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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  Just do NOT get this car - 2010 Acura TSX
  By dimitrir - July 30 - 5:46 pm

  ACURA should be embarrassed selling this car. Main problem: suspension is just awful. There is a constant clunking noise over any kind of bump. Communicated with company headquarters both in USA and JAPAN and asked them to take the car back, to no avail. Changed real struts, not change. After they put the V^ engine in, they re- designed the suspension in a clumsy and unfinished way. Other customers have complained about this issue. If you can absorb the continuous punishment of the constant clunking noise, there is nothing else wrong with the car.

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  Good deal for 113k $1,400 in 2003 - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Misha - July 29 - 6:03 pm

  Still driving having put 10k on this beauty over 7 years, and little more than new tires, brakes and occasional battery or filter. Poor mileage (23 hwy) when driven to Calgary, Canada in January 2004, but otherwise perfect, esp. over Montana. Five-speed manual offers great handling and leather/electric everything is superb. Needs some body work, but only drive in summers, so no problem. G

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  03 RSX-S Review - 2003 Acura RSX
  By JayJayPG - July 29 - 3:29 pm

  Ive owned my 03 Type S for over 6 years now and have loved every minute of it. I have the optional A-Spec package installed on mine (which makes for a more aggressive-looking RSX) as well as a few additional modifications (Mugen Sport Suspension, Comptech Rear Sway Bay, Comptech Icebox, Comptech Short Shifter, HIDs, etc.). All of these modifications have really increased the overall fun factor of driving/owning the car. I do all of my own service (using OEM parts/fluids) and it is a very inexpensive car to maintain. I have never had a single problem with this car.

• 

  Decent vehicle - 2003 Acura TL
  By Fred - July 27 - 1:52 pm

  The transmission went out at 50,000 miles but Acura replaced it under warranty. My stereo control on the steering wheel had a loose ground which I paid the dealer to fix. Other than normal maintenance and tires I have done nothing to the car. I think Acura cares about their service. I was told their dealers get fined by Acura if you rate them less than perfect. I would buy another Acura.

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  The right car for me - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Stretch - July 26 - 7:51 pm

  I had an Accord, and wanted more cargo versatility. Drove several other small SUVs (Rogue, CX-7, EX-35), and the RDX was the obvious choice. The EX-35 was great, but just not enough room. The others were not comfortable enough, both in seat comfort and ride quality. The RDX does seem too stiff on city streets (my 98 Accord was smoother). But it has a solid feel, very smooth on the freeway, great acceleration, plenty of upscale features - basically a blast to drive. My wife can have her cushy Lexus. I prefer the sporty Acura.

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  2010 Acura TSX w/ Tech Package - 2010 Acura TSX
  By TheDriver - July 22 - 8:12 pm

  I bought a 2010 Acura TSX w/ the technology package in mid April and just traded it in on an Infiniti G37 Sedan. The TSX had 6500 miles. The TSX had super annoying popping noises coming from the rear of the car into the interior that the dealer could not fix(search Google). Said all of them do it. The bluetooth phone had a loud static noise when on and you could hardly hear the person on the phone. The drivers seat kept slipping downward as if the motor or track was stripped(I weigh 180). I traded a 2008 Accord Sedan in on the TSX. The TSX is too much like the Accord but with a little more horsepower(not enough). So far the G37 is 10X the car. I would recommend you not buy the TSX.

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  Too small + Too firm - 2010 Acura TSX
  By RC27 - July 22 - 11:07 am

  I leased this car in 2009 and I cannot wait for the lease to be over. First let me say it is not a bad car, it is simply not for me. I am 61" and the driver legroom is cramped, rear legroom is even worse. In terms of ride quality you feel every bump, yes it is a "sporty" ride but in NYC I dont need road feedback. The ride is only slightly better than my 1996 corolla and the trunk is also small. That out of the way the car is reliable and came with a ton of standard features. A little advice- if ride quality is important to you and/or front legroom this car is probably not for you. Test drive it 1st several times + make sure to include city roads.

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  Dissapointed with my RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By John H - July 21 - 8:03 pm

  I have purchased my last few cars (all used) and Ive tried to move up with each purchase. I traded an Infiniti I35 and purchased this used RL (which had 16.7K miles on it). The car has been a pleasure to drive, but the amount of money that I have had to put into repairs has been a major disappointment. In the 16 months that I have owned the car Ive had to replace the drivers side power mirror, a major repair to the air conditioner and replace one of the motors in the passengers side seat. The total repairs cost $3,000 and the car has 50K miles on it. Ive owned used Mazdas and Infinits and never had these type of major repair issues. I am very disappointed in the RLs reliability

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  Great car with a few qualifications - 2009 Acura TSX
  By subcollector - July 13 - 11:18 pm

  Traded in an excellent 05 Nissan Altima. My wife fell in love with the TSX. Very handsome auto with Tech package. A whole lot of useless gadgets. Paddle shifters that I will never use. Nav system is wonderful. Gives excellent fuel economy. Could use some additional interior and trunk room. Steering is somewhat quirky. Extremely sensitive and requires constant correction on straight highway driving. Ride just a bit too sporty. You feel every rut in the road. Handles very well. Very well built. Only problem was a defective speaker. Nice car!

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  Acura Quality is Questionable - 2007 Acura TL
  By SteelRing - July 12 - 4:16 am

  Just finished my last payment so I will say this about my first wholly owned car: its an excellent drive but its far from perfect in terms of quality. First there is the 3rd gear problem affecting many models of manual transmission (both Honda and Acura). The battery has died twice, the passenger power window had problems going up, driver seat back cover came lose and some gaskets and weather seals have been replaced. The only good thing is that all was covered under warranty although the dealer still gouged me with their various xxK mile service, etc, which is not cheap. Still, it was engineered very well and so much better looking than the latest TL and way better feel.