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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  I love this car! - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Jackson - May 6 - 2:34 pm

  Absolutely wonderful car! I got mine with 112k miles on it and it feels like its just gotten broken in. Its a blast to drive with the 5 spd and the 8k rpm redline. The only complaints would be the cupholders and the radio antenna. The gears got stripped or something and it makes a grinding kind of noise. The Integra is an amazing car and if you can find one unmolested like I did, youll be in for many years of pure driving pleasure!

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  Awesome TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By Chip - May 4 - 11:24 pm

  Ive had my TL for a little over a year now. I love this car. Ive only owned Acuras, so Im a little biased. My last car was a Legend, so Im used to Acuras quality. Love the sound system, navigation, and HID headlights. I also got the A Spec package (best decision Ive made), I get looks all the time at the 18 inch rims. Was thinking about Nissan Maxima, Infiniti G35, and Mercedes C350. Decided on Acura which was the best decision. Plus the reliability has been outstanding. Never in the shop except for one service at 12000 miles (I use synthetic oil).

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  Acura is da bomb - 1996 Acura Integra
  By ann - May 4 - 9:20 am

  I love my Integra. She has not let me down yet! Highly recommended. The only downfall is it is one of the top stolen cars. Other than that, its a great and fun car to have.

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  Good Vehicle - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Trailman - May 3 - 12:03 pm

  Very happy with it so far. My gas mileage has not been as bad as some others report: 17 mpg.

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  Whew, So happy to have gotten it. - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Greenboy - May 2 - 9:00 pm

  Just got the car last weekend and am having a great time. This car is quick and responsive yet has all the versatility I need. I go over a mountain/hill in Berkeley/Oakland every day and it is a joy to drive through the woods, taking curves and downshifting manually on the downhills.

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  What an SUV - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Drew - May 2 - 5:30 pm

  Just purchased our 2007 MDX with tech package... what an amazing car. This car has every feature you can think of. The DVD surround stereo is amazing. This car is actually fun to drive, and the handling is like no SUV I have ever driven (Dodge, Chevy, Toyota, BMW). The turning radius is amazing, take a corner and push the gas and just smile. I have three kids ages 14, 12 and 9 and we have plenty of room. The ease of use with the voice activation system for GPS, stereo, climate is second to none. Acura knows how to build a car!

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  I love this vehicle !!! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By shag - May 2 - 2:00 am

  We had to wait 5 long months before we took home our beautiful MDX, but it was well worth the wait. Cant say enough great things about this SUV. It is so comfortable and easy to drive. Not to mention it is pretty classy looking to boot. I especially love the ease of raising/lowering the seats to fit our trunk needs.

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  Wow!!! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By JohnnyT - May 1 - 12:09 pm

  I cant believe I am saying this, but I love this vehicle! This coming from a man who wouldnt even consider an Acura product. My allegiance has always been with my Bavarian brothers but this time I wanted to be different, and besides the Wifey got the new X-5. Surprisingly enough my sled holds its own with the X-5 and its horsepower advantage. Especially using my Sports packages features gets me through the Malibu hills quite spiritedly. Enough oomph to pass on the freeways of LA and enough panache to park at your trendy diners around town. It just blends in rather than the opulent massive bohemoths like Caddies and Rovers crowding our beloved city. Overall, the SUV is a fine vehicle.

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  Acura RDX is an awesome small SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Albert - May 1 - 9:39 am

  RDX is quick and nimble, acceleration feels like v6, it corners like its on rails, suspension is nice & stiff, and it has a great turning radius.

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  Awesome Car Great Value! - 2017 Acura TLX
  By Paul - May 1 - 5:00 am

  I dont understand why edmunds isnt giving the TLX more love, guess they are too caught up in the Audi BMW and Benz bandwagon and turbo craze. I have a 2013 Honda CR-V and love Hondas and decided it was time to upgrade the wifes car from a Mustang to this. Great decision the 4 cylinder has tremendous power even though I thought long and hard about going w the 6, the technology package is definitely worth the extra bucks for all the safety features and technology that comes w it. Absolutely love this car all the way around