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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  loving it - 2004 Acura TL
  By doct - September 15 - 2:00 am

  I just upgraded to the 2004 Acura TL from a Honda Accord. What a pleasure to drive. I have had a wonderful experience and I hope that this positive experience continues.

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  Go Ahead Buy One! - 2004 Acura TL
  By JoeMac - September 15 - 2:00 am

  Originally ordered TSX. Liked it very much. Had to wait a couple of months, then decided to wait a little longer once TL was announced. I drove automatic transmission, loved the style of the car, but felt transmission lacked performance that I was looking for. Waited for and purchased 1st available 6-speed manual transmission. Absolutely, love it. I am sure that there will be times in Bay area traffic that I am frustrated with stick shift, but generally speaking the driving experience is far superior as per my tastes,

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  Great car- couldnt be happier - 2004 Acura TL
  By goldband - September 15 - 2:00 am

  This is probably the best car Ive owned. It has excellent driving dynamics, a really comfortable and gorgeous interior, and the new techie features are awesome-- bluetooth phone and DVD-A audio.

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  Great Value! - 2006 Acura TL
  By ECB - September 14 - 8:46 pm

  I previously drove a 2002 BMW 330i premium/sport. After owning the car for four years I grew weary of the hard ride and the expensive repairs. Though I do miss rear wheel drive, the TL has been a great car so far. All the electronic features are amazing. Bluetooth, Navi, voice recognition, all work perfectly. The car is considerably more comfortable than the BMW. Good power. Average about 25MPG. No noticeable torque steer which is typical to front-wheel drive cars.

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  My first car, drove it 2 years... - 1996 Acura RL
  By Joel - September 14 - 2:32 pm

  I bought this car two years ago as my first vehicle ever. Spent $5000, and it had 150,000 miles on it (or was it 125?). Whatever the case, I now have 172,000 on it, and the AC still works. The man I bought it from had kept it immaculate - even the engine was clean. I ended up with some body damage in the rear, but drove it several thousand more miles. The only problem is in the power steering, now... theres a leak that reached a peak, and I would have to pay $600 to replace the part/ seals. That would certainly be worth it for a car with this much comfort/power and life left in it, if it werent for the $3000 body damage. Moving on to a Civic for better mpg, and less miles on it

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  Youll never want another car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By lovemyintegra - September 14 - 11:37 am

  I bought this car at an auction and it was obvious the old owner wasnt as in love with it as I am and just beat it to crap, but after about $500 in polish three years ago this little gem is still going up hills, down, and the one time it snowed (more than a foot) my baby wasnt even concerned. ItÂ’s great for getting me back and forth to my classes and great for gloating. I fill it up once a month maybe twice and I dont live close to my job or school. I do all the daily maintenance and even thats not expensive. Seriously, if youre on the fence, get this car.

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  in time revamp - 2005 Acura RL
  By greg - September 13 - 7:50 am

  Awesome handling,smooth ride with all the creature comforts.

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  Im not impressed - 1998 Acura Integra
  By beardog - September 12 - 12:35 pm

  We bought this LS with 55,000 and it now has 121,000. I like the handling and performance and the fuel mileage. It drives great in the N. New England winters. With good snow tires you can go anywhere. The maintenance is excessive. Adjust valves every 30,000! The 90,000 recommended maintenance (I follow the factory recommended maintenance schedule like exactly) cost $940 at the dealer! Ive replaced the power steering pump, the right front wheel bearing, (twice!), the left rear wheel bearing, the right rear brake caliper, the left rear abs sensor & the abs light still comes on intermittently. This car has been expensive to maintain. I wouldnt buy again.

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  Love it! Just cant afford it. - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Cone - September 12 - 12:28 pm

  I bought this used 3 years ago, from a known and trusted private seller. At first I loved everything except the cost of fuel. It takes Premium, and gulps it at about 19-21 miles/gallon. I love the handling, energy, road feel, nav system, visibility... it is a great ride and I love driving it. Its great safety ratings made my insurance stay the same as the previous car, which was worth 10% of what the R cost me. Heres the problem. I just hit 90,000 miles, and stuff is starting to break. Notably, the A/C compressor... between $900-$1100 to replace. I had to do an inner tie rod. There is something wrong with a strut. There are things going weird with some of the technology, such as the backup sensor system and the driver memory and the map display. My guess about the strut and tie rod is that a road hazard strike a couple of years ago has come back to haunt me. My guess about the technology is that 2008 was an early year in the introduction of some of this stuff. Finally, sad to say, this was my first non-Japanese-made Acura, and its fit and finish are just not as good as the two Integras I had that were actually built in Japan.

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  Fun but torquey - 2007 Acura TL
  By Blackjack - September 11 - 1:14 pm

  Very reliable, fun and peppy car to drive. Nice stereo. The front end torque is something I really have to stay conscious of - I end up all over the road, squealing tires, if I try to gun it. Also, need to exchange low profile tires for winter tires (in New England) or I will not be able to navigate in the snow - I spent most of my first winter at the bottom of my driveway and I bent a $400 alloy rim. Goes out of alignment very easily (again, NE has pot holes). TL-S very close to ground, bottoming out can be an issue. I think I will keep it but get an SUV for winter.