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 Performing SUV for the money!! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By ggsdrummer - November 17 - 10:46 pm

  I test drove the BMW X3, X5, owned the Honda Pilot 2006. Once I saw this new MDX I had to test drive it. The SH-AWD really is impressive. It corners under acceleration like nothing Ive driven before. Ived owned a couple BMWs and we just bought for my wife a 2007 328ci with sport suspension. Im amazed at how well the MDX holds its own with the little sports car as far as feel and road holding under extreme cornering. Brakes are great. The third row is nice in a pinch for small trips.

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  TSX In A Word: Balance - 2004 Acura TSX
  By PeteA - November 17 - 3:20 pm

  If youre looking for the fastest or most-likely-to-be-envied-by-your- buddies, keep looking. The TSX is all about balance between engine, transmission, handling, brakes, economy, and luxury. Having driven all of its competitors, none do those things as well as this superb Acura. No wonder Car & Driver keeps voting it a 10-Best winner. Ive had my 04 for two years, and I look forward to my commute every day. How many cars do that for you?

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  LOVE THE TSX - 2006 Acura TSX
  By AirBearEC7 - November 16 - 4:25 pm

  Have to say that I love the TSX both my sister and I have one. I got one first, and then when looking for my sisters car, we all realized there is no better deal than the TSX, it has everything that one needs, its classy, but fun, and the price isnt out there. This car is a keeper.

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  Great Value - 2003 Acura TL
  By DeezNets25 - November 16 - 3:30 pm

  Great acceleration, excellent ride quality, quiet ride, tons of room.

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  Unbeatable at Anywhere Near its Price - 2006 Acura TSX
  By NormanS - November 16 - 2:51 pm

  The TSX displays a marvelous balance between smooth power delivery, sure-footed handling, braking, responsive steering, and comfort this balance is what makes the TSX fun to drive. Besides fun, it comes loaded with just about every feature standard, provides high reliability, and low TCO for a luxury car. The TSX automatic model is powerful enough for spirited driving on streets, twisting roads, and freeways. SportShift mode helps compensate for the TSXs low torque at low RPM. I find SportShift a viable option to a manual shift. TSX is more fun than the TL. Gas mileage: 19+/32+ MPG city/country. Experience: Manual Acura Legend, Lexus ES300 and LS400, Manual BMW 3.0S, BMW 540, BMW 740.

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  what a car - 2005 Acura TL
  By Slavka - November 16 - 8:13 am

  I had it for three weeks now. What a fun drive. I love the stick shift. I test drove their automatic and it just doesnt feel the same. Navigation is great. Free trial of XM is really making me think that I should subscribe. Bluetooth is really helpful when driving stick. Voice recognition didnt work well at first, but then I learned how to speak so "she" will understand me. Just came back from autoshow, and (not comparing to those exotic cars or anything higher then $50K) this is best designed vehicle on the market right now, both exterior and interior (IMHO)

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  Great Car - Great Price ! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Vegas T - November 15 - 10:00 am

  Since this car first debuted just over a year ago, I knew I wanted to have it. Stepping up from an RSX to this vehicle has been nothing short of pure fun & enjoyment from a performance and driving perspective. This car has the perfect balance of power & handling, a superbly laid out interior, top-notch finish and materials, and the slickest 6-Speed in its category. Features like traction-control, in-dash 6-DC player, Power Drivers Seat, Sun/MoonRoof, leather heated seats, and drive-by-wire throttle all add to the incredible driving experience this vehicle provides. It not only quenches your thirst, it soaks you! Highly Recommended!

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  Its an Acura!!!! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By LAND ROVER - November 14 - 7:21 pm

  When I bought this car i was going back and forth between the Acura and the G35 from Infiniti. The main 2 reasons I choose the Acura was the MPG difference and the cheaper insurance. I recently sold the car with a lot of regret, but I needed an SUV. This car was amazing. It had everything. Nav, heated seats, dual climate control, stability, leather etc... The power from the 2.4L was good for the car. Not the power of the TL, but much better MPG and not the torque steer.

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  Goodbye oldpaint - 1999 Acura TL
  By GR8CAR - November 14 - 5:41 pm

  Bought this car in 2004 with 42K, had 83K when some knucklehead ran a red light and I tagged him. Solid car, fun to drive, engineering, trim, I miss it. Id buy another in a heartbeat.

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  Best Value for Price - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Wigman8 - November 14 - 5:40 pm

  Ive had the car almost six months so I thought I would stop back and help others as I used comments from this site to help make my decision. Let me just say, Im very happy with the decision I made to buy this car. The styling is nice, great interior, comfort, built in technology including blue tooth. I just drove from Minneapolis to Nashville (long story) and got 31.7 mpg. That is very impressive in my opinion. I compared this car to the BMW 3 series but was concerned about reliability as per consumer reports. The BMW is a very nice car, in fact maybe a better "drivers" car but the value and reliability of the TSX couldnt be topped. One negative - stiff suspension makes it bumpy