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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  Enjoying 3rd gear a lot :) - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Knight1 - September 24 - 11:56 pm

  I went from a 1993 Honda accord with 250,000 mi on it to this brand new 2008 TSX 6 speed manual. The car is fun to drive, love the interior, tame when you want it to be, and gives you that push back in your seat feel. Plus it is fully loaded. Your options are, with nav or without. This is what I did not like about the Lexus IS 250, you had to compromise on gadgets.

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  Excellent SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Garg - September 24 - 10:32 pm

  I love the F1 system, drives smoothly, love the interiors, blue light is amazing. GPS is awesome. Fuel economy is bit poor but justified when you buy RDX.

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  Technology Package - 2008 Acura RDX
  By dan - September 24 - 12:53 pm

  If you get bored easily, opt for the technology package. Not only will this car talk to you but it will let you know exactly whats going on performance-wise down to each wheel. The rumors of turbo lag are true from stand-still acceleration. However, when the turbo kicks in, its like no feeling a V6 can offer. You feel like you are being lifted off your seat then pushed back into it. My wife has a Murano. This car is much smoother, ride, acceleration, braking and even the seats are softer. If you want the performance that may outrun a BMW 3 series but need room for the family pet, this is the vehicle!

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  TL is Just a Great Car - 2007 Acura TL
  By GovJohn - September 22 - 9:29 pm

  I had been driving a Volvo S60 and had nothing but problems with it and was debating between TL and BMW 328. My buddy went with BMW and I went with TL. I made the right choice. Although it does not handle quite as sporty as the BMW, it will go when you need it to go. The everything standard interior is where it blows away the competition (especially the BMW). Compare standard package on a TL and then add them as options to everything else in its class and money makes it an easy decision. It is roomy, the sound system is great, and all controls are very easy to use. If this is the way Acura makes all its cars, I will be loyal for a long time.

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  My 2nd Acura in a row - 2004 Acura TL
  By RobinCincy - September 22 - 10:00 am

  Where do I start praising this car? After owning a 2002 CL Type S, I definitely had high expectations. The package itself is beautiful and aggressive looking. The exterior is matched by a well-designed interior. The best factory installed sound systme Ive heard in a car. And its not all amenities: the car scoots. Excellent handling and ride, as well.

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  Love the car! - 2004 Acura TL
  By stiletto - September 22 - 10:00 am

  Ive only had the car for a week, but its been a blast to drive. Great acceleration and handling, totally kickin sound system, and beautiful interior.

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  Best 35K Sedan on the Market - 2004 Acura TL
  By Brian DenCo - September 22 - 10:00 am

  My brand new Acura TL only has 600 miles on it, but that means I have finally broken it in!!! This has been a pleasure just to broke the car in, and now that I have been able to do some high RPM accelerations and be the normally aggressive driver that I am, I love the way the Acura rides. It is not as underpowered as the A4(a total dog), and it also has a great interior with the huge 8" monitor for the nav system and what a great audio system. I cant wait until DVD audio becomes a little more mainstream.

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  Great Ride! Great Price! - 2008 Acura TSX
  By TLP - September 22 - 9:22 am

  I focused my search to upgrade my ride from a long-in-the-tooth 98 Civic EX (168,00 miles and still going strong) on the Honda and Toyota lines. I wanted an economical sedan that was an upgrade from a Civic. I considered Solara, Camry, Lexus IS, and Accord. The TSX was an easy winner - based on value, appearance, size, and performance. My wife drives an 05 Accord and when we first test drove the TSX, she said "It looks like my Accord". Let me assure you, this is definitely not an Accord. The TSX is shorter and narrower than an Accord (it is actually more similar in size to my Civic). From a performance standpoint this car has great road feel. Try it, you will like it.

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  Very Impressive Vehicle - 2007 Acura TSX
  By D F - September 21 - 5:40 pm

  I have to say I am very satisified with this vehicle, I have had it for a month now and have about 2300 miles on it. I am getting a robust 34-35 MPG on highway miles, and 26-28 around town. The car is 100% made in Japan, which means it will last, 5 star safety, awesome stereo, I could go on and on!

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  2007 Acura RDX: My Experience - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Carey - September 20 - 2:39 pm

  My use of the car is limited to a 10 round trip commute to the office 5 days a week and about 150 miles of driving over the weekend. The car drives wonderfully and has great acceleration. Highway use is phenomenal. Extremely comfortable back support in the drivers seat which comes in handy for my bad back. Two gripes: first is the poor gas mileage (18-19 city driving is disappointing (but what did I expect when I bought a car with turbo, right?)) and the CD player isnt performing well. Still, all in all, its very fun to drive and sharp-looking.