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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  How RSX is a car YOU want - 2002 Acura RSX
  By cdznutz - November 7 - 10:00 am

  This car is the ultimate sports coupe at this price range. This car is very fun to drive! The acceleration is unbelievable and it is extremely powerful; it dominates on the road. Many heads will turn when you drive this car. The interior is beautifully designed and the bose sound system is very rich sounding. I heard some nasty things about the Acura dealers, but the dealership i went to was great. Bottom line: This is the best car you can get at this price range.

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  A Nice "Sporty Sedan" - 2007 Acura TL
  By RBSC - November 6 - 12:04 pm

  After 10 yrs and 145,000 mi I sold my 528 BMW for a TL. First things first IMO the BMW E39 is superior to the TL in all dynamic driving categories period. But having said that the TL is still a very fine car. Reasonably quick, stylish, comfortable, quiet (no rattles here) and good gas mileage (got almost 31 mpg on our last trip). But the TL does have issues. First is the transmission, under normal everyday driving its flawless but try some spirited driving and its slow to kick down and the computer gets confused hunting for the right gear. Second is the suspension, its jittery and on less than smooth roads the front will bounce, this is not a good thing, especially in a sports sedan.

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  The 2008 RDX beats all the competition - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Dan - November 4 - 8:35 pm

  I love my RDX. Ive had this vehicle for almost a month now and Im very impressed with everything about this SUV. I spent a lot of time researching and comparing different vehicles but once I started test driving them, the Acura RDX with the Tech package really beats all the competition. Its the best luxury for my money. Stereo sound is amazing. Interior and exterior finishing fantastic. Its fun to drive because of the smooth and powerful handling. Im really happy with my purchase.

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  Great Car.. Great Drive!! - 2007 Acura TL
  By Venkata Bhadri Raj - November 4 - 4:30 pm

  This is my first brand new car, amazed with the handling, music system and Nav. Excellent value for money. Best in its class!!

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  Perfect - 2000 Acura Integra
  By ...nAs... - November 4 - 11:51 am

  Driven the car for 5 months now, put roughly 7000km on it. Already Ive had to replace the radiator, however everything seems to be working fine with nearly 115,000km on it now. Fun to drive, kind of plain inside but the leather interior has held up really nicely and the car leaves the driver all kinds of options to upgrade at a reasonale cost including the deck and accessories. The cup holder is in a poor spot but everything else Im really happy with. Would recommend anyone to pick it up if possible!

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  This Is A Great Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By I Count! - November 4 - 10:00 am

  I have owned many cars in my lifetime, and I currently have four - including a convertible Corvette and Lexus LX470 - but this car is by far the best value AND is fun to drive! I bought it to be a utility car / basic transportation. But I find myself wanting to drive it all the time.

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  Very happy with purchase - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Dave R - November 3 - 12:54 am

  I love the comfortable ride and performance. The 10 way power drivers seat combined with the telescoping steering wheel makes it easy to find a comfortable position. My wife and I both drive the vehicle so the custom seat, mirror, radio, and phone book settings linked to each key are great. The exterior styling is a real head turner, much better than the 2006 models. Visibility from the cockpit at night is great. Love the interior styling and dash appearance. Third row seating comes in handy on occasion. The navigation system is easy to use and convenient. Practically every feature comes standard. Back-up camera is a nice plus.

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  Acura TL is Excellent - 2005 Acura TL
  By Tim - November 2 - 11:36 pm

  The Acura TL is an excellent investment. It looks great (especially with the underbody spoilers), is very reliable, and gets good gas mileage. You can really feel the 270HP and its very fun to drive. I highly recommend.

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  My Follow Up Review - 2007 Acura TL
  By Gboss - November 2 - 7:58 pm

  11,890 miles into my TL Type-S Automatic. Interior rattles are driving me nuts!! They come out of nowhere! Interior does scratch very easily. Car squeaks. Suspension or something from underneath the car? Not sure but getting it checked out. I think its the suspension. Seat memory settings dont always work correctly. All station presets vanished on me a few times and came back the next day? Ghosts? Other than that the car is awesome! Compliments everywhere! Real rocketship! 286 HP!! Hwy I am getting 29 MPG. Overall AVG 23 MPG. I think thats pretty good!

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  After 2 months...Love this MDX! - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Ron - November 2 - 3:09 am

  I researched the the 2016 MDX for 9 months before buying. Im so glad I did. Ive owned two MDXs since purchasing my first MDX in year one of the MDX introduction in 2001. Im amazed at the transformation, Id been driving my MDX with 180K miles. Having also been an RL owner, I now feel I have the best of both vehicles in one. The slightly lowered height from the road is just perfect! The few lower reviews of the entertainment system has not been a problem for me. Theres a lot to digest with so many great features, I take each feature one at a time which for me has been an enjoyable easy process. I love the new touch gear shifting! I love the sportier drive for an SUV, it really does not feel like Im driving an SUV. The gas mileage increase is sweet, which is one reason I waited so long to buy a 2016. Love the seat air ventilation system that keeps me from back sweating during hot summer months. I can now seamlessly play music from my iPhone. The biggest surprise and enjoy is the warning system and lane keeping assist system. I feel like Im now protected from blind spots when changing lanes and drifting out of my lane. This is simply the best vehicle I have ever owned! A huge leap of comfort, safety and technology in the past 10 years! Ive never experienced this big of an upgrade in any vehicle I have ever purchased. Love this vehicle!!!