entry level sports sedan market. Trip from NJ to Ohio and back, twice and averaged 30MPG at 70-75 mph. One gripe about the car is the leather sucks.Seat absorbs the color of my pant !! never had this issue with my old BMW.

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  178k and still running fine - 1998 Acura Integra
  By cogs1 - July 19 - 2:17 pm

  Bought new, original owner I paid just under 17k for it with tax out the door, mine is the 2 door hatch back RS 5 speed stick, non vtec engine. It is now 2011 and it has 178k miles and doesnÂ’t drip a drop of oil and refuses to give up, even one the coldest of Michigan winters it starts right up without issue, it is amazing. It is still my daily driver to work everyday. I can tell you I have beat the crap out of this car, it has not been pampered at all. I do get the oil changed every 4-5k that about it. Normal wear items, timing belt, distributor, resonator pipe, brake calipers replaces, still on original starter, alternator, radiator, clutch, etc. Driven hard due to not having ANY horsepower until 5K RPMÂ’s This car has been good to me, it looks like crap and is rusting but I can not fault this car, it has surpassed my expectations. I figure IÂ’d drive it until 200k and donate it, I figured between having no car payments for 7 years and being a gas miser I have saved about 35k, not too bad. Thanks Honda.

• 

  After 1 year with a Pre-Owned TL Type S - 2007 Acura TL
  By tifosi27 - July 12 - 8:46 am

  We purchased ours TL Type S Automatic 1 year ago with very low miles on it. It was essentially brand new and we got a very good deal. We are very pleased thus far. Ergonomics are very good, has adequate torque to pass cars on country roads and interstate travel. We knew the car would be a little more rough over roads as this has a more firm suspension then the base TL. Have taken the car in for all routine maintenance and had zero problems. Only issue is when the wife put a nasty curb rash into the front rim, but will get that fixed in the winter when I install the winter tires and rims.

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  Stiff legged - 2011 Acura TSX
  By mugman1 - June 28 - 9:00 pm

  I have 1700 miles on my 2011 TSX. Overall this is a very nice car. Im coming out of a 2002 VW Passat GLX and miss the V6s low end torque, but the 4 cyl engine helps the car get out of its own way if you rev it. The suspension is a bit stiff but not in an overly uncomfortable way. Unfortunately, I cannot get comfortable in the seats. Before buying, I took it overnight and drove it over 100 miles, but after buying, I learned while driving it on a 2 hour continuous trip that the long seat cushion compresses a part of my thigh making my right leg fall asleep. Now I only look forward to ending my drive which is incredibly disappointing. Looks like my wife has a new car instead!

• 

  No complaints - 2002 Acura CL
  By xtbkidm3 - June 28 - 4:30 pm

  I bought my CL in 2004 with only 19k and drove it until 140k. I changed the oil, tires, and brakes and thats it. Never had a problem. The transmission went out at 90k but the dealership replaced it under warranty. This is a great reliable car that also is great in the winter as well. I would recommended this car to anyone.

• 

  Second TSX - 2011 Acura TSX
  By larryken - June 25 - 7:42 am

  Former owner of a 2008 TSX, which I had for almost 50K miles. The new model is an improvement in interior size, quieter cabin and handling. Exterior design is pleasing also. Fuel economy is the same to the former model, average mixed driving is 30 mpg and highway 33 to 36 mpg. When hard accelerating the exhaust note growls. Steering has plenty of feedback and the suspension is stiff but not teeth rattling. Im pleased with the evolutionary improvements.

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  Mostly Up - 2011 Acura RDX
  By farrellg - June 3 - 11:34 pm

  Mostly a good experience, but small cargo capacity, small place for drivers stuff. Backup camera not good in bright sunlight. Nice drive with turbo and shifting, but poor mileage + uses high price gas. With Honda/Acura reliability, it should be very good. Would make changes in seating. Hard ride for all. Guess the MDX might have been a better choice. Should get better mileage.

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  dont expect to carry anything heavy - 2010 Acura MDX
  By saturnoutlook - June 1 - 12:05 pm

  Love this car, but unlike other SUVs Ive owned this one is more car than truck. On several occasions I have hauled cargo that the car should have been able to easily handle, approximately 300 - 400 lbs. However, that was not the case, both times the car wondered all over the road, behaving like it was overaloded, definately not what I expected.

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  Why did Acura Stop Making This? - 1994 Acura Legend
  By alexgutfleish - May 17 - 7:42 pm

  I recently inherited my grandmothers 1994 Acura Legend, which only has 42,300 on the odometer. Overall the car is great, I love the handling, the acceleration, and the rear visibility is fantastic for a sedan of that size. The only things I dislike are the automatic transmission, which bucks when going from first to second. Also, the car does not get the best fuel economy and requires premium fuel, which isnt the best when gas is $4.20-4.50 a gallon. Finally, in terms of technology its "outdated" (It has a cassette player and no GPS). Other than that I love it. Great car!