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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  Best all around car ever - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Mike - April 6 - 8:41 pm

  My girlfriend and I have never been so pleased with a car. We traded in our Audi A4 for the TSX and fell in love with the comfort and technology. We use bluetooth all the time and the nav system blows everything else out of the water. Acuras navigation system is honestly the absolute best on the market. I cant wait to see what they come out with next.

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  The best car - 2002 Acura TL
  By sign90 - April 6 - 9:30 am

  Love it , Love it, Love it

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  Acura has done it again! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By I love Acura - April 4 - 1:29 pm

  I cant say enough about the new RDX! I absolutely love this vehicle! This is my 4th Acura and they keep getting better. Everyone interested in an SUV should put this on their list! Once they drive it, they wont be looking anywhere else!

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  A car for the entire family, outstanding - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Familyof5 - April 3 - 11:20 pm

  The perfect car for one seeking comfort, safety, luxury, performance, handling, fuel efficiency and reliability while proving to be exhilirating to drive. We were looking for a safe car which appealed to the entire family and the TSX is that car. The ideal car which you can drive to work daily (fuel efficiency) yet on the weekends as a luxury performance car. Safe car with Stability Control and front/side airbags. We would purchase this car again without question, no regrets. Outstanding quality and workmanship. Interior and exterior top notch, reflection of Acura (Honda) quality. We highly recommend that one test drive a TSX if searching for an outstanding compact you will be pleased

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  Best car in this price range you can get - 2004 Acura RSX
  By SiR-DC5 - April 3 - 2:00 am

  I had a 3rd gen Integra before this RSX Type S. The first thing I noticed on this RSX-S is that Acura addressed every complaints I have on the Integra and made some more improvements on top it. It has enough power to get around or to pass on highway. And it comes with great standard features. I couldnt find a car that has better value, performance, reliability, and features at this price range.

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  Best car I could have chosen. - 2004 Acura TL
  By Jeff Burnell - April 3 - 2:00 am

  As a Realtor I spend much of time in my car. The Acura TL is one of the most comfortable cars I have owned. Its so well equipped, and quite inpressive to my clients with all of its standard luxuries. I chose to have the navigational system included for obvious reasons. It has been much easier to learn to operate than I had anticipated. The audio system with DVD Audio is incredible, I have never heard anything like it.

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  Performance - 2004 Acura TL
  By free - April 3 - 2:00 am

  The only changes that need to be made are wheel rear drive and more torque. With the power of 270 hp, but only 237 torque, Acura could get the same performance as the G35 coupe. However, with front wheel drive I can understand why Acura chose not to put more power in the TL. Hopefully the future will also include 18" tires and rims as an option. Should you want 18" now you must pay the entire cost of the 18" rims and tires.

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  BEST Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By Doug Woods - April 3 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car. Works and drives wonderful.. Youll love how you feel in it. People love you how LOOK in it..

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  Awesome! Powerful and Smootgh - 2004 Acura TL
  By JOHN OBUDZINSKI - April 3 - 2:00 am

  great styling. very powerful. Love the manuel shift. So smooth.sExcellent features, such as FM XM Satellite radio, DVD audio 5:1 surround sound and bluetooth ready handsfree phone. Very comfortable and solid suspension. Car corners wonderfully. Fun to drive. Makes driving exciting. I now look forward to driving to work everyday.

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  I Love It - 2004 Acura TL
  By Bred - April 3 - 2:00 am

  This car handles quietly and precisely. I love it and recommend it!