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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  A year with the new TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By kershnersk - August 13 - 4:06 pm

  After a full year of owning the 04 TL, I have only two complaints. First, is the lack of a trip computer feature integrated into the nav system. Some product manager just got it very wrong to put the trip computer into the message center instead of the nav system like the Honda Accord. Luckily, you can work around this by booting the nav system into the Honda version, just change a couple of file names on a CD-R and presto - you have the Honda nav features including the trip computer with real-time mpg bar graph. My second gripe is the way the driver door springs back at you as you attempt to open the door. No workaround or adjustment according to Acura.

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  Best choice on cars ever made - 2005 Acura TL
  By Brian in WA - August 13 - 3:30 pm

  With some apprehension I handed over the money to purchase this. It was the most Id ever spent for a car. It performs great around corners and in a panic stop the other day the brakes and antilock combination saved a hit with the car in front. I get many comments from lookers with the blue exterior & tan leather interior, a European look I at first did not like. But sometimes being different is a good thing. Power... plenty to get you out of a tight spot. Was almost going to get a BMW 330 but this offered more bang for the buck and maintenance will not require you go to the bank for a loan to fix something.

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  Acura Got This One Right! - 2009 Acura TL
  By Acura...EXACURA!!! - August 13 - 4:26 am

  I was in the market for a new sedan and shopped Infiniti G37 and Lexus ES. Stumbled onto the re-designed TL and...WOW!!! This car is a real eye-catcher. Bold new lines, aggressive styling, and it drives like it has more than 280HP. I decided to buy it after one test drive. Very fun to drive, and really decent mileage for a car with this much zip. I love this TL!

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  Acura hit the Sweet Spot - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Mike - August 13 - 1:15 am

  This is our second TSX (we have a 2004) and we couldnt be more pleased with this car. We considered Audi A4, Lexus IS 250 and BMW 3-Series before settling on a second TSX. They each had their strong points, but none of them really balanced the equation of price, performance, economy, features and reliability that the TSX manages. This has got to be the hidden gem of the Acura lineup. Check it out or you may just be disappointed with your next purchase!

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  2003 Acura MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Shirley Hoskins - August 11 - 1:24 pm

  This car drives like a breeze. I had a BMW prior to this MDX and I like the MDX much better. I like Acuras so much, I will never drive anything else.

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  RSX w/leather - 2004 Acura RSX
  By JohnnyH - August 10 - 10:00 am

  Great car. Fun to drive and 165hp is more than enough. Can keep up with 200hp cars easily. Great deal too for all the amenities you get.

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  What the BMW 5 series should have been! - 2004 Acura TL
  By crvols - August 10 - 2:00 am

  I drove this car after having looked at it for a couple of months and was sold. The car is quiet and comfortable, yet rides and performs like the European cars we have owned. Having an MDX gave us confidence in the build quality and retained value, so it was an easy decision to become a two- Acura family. If the BMW 530 I drove was as good as this, it might be worth the extra $18,000.

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  WHY BUY A LEXUS - 2004 Acura TL
  By Big Al - August 10 - 2:00 am

  I am 55 and still like a sporty car yet luxury. This is the car, quality,reliability, absolutly gorgous. This may be no it is the best car for the money in its class. In fact this is the best car I ever owned.I am buying a second one tomorrrow

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  Excellent car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By indiglo - August 9 - 2:13 am

  Great all around car

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  Great Car - 2017 Acura RLX
  By Bob - August 9 - 1:18 am

  Traded in a 2012 Acura TL . The 2017 Acura RLX is just a perfect Car. It is quiet has a lot of power and a great car for the price. Tested a Lexus GS350 but the Acura RLX is much better.