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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  2006 acura TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By cnn.com autos - November 8 - 1:51 pm

  I expected it to be quick and comfortable. It turned out to be both. I recently made a 2500 mile trip and it was excellent. I do not believe the 33 mpg listed by the onboard computer and premium fuel was a cost factor. I recommend it highly.

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  Great value - 2006 Acura RL
  By gdevine - November 7 - 12:39 am

  An excellent value. This car is so much fun to drive. Long trips seem short with the comfort and quality of the sound system. I drive slower or sometimes out of my way to relax in the vehicle.

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  Excellent Car - 2005 Acura RL
  By Houston 05 RL - November 6 - 10:06 pm

  This is an excellent car. Very well designed with all the features you need or want. Even better all the technology works and is easy to use. This is vastly different than so many of the other cars in its class. The BMW and Mercedes NAV Systems are hard to use and inferior, the Lexus GS has no back seat or trunk space, and the AWD puts all of them in the shade. It is a quality car for the real world, not a special use vehicle that can only be used part time for some things. The only thing I would add would be some additional torque since the AWD will allow it to be used effectively.

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  Little Wonder - 2006 Acura TSX
  By remee - November 6 - 11:15 am

  Its very easy to maneuver. It always give you more power when you need it. Its quiet. The only thing I did not like is that it feels hard on the road. Its not smooth. Overall it is a good car.The visor is wide enough that it protects me from the glare unlike the other cars I had. I had to buy an extender. You see I am on the short side.

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  Good SUV made better - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Nicolo - November 6 - 5:06 am

  Traded 03 for 05 touring with Nav. The new car is better in every way, quieter, quicker and with better body integrity. List of additional features compared to the 03 is very long: side curtain air bags, power lumbar, built in XM, better nav, voice commands for nearly everything, better dashboard display, better audio, six disc dash CD, bluetooth, Onstar, bigger gas tank. The Japanese, unlike American manufacturers, listen to consumers and make continuing updates.

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  pimp ride! - 2005 Acura RL
  By love it - November 5 - 8:43 am

  Powerful and very stylish. The ride could be a little smoother, but for all of the standard features that come with this car, its worth it to feel a couple of bumps in the road. The interior finish is impeccable, and the seats are the most comfortable car seats that I have ever sat in. I test drove the RL, Audi A6, Lexus GS 400, and the Mercedes E-Class ... the RL was hands down the best value of the bunch, or else I wouldnt be driving it! It had all the same features of its competitors, yet the price is thousands less. I dont see this as a quality issue ... I think that since the car comes standard with everything, Acura can cut its costs by making just one car and get economies of scale. Bravo!

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  Great car and a price that cant be beat - 2006 Acura TSX
  By SteveJKY - November 4 - 10:14 am

  Great car. Had an 04 Accord EX 2-door before my TSX. I was afraid they would be very similar - I was wrong. The TSX has a better ride, handling and even though I felt like I got more power out of my manual Accord, the automatic TSX does have a little more horsepower. Comparing the TSX to like cars for the same price - the TSX offers way more options and features. No comparison.

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  Great Retirement Car - 2006 Acura RL
  By MARY BREAUX - November 4 - 9:23 am

  This car is great for traveling. I retired in January 2006 & have taken several road trips this year. I usually get 28-30 mpg on the highway. I have had many positive comments on the interior design & sharp appearance of this vehicle. I previously owned 2 TLs before the RL. The TL is a great car too, but at this point in my life, I thought the RL is better suited for my needs. Overall, I love my car!

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  Great car - first year of ownership - 2005 Acura TL
  By KJW73 - November 3 - 10:19 am

  I love this car! This November 2006, I will have owned the car for one year (approx. 9800 miles) and the experience has been terrific. I never thought that I would like a sedan, but this car has everything to enjoy. The navigation is especially user friendly never had a problem with it and has always been accurate. The seating is comfortable on long and short hauls. The interior quality so far is very good I have the parchment colored leather and it is easily soiled, so you have to keep up on cleaning it often. The TL is very quick considering its size. Love the get-up-and-go of the 270 horses.

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  My first SUV purchase - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Suzanne Thorpe - November 3 - 5:55 am

  I typically drive a vehicle for as long as possible. So when my 2003 Toyota Camry was starting to show some signs of wear and tear after 13 years, I decided to check out the new SUVs. For me I wanted comfort, quiet, smooth handling, navigation package, something easy enough to get my aging parents into, and most importantly something with a solid reputation of being a reliable and quality vehicle. My pros: I found that I liked sitting a bit higher on the road. The drive is very comfy, quiet and the vehicle is very responsive. When I test drove the car I got the speed up to 90 entering the interstate before the salesman in the backseat coughed uncomfortably, but the car never hesitated and was very responsive. The headlights provide an amazing view of the road at night. The bluetooth for phone calls is crystal clear. I am using midgrade octane gasoline and I am averaging 24.5 mpg. My cons: I wish the cup holder was a smidge larger so it could hold my bubba cup of water. The navigation system is a little confusing but now that I am used to it things are fine but it took some patience on my part. The driver seat is self adjusting to driver 1 or 2 but I wish that I could get the seat to automatically move further back than it does upon going into park. I understand that Acura has accessories for sale but I think that for the amount of $$$ you spend they could have included a net in the cargo area to keep the groceries from sliding around, I think it should have been standard not optional. Overall I really have been impressed so far and have not once regretted my purchase. I dont have any maintenance issues to report after 4 months of ownership.