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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  NOT an Integra - 2003 Acura RSX
  By 62" - April 7 - 2:00 am

  After owning an Integra for a while I can tell you that this car misses the mark.The shifter clunks into second gear (all others are good)the seats are fair at best and the ride/road noise/sound system are all poor.There is a HUGE gap in power between 3000 and 5000 RPM. I should have bought another Integra.

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  Acura should be ashamed... - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mike - April 6 - 7:38 pm

  Owner of 1 Honda & 1 Acura, used to love their products, but now, not so much. Heres a list of the problems I had with a Brand New 2005 Acura TL, the car has 9000 miles right now: -Replaced Heat Shield, Intermediate Shaft,Audio Unit, Rear Deck -Seized Calipers, Warped Rotors -Transmission Problems since the car had 1000 miles on it, had to have that replaced. -Rattles all over the place inside the car, really annoying to have to listen to while driving. -Acura Customer Service Is Pretty PATHETIC!! They dont help at all. OVERALL: BEST LOOKING CAR ON THE ROAD RIDE QUALITY OK BUILD QUALITY HORRIBLE TRANSMISSIONS STILL HAVE PROBLEMS TOO MANY RATTLES CUSTOMER SERVICE HORRIBLE

• 

  Mixed Expirience - 2005 Acura TSX
  By G Gagnon - March 31 - 12:44 am

  I initially loved my TSX, but regretably the ownership expirience has turned out to be quite frustrating. My copy has an idle vibration unbecoming of a $30K car. It also quickly developed brake issues in first 15K miles. Vehicle also makes high pitched whining sound at speed. Told brake grinding sound and vibration were normal. Dealer blame for whine goes to tires. Dealer no help with regards to any of these issues -- "talk to Michellin". Climate control display shows incorrect temperature (by about 5 degrees). Will trade in on something else within the coming weeks.

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  Stay Away From Used 2003 TL-S - 2003 Acura TL
  By Motley - March 25 - 4:31 pm

  Nearing the end of my lease on an 03 TL-S. Got it because dealer was marking down vehicles to make way for new 04s. Didnt research the vehicle beforehand as much as I usually do. So far, dealer has replaced the decal stripping around all exterior windows, the drivers side window controls replaced, clock light is out, seats squeak when driving over bumps, 6-disc CD has been on the fritz for months. I have been to the dealership 3x for the CD player, and they have had to re-order the unit because replacement doesnt work, or theyve used it to repair the stereos in other cars. The tranny is now frozen in Park, will take it in on Monday. Do not buy 03 or prior year TL.

• 

  Nice car but getting old - 1991 Acura Integra
  By brealndt - March 20 - 7:01 pm

  Bought my car through a friend. It has had all of the hoses replaced along with the radiator. However after 15 years it has blown suspension bushings including the RTA. Neither of the cooling fans turn on. Clutch is heavy and shifting is hard due to worn shifter rods. All in all for a car this old and with 168000 not a bad car.

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  Over-rated to be sure! - 2004 Acura TL
  By DMai - February 28 - 4:38 pm

  After a year and a half of disappointment and multiple trips to the service department, I finally gave up and sold it. Never before have I been so disappointed with an automobile. It promised so-ohhh much and fell so-ohhh far short. Many of the features were great (sound system is Wow), but the daily "Driving Experience" was miserable. Stumbling and hesitation in around-town driving was awful. The service department basically blew me off and did nothing. I found a nice little 5 series Bimmer to replace it. Love it!! What a costly mistake... oh well. We live and learn. dmm

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  Dont let them fool you this is a truck! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By atlas - February 27 - 10:13 am

  I have had many Acuras even a new NSX, an RL etc. and this car is a disappointment overall and after one year I am looking to trade it for something different. Here are my complaints- 1) NOISY on the road-- wind noise from the rearview mirrors, tire noise that is mindnumbing after 30 miles 2) a sloshing noise from the fuel tank which is insulting for a car over $40,000 -- unforgiveable 3) Some sort of noise from the brakes after you back up-- dealer says they have to reset or some story 4) XM radio cannot be scrolled through the stations numerically with the station titles displaying quickly- it takes seconds for the station title to display. 5) Voice activated is a joke-- hardly works-

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  Please Fixed it!! - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Nameless - February 24 - 3:20 am

  Guys, Dun get this car if u are considering.. because you and your car will spend most of the time in the dealership. The car has a strut problem and never going to be fixed. And you probably heard rattle noise when driving on bumpy roads. The tires skid when accelerate... so.... Think again when buying RSX and RSX-S

• 

  Great Left Brain Car!!! - 1997 Acura RL
  By Joe - February 17 - 2:09 am

  This car is very Reliable,comfortable,roomy,and did I mention reliable, but that is pretty much it.The window regulator in the rear driver window went out and some bulbs in the dash, but thats it!The car is built well enough and is Reliable!NO soul stirring emotion though.You could take it home to meet mom but is a lousy date!!!This has got to be the most boring car I have ever owned.The engine is slow off the line and it corners like a hearse,but its reliable!I recommend it for the reliability but thats it.It screams HONDA and is not worth the original sticker.Good thing I bought it used and only for business.It is a passionless yet reliable car!!!

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  RL full of electrical gremlins - 2006 Acura RL
  By NewRL - February 16 - 4:19 pm

  My RL has proven to be a myriad of gadget glitches. No doubt the RL is a quality constructed vehicle, however this does not extend to the electronic gizmos of Acura’s flagship. The voice recognition does not work properly it is a cumbersome and time consuming system, frequented by voice interpretation errors. The 300hp VTEC is sluggish, and has a very annoying 2- 3 second mid-range acceleration lag. Dealer service says “they all do that.” It is sluggish and lacks torque. Self adjusting headlights cause some serious safety concerns. Acura missed the target here, and RL sales are showing it. Look to the Infinity M for a true sports-luxury car.