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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  Fun, Luxurious, Affordable. - 2006 Acura TSX
  By speedracer3 - June 21 - 3:06 am

  Ive thought long & hard before buying this car and have driven the competition. The TSX does everything right, its quick , handles great, it is luxurious and wont break the bank. My only complaint so far is that fuel economy is not that great for a 4 cyl car. The car is fully loaded, every luxury feature that I wanted is there. The car looks especially good with a spoiler and the parchment interior with wood trim rounds out the luxury look. I would recommend this car to anybody looking for fun to drive, affordable sporty sedan.

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  Perfect mix - 2007 Acura RDX
  By jfc - June 20 - 9:49 pm

  Acceleration, handling, comfort and utility. Limited capacity is not a surprise based on the size. 20 mpg mixed driving - aggressive at times but not needless (like racing to a stop light). Stiff ride took a whole week to get used to and one more to love.

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  Another Acura - 2007 Acura TL
  By Peter - June 20 - 7:04 pm

  This is Acura number 4 for me. These car are incredibly reliable and great to own. The TL comes with virtually every option that all of the competition puts into pricey packages. I put in a lot of miles every year and comfort is a priority. The TL is extremely driver/passenger friendly. The ride is smooth and the shifting is seamless. Navigation and voice activated system is very good. No more fumbling for phone or headset since everything is hands-free and controlled from steering wheel. Design is pretty conservative but not bad. Mileage is better than last TL even with more horsepower. Currently I get about 28 mpg hwy and 25 overall.

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  Sweet Ride!! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By annlee - June 20 - 5:11 pm

  Exceeds every SUV I compared to. It either has it better or less expensive. This car has every feature you can think of. The DVD surround stereo is amazing (front and rear can be operated separately by driver). I am having so much fun driving it. My husband is always trying to find a reason to drive it. We traded a 99 Landcruiser and the insurance only increased $100 over the 6mos... WOW!! This car has excellent safety ratings along with an alarm system that cuts off the fuel supply.

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  I Love It! - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Hannah Acey - June 20 - 4:34 pm

  Although I havent owned my integra for long, I have absolutely no complaints about it (apart from the small center console). It handles great, as well as having impressive performance and awesome reliability!

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  Unbelievable - 2007 Acura MDX
  By pete - June 19 - 4:18 pm

  Just bought this vehicle and it is best Ive ever owned. m getting 18.5 MPG. For 300 hp, no complaints there. I got the base and added roofrack, crossbars, sport rails and daynight mirror and still came in literally 15k less than BMW, 7k less than Lexus (RX 350). Great ride, great warranty, great afterownership services through Acura. Safest SUV on road, Make this your last test drive and you will buy it no other automaker can justify the price difference.

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  Finally a good purchase! - 2007 Acura TL
  By mhoule2732 - June 19 - 8:31 am

  To start off, I owned a 2003 Type S as well. I drove the car to 100,000 miles with only 1 problem (a broken axle). I loved the car but sold due to the higher mileage and purchased a 2003 Audi A4 6cyl 3.0 engine. I never liked it and kept only 5 months. I test drove the G35x, IS 350, BMW 3 series, and FX35 Infiniti and chose the Type S again. This car is very fast and fun to drive. The handling is great but the ride is just OK, but I guess if you dont want that type of ride buy the regular TL (still happy). Really no complaints but I do only get about 19 MPG. I guess thats not too bad considering how impossible it is to not drive like a complete maniac.

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  Very Nice SUV - 2007 Acura MDX
  By ToddB - June 18 - 11:24 pm

  Recently traded in my Lexus RX 350 for the 2007 MDX. Living in the mountains of Utah I need something comparable to a dog sled. Also needed reliability. Not as smooth as my Lexus, but plenty of power for the steep roads (manual comes in handy). Love the styling. Its the most unique vehicle on the road - some may say unique = ugly! Takes a while to learn the tech stuff. 19 MPG mixed driving, mostly city. Overall, very pleased.

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  Exactly Right - 2007 Acura RDX
  By swiftfootedperseus - June 17 - 6:52 pm

  I really wanted something that had some get-up-and-go and was fun to drive in the mountains. This really fills the bill. Yes, the ride is stiff, but its nearly as much fun to drive as my wifes Mini Cooper, which is saying a lot. In addition, its got one of the best sound systems Ive heard. Dont worry about the road noise.

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  Beautiful!! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By acurafan - June 17 - 12:19 pm

  Just purchased the Acura RDX with Tech Package. The moment I drove it off the lot, I knew I had made the right choice. Beautiful, smooth but powerful engine, excellent handling for an SUV and quick pickup make this a great ride. The tech package is worth it, the voice recognition rocks and you rarely need to touch any of the menu buttons so long as you know the voice commands. Plenty of room in the back seats and they fold down giving even more room. Great, sturdy car!