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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  More Pros than Cons - 2009 Acura TSX
  By MrG - January 25 - 11:07 pm

  I decided on the TSX after test driving and pricing all the cars in its class. The TSX was the best bang for the buck bar none. My only complaint is the front grill of the car. Which can be easily fixed with some aftermarket tuning (this is why Hondas are GREAT!). The steering is fine, the power is fine, and the interior was probably the best. A lot of people are dinging this car, but what do they expect? They want Acura to give them the power of a g35/is350 at a fraction of the cost? Get real. For what i paid for this car id be lucky to get a base is250/328i, and what fun would that be?

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  A very reliable but fun car - 1999 Acura CL
  By Ian S. - January 25 - 2:03 pm

  I bought my 1999 CL 2.3 because I needed something reliable coming from a BMW. Unfortunately, my CL was in poor condition, but I got a great deal on it. To my surprise, it was in excellent mechanical condition. A little bit of elbow grease quickly brought its appearance back to life. The first thing I noticed was the excellent quality of the paint and interior materials. I couldnt believe how resilient the leather and carpet was. The paint is beautiful after some heavy buffing and the car looks new after a thorough cleaning! Mechanically, I have had zero problems. The transmission shifts smooth and engine sounds like new. I would highly recommend this car.

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  Disappointed - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Jonny - January 25 - 10:01 am

  I had an 07 TSX and I regret trading it in for the the 09. The redesigned interior turns out to be a mess compared to the well organized cabin of the 07. It seems like Acura wanted the 09 to be more like a Beemer or Benz, but couldnt deliver a the lower price point.

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  Love my Integra - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Dave - January 24 - 10:42 am

  Ive been driving for over 30 years and owned many cars and this is easily my favorite. Its fun to drive and when I wash and wax it up it looks great. The car is nine years old with 106k miles and yet it is still tight and everything works. Just had the timing belt changed ($700) and plan on keeping this baby for several more years.

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  TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By Shell - January 24 - 12:20 am

  The Acura TL is a fun car to drive. I absolutely love my new car. Everything you need when fighting traffic, or just taking a ride, is just a voice command away. If your looking for a car, I highly recommend you take this car for a test drive. You will love it too.

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  Such a fun car - 1993 Acura Legend
  By Abram - January 23 - 7:08 pm

  I bought my Legend a little over a year ago. This is the best car I have ever owned! I was driving a friends Jag the other night and couldnt believe that my car at 15 years old was ten times better in tightness, comfort, and speed. I got really lucky and bought mine from an older couple with around 90k miles. If you are wondering if you should buy one and youve found one that has been taken care of.. Buy it!!

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  Great car, poor fuel efficiency but ... - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Ivan - January 23 - 12:22 pm

  All in all, a great car. I am happy with my purchase. Theres a 3rd row of seats which neatly folds down invisibly which is why I bought it. There are a lot of automatic extras like auto headlights and wipers and rear-view mirrors that dip when reversing that make owning this car a real joy. The MDX is also deceptively spacious and sits tall however handles well. Performance is not an issue either but fuel economy kind of is. At an average 13 MPG in the city, youd think you were driving a GM. Aside from fuel efficiency (or lack thereof), this is a great family vehicle that looks great even sans-family. The 3rd row is invisible when not in use and its a Honda so you know its reliable.

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  Bang for the Buck - 2006 Acura TL
  By Mike - January 23 - 7:10 am

  My last 4 cars were MBenzs with an 02 E55 as the car before the TL. I spent months trying to justify buying a 90K car that didnt do all the things this TL does. yes I miss the big V8 and rear wheel drive, but for 35K this car is awesome. I added the A spec kit which does help with the 18 inch rims and ground effects. Ride is great power is ok, still a little torque steer but not bad if I lay off it. The doors do rattle when the windows are down and the "auto shift" wont let you shift to 2nd so it sort of makes it a little less than true shifting. But again I dont believe there is a better car under 50K including the RL.

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  Nice SUV - 2008 Acura MDX
  By comet123 - January 22 - 6:14 am

  Have driven 4,500 miles. Overall, great vehicle. In the snow is great. Solid like a tank.

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  Great Car RIP - 2000 Acura Integra
  By CabinFever - January 21 - 2:05 pm

  I bought this new and drove it for 9 years. Just got rear ended and this may be the end of the line. This is too bad, as this was a great little car. Has (had) 93K on it. Got great mileage 27-31MPG. Sooo fun to drive. Handles great. I had the manual shift. I loved its small size but fit 4 to 5. Trunk could have been bigger but I still managed 2 hockey bags back there sometimes. Not whisper quiet but I liked to know how the engine was doing. Only a few issues. Most of them minor. Replaced brakes. Hood latch failed. Tried to keep up with Acura scheduled maintenance - but its not cheap. I KNOW this thing would have went 150K / 15 years plus. Its a sad thing... I loved it.