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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  Road Warriors Dream - 2007 Acura RDX
  By PaulT - March 20 - 3:39 pm

  Test drove Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, Range Rover and found the RDX beat them all. Performance, quality and driveability all exceeded my demands. Gas mileage has been an avg of 20 mpg. I spend 3-5 hours a days behind the wheel and this is an awesome ride. Just love it.

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  Electrical nightmare - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By nathan - March 20 - 12:40 am

  I have owned mine for 2 weeks and had the heater blower motor fail, the alarm goes off sometimes when I use the key to unlock it, the stereo display only works sometimes and I have expensive repair quotes for anything that comes up. I find the car attractive to look at and fun to drive. I believe the engine and drivetrain are solid but the electrical issues are awful. This is a money pit that will cost you as much as a newer more reliable car would have from the beginning.

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  This is a Drivers SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Chad - March 19 - 3:22 pm

  This car has been so fun to drive. Lots of reviews about the stiff ride, but that is one of the things I like about the car. Leather is very nice. Lots of fun gadgets, and voice command works very well. This car offers more for the money than any of its competitors, especially the overpriced BMW X3. If you have a family with a bunch of kids, get the GMC Acadia or Mazda CX-9 in this price-range. But for the young professional looking for an entry-level luxury SUV, this is the bomb. Even if I was willing to pay more for a car, I would still end up with the RDX, thats how much Ive loved it. My wife drives a new audi, and has been jealous since I bought this.

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  2000 TL - 2000 Acura TL
  By jwd - March 19 - 12:40 pm

  Bought it used in 2004. It only had 25,000 miles. Runs great, rides great, looks great. Not a fan of having to use premium gas but it has delivered performance and reasonable gas mileage. Wouldnt hesitate to hop in and take off on a 3000 mile road trip.

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  Great Car! - 2008 Acura TL
  By Paul - March 18 - 7:35 pm

  Ive had this car for about eight months, and so far, its the best car Ive owned. Love the v-tech and power, while the interior seats are very comfortable and accommodating. I cant stress enough how good a value this car is for the features it offers, and the fuel economy is also commendable for its size and engine. I only wish Acura could have invested a little bit more detail and care for interior build quality, as there are some squeaks and rattles, and my shoes easily scuff the the bottom of the door panels. Overall, I love this car!

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  Great value - 2008 Acura TL
  By Scott@Columbia - March 18 - 12:52 pm

  Im very happy with this car. Ride is a nice balance of firm but pleasant. It is a quiet car and the engine is only heard under hard acceleration (and the noise is pleasing). Great interior layout with sharp exterior styling. All the features you could want at a nice price. Engine is peppy and responsive, well-suited to the car. This car is the perfect balance of practical, fun, affordable and well-equipped.

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  More cars should be made like the GS - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By Craig - March 18 - 9:48 am

  I heard that these cars were very good and so far it has lived up to its reputation. My GS handles like a dream. Is so quiet even with 133000 miles on her that I can hardly hear the enging. Parts are available cheaply. I have replaced a few things but only because I had no record of replacements, such timing belt, water pump, breaks and clutch. But these things do wear out.

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  The perfect entry luxury sports sedan - 2006 Acura TSX
  By mettyt - March 18 - 8:23 am

  All the mod cons; Memory seats, heated seats, Ipod hookup, navigation, voice activation, xenon headlights, the list goes on. And for the price you cant beat it. Great handling and braking. The interior is very quiet and well constructed. My previous car was a Honda Accord and I like the reliability of Hondas. Makes me get up everyday with a smile on my face thinking I get to drive it. I almost wish my job was twice as far away.

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  Good car that lacks soul - 2005 Acura TL
  By JDRTL - March 17 - 2:25 pm

  This car does everything well but is a very dull driving experience (if anyone cares about that). I do care about that and unloaded this car after two years and got a German make which is more to my liking. I really wish I would have gotten the manual transmission as the automatic is incredibly un-sporty. It is a great value as everything is standard except the navigation system (which I highly recommend). Although it was only in once for an unscheduled repair, the car was getting creaky and rattling after 30,000 miles.

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  This Car Rocks!! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Jack Mark - March 16 - 10:06 pm

  My MDX is so smooth and the bluetooth works very good. I love the looks! I pretty much love everything about this car!