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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  Owner - 2008 Acura TL
  By Jim - April 9 - 10:26 pm

  I have had my 2008 TL for 3 months now. In normal city (Houston area) driving I get 22 mpg. On freeway driving, I get 30 mpg - better than rated. I have yet to take it more that 450 consecutive miles on freeways so it may edge down a little but it held at the 30 mpg mark until I got back into Houston rush hour traffic. I like so much about this car, but there are some small irritable things. Power outlets and MP3 jack are not conveniently located. It is difficult to get anything in dash outlet when car is in park. Fuel release is on floor right by door - on door or dash would be better. The front window posts are a bit large which causes some minor obstruction of vision.

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  Good, but not all that! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Dex - April 9 - 10:00 am

  The car is well built but as a performance car it falls short. The handling is above average, the shifter is phenomenal, but the power/torque just isnt there. Having nearly an 8000 RPM redline is great if it would just pull strongly to it. The engine revs so freely that it makes you feel like you should be going faster than you are. The ergonomics are great except for the speedometer; it needs to be in 10 MPH increments instead of 20. And how they built a car at this price without a center armrest is beyond me. Overall its not bad but I should have looked harder at a Mazda 6 or Toyota Celica.

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  Exciting Car!!! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Steven Ang - April 9 - 10:00 am

  Ive been wanting this car for a while now and I finally purchased it and love it. I paid BELOW INVOICE for this car so future buyers out there, try to work the dealers a little bit. I must say, its a very fun car to drive and handle. Well worth the price for the car and all the options that come with it.

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  Great car for the money - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Dave - April 9 - 9:13 am

  I bought this car in April 06, and really cannot complain about its performance and reliability. My previous car was a 2001 Volvo S40 with all the bells and whistles, however, it completely died at 18K miles. I have test driven many other vehicles in its class and the TSX is by far the best out there. It looks sharp with the ground effects kit which I have by the way and the car is loaded. When you add up these features with other cars, you are looking at at least $40K when all done and said (with BMW, MB, Lexus, etc). Maybe these other cars may have a more powerful engine, but I probably can smoke em on a long haul! The TSX also has a good resale value... no plans on selling or trading up!

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  Headlights a problem - 2003 Acura TL
  By johngalt - April 8 - 2:00 am

  Be careful before you buy this car -- the headlights go for $800 each and get stolen very often. At the mall, in the driveway, parked while working, etc. It has happened twice to me and I am dumping this car -- I cant take the expense anymore.

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  Best I have Ever Owned!!! - 2007 Acura TL
  By Jeff D - April 7 - 10:50 am

  I cant believe how much better the 07 Type S is over my old 06 TL. Handles like crazy. FAST! Everything is top notch. I bought the best!

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  Everything I wanted in good commute car - 2006 Acura TSX
  By DDover - April 6 - 7:20 pm

  This car wont rival the likes of a BMW or Mercedes - but it also doesnt come with the price tag. The car is reliable and fun to drive. My only complaint - it lacks the zip to pass quickly on a narrow 2 lane roads when 18-wheelers are in the distance. My wife may have screamed once or twice. But, what do you expect from 4-cylinders? Other than that one complaint - no problems in day to day city driving. The back seat isnt quite as roomy with a now 510" sons long legs.

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  love it! - 2005 Acura TL
  By annette - April 6 - 2:46 pm

  First time buyer and first time Ive said Id buy another one. Very comfortable for long trips and lots of gadgets!

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  Excellent Balance - 2003 Acura TL
  By Samskara - April 6 - 2:16 pm

  Anybody can make a great car -- just pick out some wow factor that seems intriguing and ignore every other aspect. You can have power, or luxury, or economy, or almost anything else, as long as you toss every other consideration aside. The TL-S isnt great by any of those standards, and thats its best feature. It can accelerate well enough to get on any highway, handle well enough to stay out of trouble, offer enough comfort and quiet so that you dont mind spending a day in the car, all at a price thats still within shouting distance of being reasonable, with acceptable gas mileage. FWIW, the model has had transmission problems -- Honda extended the warranty and didnt keep it secret

• 

  Holding Up over 200k miles. - 1991 Acura Integra
  By chekster - April 5 - 10:46 pm

  Bought at 178k from a friend, now has 218k miles. Stick. Car is fun to drive, handles and runs well, better then my 92 accord (LX-auto). Clutch took some getting used to. Dont care a ton for the anti-lock brakes in snow. Fairly reliable, but several age related repairs are now showing up (thermostat, rear calipers, alternator main relay and fan control module starting to go small oil leak at valve cover gasket frameless windows seals starting to lose some elasticity). Typical 90s Honda rear wheel well rust. Trunk lid size and rear seats are small for this size of vehicle (my 84 escort was slightly better). Still, I would recommend and have enjoyed owning.