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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  Reliable, Well Built and Almost Fun!!! - 2001 Acura TL
  By JLO - November 4 - 11:33 am

  I loved this vehicle since it came out in 96, but could not afford it back then. I finally got a pre-owned one in 2004 with only 20K miles in it. I took it to the dealership for the warranty tranny to add the cooling oil jet for the 3rd gear and never had a problem. Its a great car, reliable, comfortable, nice craftsmanship and powerful, but a bit too large for my taste as I like to corner it hard. My next vehicle will be an Acura TSX, Honda Accord or Civic SI.

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  Absolute Dream - 2005 Acura NSX
  By Shawn So. Cal - November 3 - 5:18 pm

  Ive had this car for almost 1 year. The drive is superb, tight, quick, and responsive. The style and attention to detail of the body hasnt been matched. Everywhere you go, people comment. One catch, it is mainly guys that comment, women have no clue what they are seeing, so if your goal is to attract women, buy a Ferrari or a Porsche. The women that do notice tend to know a lot about the history of the car and what it is. The look and feel of the drive is awesome. Recently drove an M6 with over 500hp and love the NSX even more. You feel like you are one with the road. The NSX is an extension of you and your skills. Anyone considering this car drive the others first, and you will see

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  Glad I leased it! - 2008 Acura TSX
  By TL - November 2 - 11:42 am

  Previous vehicles were all VWs so you can imagine my surprise that I now have a reliable vehicle. I love the way the car handles on the road and the pick up is a plus. The interior is very comfortable as I am 5"10" tall and dont at all feel cramped. Got a great deal at the end of the year and liked the 08 model much more than the "09 model that was about to come out.

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  Excellent Cruiser - 2002 Acura RL
  By Z - October 31 - 2:41 pm

  It is my second Acura. First 2 dr. legend made to 232K mi without any major hiccups. This one done well till 75k so far. I bought it preowned with 19K 3 years ago. Great highway cruiser, and comfortable one. Build quality - Honda at its best. Extremely low maintenance car, especially for the large luxury segment. Mileage is still 18 city and 24 highway on premium gas. Brakes lasted 56k mi front and 72kmi rear. Highly recommend!

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  My 97 Acura - 1997 Acura CL
  By James Strosnider - October 31 - 2:00 pm

  Great car. I have had many years of enjoyment with this car. It has been fairly inexpensive to maintain and extremely dependable. It,s looks have held up fine, as the vehicle did not change that much over the years. Overall, a very good buy for the price.

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  Best in Class and for the Money, reliabl - 2004 Acura TL
  By nemavezee - October 30 - 4:25 pm

  My 4th Acura so far, and will keep buying them Ive had no problems with this car at all, currently at 76,000 miles. Minor issue was clutch master cylinder wasnt smooth after a while. Still worked fine, but dealer replaced under ext warranty at 72,000 miles. Brembo brakes are awesome on the 6- speed, only issue is brake dust, but not too bad. Heated seats are great, could use cooled seats. Amazing reliability - havent had to replace HIDs yet, or any other light bulb. Handling is awesome, nav system is perfect, bluetooth works great. DVD audio system awesome, but not enough dvda discs out there. Lacks MP3 capability and iPod/aux jacks. Best car purchase ever!

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  Another great Acura - 2008 Acura MDX
  By nemavezee - October 30 - 4:08 pm

  Traded in 04 Pilot which was an extremely great vehicle - but this is sooooo much better. This handles like a sports car, when in sport mode. There is no wind or road noise. No rattles. OK fuel economy, considering its an suv. SH-AWD is truly amazing combined with Dynamic Ride Control in sport mode. My other car is an 04TL 6MT/nav - no issues, love the car. Looked at Audi Q7 before MDX and I liked it, but MDX felt better during test drive, and handling is better on MDX. Acceleration seems smoother with MDX, and feels more powerful at any speed. Transmission (too bad only 5 speed) is very smooth This is my 4th Acura so far - and so far very pleased with all of them.

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  Perfect car - 2008 Acura TL
  By Average comsumer - October 30 - 10:10 am

  Actually the TL is my wifes car but I can tell when she is in love. For her, it is just the right size, has just the right equipment, has just the right amount of power, and behaves/feels like it is part of her. It is a nice looking car without being too flashy.

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  GREAT - 2005 Acura TL
  By Edwin Lappi - October 30 - 12:06 am

  This car handles and drives like a sport car. The interior room is ample for a tall person. The car looks like a streamline machine, and in black, it looks menecing on the highway.

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  The best!!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By LovinLife - October 29 - 6:00 am

  I love my new car!! It was just a bit more expensive than its cousin the Accord V6, but what a difference. Bose 6 cd sound system, peppy sport shift, and it is stunning. Beautiful car with beautiful lines and dual chrome exhaust.