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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  Happy TSX Owner - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Kim - December 20 - 12:31 pm

  Best value for the price. Loaded with standard features that are optional on other cars in the same class. This car has an "understated elegance". I would highly recommend the TSX to anyone in the market for a new vehicle who wants subtle sportiness with luxury.

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  2003 MDX Owners Report - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Edward A. Block - December 20 - 2:00 am

  No defects found....excellent 4WD system....good intergrated nav system...have owned several SUVs including 3 Monteros, an Expedition and a 4Runner. The MDX is the best all around vehicle of the group.

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  3.2TL - 2003 Acura TL
  By UNC1984 - December 20 - 2:00 am

  Really nice performing car...hard to get those slots in the alloys clean though.

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  Most Outstanding Vehicle!! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Carole Matter - December 19 - 7:30 pm

  I have owned a lot of nice vehicles, but the Acura MDX is my favorite vehicle Ive ever had! It does everything well. I have the navigation system on mine, which I personally would never want to be without again. Acura has the best one out there, in my opinion. I test drove a lot of cars and SUVs before I bought this one, and nothing compared. I have had 7 people in my car for a sightseeing trip, and it was wonderful. I also have had the challenge and fun of driving my MDX through blizzard conditions and on snow-packed, icy steep hills in Pittsburgh, PA, and I went down a very very steep hill in AWD and never even slid. The vehicle in front of me had gone down the hill sideways!

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  One Fine Vehicle - 2006 Acura TL
  By David J. - December 19 - 1:23 pm

  Im a hard to satisfy middle-aged male who grew up with performance cars of the 60s and 70s. Although so much more refined than my 70 Cougar (350 HP), 70 Nova SS (375 HP) and others, the TL gives me a little taste of what I used to know and love but with so much more refinement and luxury. The sounds of the V6 in the higher revs is really terrific. It sounds and pulls like a mid-size V8. I own very high-end home audio equipment & am quite satisfied with many quality DVD-A recordings on the factory system. The sound is far better than average. With well-mixed discs as source material, youll appreciate the 5.1 surround sound.

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  BEST CAR EVER!! - 2000 Acura TL
  By Liam - December 19 - 5:43 am

  My mom bought this Acura in December 1999. Drove it until my sister was 17. And it lasted 17 YEARS!! We had to trade it in this year because of a cylinder misfire. If that didnt happen I would of driven it. The thing I loved about it is the speaker quality. It was AMAZING. I would blast Kanye west and feel the subwoofer vibrate in my seat. I LOVED IT!!!!!

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  A very nice car - 2006 Acura TL
  By AN - December 19 - 12:57 am

  I bought the car for the sole reason I wanted a car that was reliable & would last me a long time since Im the type to buy a car and drive it into the ground rather than lease it. I wanted something low maintenace and affordable. I did a lot of reseach into comparable makes such as the Infiniti G35, Volvo S60 and Lexus ES, and none could match the price for what you get with the TL. I didnt have to deal with option packages, everything I wanted was included standard for one low-price and it was under a brand that was known for reliability. Its both sporty enough where you can go cruising on a weekend yet, practical enough where you can run your daily errands, albeit in a bit more style.

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  Very Nice vehicle - 2017 Acura RDX
  By Michael Marynowski - December 18 - 6:50 am

  This is a vehicle that compares to competing brands that are much more expensive. I bought this RDX while trading in my larger MDX. The biggest difference is this is the little brother to the MDX and does not have the 3rd row of seats and thus less cargo space as well. I didnt need the space and welcomed the smaller SUV with better gas mileage! If I have any complaint at all it is that the front driver seats appears to be much smaller than the one that was in my 2012 MDX. It has been taking me awhile to get used to it. The bigger MDX seemed to have more support particularly with a bigger seat body that went up to the back of my knees. Other than that the car is fantastic. First time having cooling ventilating front seats which is a joy during the hot days. Definitely go with the Advance Package. All the goodies that go with it are worth the price!

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  2005 rl - 2005 Acura RL
  By russo - December 18 - 5:40 am

  Very well designed and excellent quality. Best factory sound system in the industry

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  Great Car Overall - 2006 Acura RL
  By Don in VA - December 16 - 9:20 pm

  Smooth ride, great handling, beautiful interior and comes loaded with everything. Nav system is nice & easy to use. Interior is much nicer than my 530i, build quality is about same, but the paint finish is poor. Paint chips easily and is very thin vs BMWs. My wife has commented its much easier to drive than her BMW. RL looks great from the front, but looks too much like a Honda Accord from side view. The Acura rides and handles like a luxury car and the AWD gives you an added sense of security on wet and snowy roads. RL is an excellent value if discounted.