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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  Disappointed - 1999 Acura CL
  By Wil-Mem - August 11 - 2:24 pm

  My wife loves the car but Im very disappointed with trans. After driving an 86 Caravan and a 98 Buick LeSabre for over 300k miles each with never a trans service, I was certain this Acura would do the same. Wrong. Now it slipping on up-shift & down-shift. Brake pads & rotors do not hold up well. Had to replace left window roll- up device. Poor mileage for a 3.0L. Drivers seat memory has failed even after the seat motor & other items were replaced by Acura. Steering wheel radio controls correctly operate intermittently. Radio was replaced but did not help the problem. White paint is poor on metal parts but worse on bumpers.

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  Can it make 300K? - 1991 Acura Integra
  By Ratcar Owner - August 10 - 9:12 pm

  I affectionately call this my "ratcar" because Ive had it for over 17 years. Has 217,000+ miles on it. Replaced all the usual parts plus cv-joints, radiator, antenna, radio, struts/springs. But, the engine is original and the clutch is still the one that come with the car. It is an awesome car.

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  Nice Car - 2006 Acura TSX
  By John - August 10 - 7:36 pm

  This truly is a sport sedan. A little of a rougher ride, but handles like a sports car. Acura really did a great job with all the amenities, and keep the price under $30,000.00, which is where all the other cars in its class are. What a deal, and the dependability of dring a Glorified Honda, can not beat it. Traded in a 99 E320 4Matic, once in a life time, everyone should feel the joy and the pain of driving a Mercedes, never again. The maintance costs to drive a German vehicle are insane. Thank You Acura, for putting such a nice car package together. Recommend getting the 6 speed manual,and no need to worry about the car only being 4 cylinders, plenty of power, Sample this car last,& buy

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  Great Car. - 2005 Acura TL
  By Jeremy - August 9 - 11:06 pm

  I was deciding between the TSX and TL, once I drove both, there was no comparison, the TL was a bigger engine and much smoother ride. The fit and finish is also far above the TSX.

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  I hate to get rid of it - 2002 Acura TL
  By Sharon - August 9 - 10:58 pm

  Bought this car new in October 2001 in Aegean Blue. I still get compliments on it all the time. It has a wonderfully large trunk that has been hard to match in other cars. I have driven many other near luxury cars and have found nothing else that compares. Recently I have had some "problems" both with the transmission and what I believe may be the fuel pump. The car does goes through brakes quickly. Overall, it has been my favorite car of all time and I really hate to think of selling it but I think the time has come. I have never kept a car anywhere near this long if that tells you how great of a car this has been.

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  Great Downsizing - 2003 Acura RL
  By GregD - August 9 - 12:13 pm

  I have just recently downsized from much larger and more expensive vehicles. I have taken a huge hit in my business which forced me to look for something nice, but less pricey to own and operate. I almost bought a 2003 Lexus LS430 but Im glad I didnt. I bought this Acura with 90k miles and to my amazement it runs like a brand new car. There isnt a thing wrong with it and it rides and handles perfect. The great thing is that most people who have these cars are 1 owner, well taken care of cars and if you find one with high miles that is in great shape you can buy it so cheap and you have such a great car for the money. I paid 1/2 of the price of the Lexus.

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  Farewell to the best car Ill ever own - 1995 Acura Integra
  By ken - August 7 - 9:51 pm

  I felt obligated to write a review after selling my 95 Integra. I really hope this review will help others who are considering buying a used Integra. I bought her back in 2003 with 115k (paid about $5k and hoped for the best). Most Ford/GMC fans thought this was high due to the year and mileage, but I owned a 91 Civic, so I was pretty comfortable wth my decision. Ive only had to do normal service to this car over the past 4.5 yrs. The Integra will be remembered as one of the greatest cars ever built, period! I come from experience with other cars: I own a 90 Mustang GT and entire family drives US cars.

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  Ups and downs - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Alex - August 7 - 6:59 pm

  First thing I want to say is that this SUV handles better than a vehicle this large and high should. Honda/Acura did a great job with the suspension and driver aids. The interior space is very nice. This car is wider than most of the competition so that translates into more passenger comfort when you have more than two passengers in the back seat. The third row is fine for kids or adults on short trips. I am disappointed in the gas mileage. In the city I am lucky to get over 12 mpg. On the highway I get about 19. Nowhere near the numbers advertised. I also find it pretty pathetic that a $40K+ vehicle has fake plastic wood. I have had panel gap issues.

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  So Far, So Good - 2008 Acura MDX
  By MSW - August 7 - 3:10 pm

  The car is very comfortable even for a 66" guy like myself. The "sit test" eliminated many other models. Ive only had it for 2 weeks, but so far, no major complaints. I got 17.3 MPG on the first tank in mostly rush hour traffic which was surprising.

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  08 Acura TL-S - 2008 Acura TL
  By Rob - August 7 - 6:56 am

  I was leaning toward the base TL with Navi, but after test-driving both the base TL and the S it was all over. I drove the S first and the base TL really lacked the torque off the line. This is a great commuter car, comfortable yet sporty. I have the Crystal White Pearl with the Ebony/Silver Interior. I get compliments on the exterior color with its iridescence. I have about 900 miles on it now and the trip computer is telling me that for the past 650 miles (reset this after the initial tank of gas from the dealer) my MPG are 26! My commute is mixed city/highway (Philadelphia to NW Suburbs, 27 miles one-way).