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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  Awesome and Disappointing all at once! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Marc B. - April 17 - 4:03 pm

  I owned a 1999 Integra GS-R previously and in shopping for a new car I chose to go with the TSX instead of a 330ci. The initial quality of this vehicle is fantastic. It is fun to drive, handles wonderfully, and acceleration is between good and excellent. It comes fully loaded so you really dont have to think too much when youre making your purchase. One of the bad things I read about the TSX was regarding the paint. A lot of people seem to complain about it but I thought that maybe they were just overly critical. They were right. The paint on this vehicle is of very poor quality. Acura likes to tell people that its Soft paint. Soft? Is that Japanese for poor? Read section below...

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  Nice Road Car - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Fredo - April 17 - 10:00 am

  Great value. Great car. Very much fun to drive and really holds a line on curves.

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  Its An Acura (YAWN). - 2008 Acura TL
  By AcuraOwner - April 16 - 1:26 pm

  Traded in my Lexus 330RX for the Acura TL. Thus far, the car has proven to be a rattle box. Center console rattles. Driver side windows rattle. Have had it back to dealer twice already to fix the problem. Basically, this car makes me miss the luxury and quality of my Lexus and makes me feel Acura is the company for those who cannot afford a Lexus, BMW, or Benz. Plus, in retrospect, I purchased a car whose style has been the same for what seems to be two decades now. Its outdated. At best, I am hopeful this car will be dependable because its nothing special to drive nor look at.

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  Great Car - 2002 Acura TL
  By Michael B - April 15 - 8:58 pm

  Car has mostly been a pleasure. Only problem is that transmission has been recalled and I am on tranny #4. Acura is great though and warranties it for life. Performance for this car when it came out was amazing and it still competes with todays best. Besides the transmission issues there have been no problems. The nav system is the best in the business. Gets me from A-B in style and fast!

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  Amazing - 1997 Acura RL
  By aly - April 15 - 6:36 pm

  I love this car, great pickup, awesome handling, smooth quiet ride. Easily the best car I have ever owned.

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  2008 Acura MDX - 2008 Acura MDX
  By v10Acura - April 15 - 1:16 pm

  The only other car I was considering with it were the X5 and ML. The handling of SH-AWD simply blew us away. In my opinion it had significatnly less body roll then even the others. The ride is very confidence-inspiring in rain, sun and snow. The sound system is absolutely incredible. Furthermore, I for one also really like the knob instead of touchscreen navigation. I find that the engine power is good from a standstill, but could use more power for passing. Certain speeds dont allow you to shift down to reach high revs required for optimal torque. As such sometimes you dont get sufficient acceleration. i also really like the styling.

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  A 10-year owner - 1998 Acura Integra
  By Ken - April 15 - 1:53 am

  This little car is something hard to beat with its versatile interior design. Its hatchback trunk is something hard to find these days with about the same styling. Though I had bought a new car, I am still not letting go this wonderful car of all time.

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  Good action - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Nick - April 14 - 9:59 pm

  This is a car I would recommend anyone to own. Ive owned the car for over 6 years and have been absolutely thrilled with it. Ive only replaced a radiator and items like drive belts, fuel filter, tires, brake pads, etc. One would change those items on any car over a long period of time. The only complaint I have is that the paint has faded. It has been a rock solid car and will graduate to track duty only.

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  Surge on - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Don Thomas - April 14 - 12:15 pm

  This transmission is awful! Take your foot off the gas going down a hill and the car surges rather than slow down. Have to step on the brakes hard to slow it down. Same issue when downshifting with the paddles. Also stutters when going into drive. Voice commands are a joke. I say find nearest ATM. She says turn air conditioner up. And so it goes. This is my third MDX but it is my last.

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  Cant Get Enough - 2005 Acura TL
  By Dimitrios T. - April 14 - 5:06 am

  I really enjoy driving this superb vehicle. Even my wife who did not want it at first, now I cant get her out of the car; she loves it! It drives as great as it looks, and the interior features are just heavenly. I looked into many vehicles for quite a while, and the Acura TL is the way to go. It offers a lot and for a great value. It is eye-catching, and I always get compliments. But the real satisfaction is being behind the wheel.