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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  Inspire is a great car for the money - 1996 Acura TL
  By InspiredTiki - July 17 - 5:03 pm

  Got this car with 135k on it for $4k and had no real problems till just recently. Ball joint on psgr. side is squeaking, and steering rack leaks p/s fluid (leakstop stopped it tho). No really BIG issues though! Wish I found a 3.2 (drove my friends one, BIG difference!), but the 2.5 is ok. Acceleration is a bit sluggish, but it is over 3k lbs. Proper maintenance keeps this bad boy running smooth. Just replaced the console with the 3.2 premium wood console. Made a world of a difference in the cockpit!

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  I like it. - 2007 Acura RDX
  By wsdyer - July 17 - 2:49 pm

  Small enough to get around the beltway nasty traffic yet, big enough to allow you to see whats up ahead. The tech package is cool if your company allows you to synch your blackberry with your car - mine doesnt - ostensibly for security reasons. Even if the company doesnt, its worth it to get your own phone and just ignore theirs when it rings. She drives like a dream and looks very stylish. The only thing I dont like about her is really crappy gas mileage. Even when I am on the highway I get no more than 21 or 22 MPG.

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  BEST SO FAR - 2003 Acura MDX
  By teb - July 16 - 10:00 am

  GREAT AUTO ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE OWNED SO FAR

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  Great, fun, quality car - 2007 Acura MDX
  By lola9 - July 14 - 9:26 pm

  After 15 years of loyal Lexus ownership, I decided to give Acura a try - so far, this seems to be a very wise decision. MDX is a fun drive, fast, sporty, comfortable, and family friendly.

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  Great Car So Far! - 2008 Acura TL
  By Eric - July 14 - 8:33 pm

  So far this car is great. I got the Carbon Bronze Pearl, and it is a real looker. Im a little disappointed with the gas mileage so far, as Im coming from a 4 cylinder Honda Accord. Ive put about 100 miles on it and it seems Ive gone through about 1/3 of a tank of gas already. Although the "full" tank came from the dealership, so who knows how full it really was?

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  Beautiful car - 2001 Acura CL
  By dviperkrzy1 - July 14 - 2:49 pm

  With my personal experience of having different Honda made vehicles, I can say by far that the Acura CL Type S is one of Acuras best vehicles by far because of its balance of luxury and sport. I love to drive this car on the freeway and have it ride smooth even at 100. There was a transmission recall on the vehicle but as soon as the dealer changes the transmission for you for free no improvements needed.

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  Acura RL, the best choice in its class - 2005 Acura RL
  By Danny Martin - July 14 - 2:16 am

  Since the purchase of my Acura RL I have enjoyed many miles of user friendly technology, and exhilerating performance. The Acura RL offers the best interior styling of any of its competitors hands down. The graceful lines of the dash are carried through into the trim throughout the cabin. The ride is exceptionally quiet and smooth with just enough feedback from the tires to make for a fun drive. The performance from their superior V6 engine is exceptional when coupled with the RLs advanced SH all-wheel-drive system. Also, the navigation system has been flawless, the voice recognition is precise, and the bluetooth interface for my cell phone is beautifully simple.

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  1999 Acura RL premium - 1999 Acura RL
  By vincent - July 13 - 5:17 pm

  I have been driving for 30 years and have driven many high end cars. The 1999 Acura RL premium is one of the most exceptional cars I have driven. Mileage is good, build quality is excellent, the V6 power is sufficient and the car is loaded with luxury appointments including HID headlights. I will certainly purchase a newer model soon.

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  First Honda err, Acura but only here - 2007 Acura RL
  By DOneal - July 13 - 1:57 pm

  I love the car. It handles very well, a little sluggish compared to other car, MB CLK 430A, but is sufficient. I had a little bit of an initial quality problem, HID headlight on right side burned out first day or so. Car was due to go back for dealer add-ons, so no biggy. Was kinda shocked though. Key fob was nightmare for first two weeks. I made the mistake of initializing the car with driver 2s key rather than the #1 key, the car hated that. It would madly and incessantly lock/unlock and beep when I stood next to the car. Reinitialized the car to the driver 1 fob, and it hasnt happened since!

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  My Lucky Wife! - 2007 Acura TL
  By Jon L - July 13 - 10:09 am

  We were looking for a new car for my wifes commute and our weekends, something suitable for Wisconsin winters but attractive and sporty. No more minivans or SUVs - been doing that for years with kids. Came down to the BMW 328xi and the Acura, ultimately we decided to go with a fully loaded Acura for less money vs. a very basic BMW with no leather, power/heated seats, etc. We get lots of looks on the road - no Acura dealer for 100 miles, so its also unique here. So far she loves it!