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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  Value+Luxury=TSX - 2006 Acura TSX
  By LUVMYTSX - August 28 - 12:14 pm

  I bought the car for my wife, but I am finding myself driving it more than she does. I love the Voice controled Navigation, Phone, A/C and the Gas Milage is amazing. You really cant go wrong for the price and the features. Same features from Audi=38,560 (2.0T), BMW=36,850 (325i), and G35=35,400 (Gas Guzzler in the city). I test drove them each one for a weekend, and for the money you pay Acura is the best VALUE. My dealership gave me a great deal (no hassle on price), and tires for life. I live in Austin and this car was make for the roads of the hill country.

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  Nice! - 2004 Acura TL
  By TL lover - August 28 - 10:00 am

  My new TL did not disappoint. If you like power, there is plenty, although front wheel drive is not the best off the line. The stereo is great. The exterior is its best feature. The interior is confortable unless you play in the NBA. The blue tooth phone for now is gimicky, as my cel carrier doesnt even have a compatible phone for it. The blue tooth guys need to get all carriers on board for that to work. Rear view vision is an issue until you get used to it, and the "dipping mirror" is more inconvenient than convenient. You also cant make tight turns. But overall, this is an excellent car which I love.

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  I Looked at All the Rest - 2004 Acura TL
  By Herbstmd - August 28 - 10:00 am

  I did my research before I bought: BMW 330xi, Audi 4 3.0, Nissan Maxima, Cadillac CTS, and this was the most for the buck. Also more pickup, power, style and technology. As sure footed as a mountain goat! I could not be happier! My family fights as to take this car over the others we have. It reeks of luxury, and not a thing appears wrong with it.

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  5300 rpm 2nd phase. - 2004 Acura RSX
  By billabong - August 27 - 2:00 am

  Ive just purchased my 2004 Nighthawk Black Pearl RSX Type-S. Coming from sports car(Mitsu 3000GT), this car serves me very well. I love the tight cornering ability, 6sp manual, 200hp i- Vtec...etc. Just as what my title of this colume, I smile when I see my rev meters reaching 5300rpm because Im pulling harder than ever!

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  Love my MDX - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Vixx MDX - August 27 - 2:00 am

  I had the Honda Pilot (which is a great SUV)but I wanted the extras. The MDX has it all. I am extremely pleased that I decided to get the MDX. Best ride Ive ever had. :o)

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  Best Luxury in its class - 2004 Acura TL
  By arshy - August 27 - 2:00 am

  This is the most fun ive had in driving a car in years. I would say this car beats my previous lexus sc400 by a huge margin. I was very happy with my Lexus until this Acura came around. I love the style and the drive is far superior

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  Very Nice - 2006 Acura RSX
  By DanO - August 26 - 7:47 pm

  I bought this RSX-S on my birthday a great present to myself. I wanted one 3 years ago. This car is quick, nimble, well built, and has looks to die for. After 15 miles of driving, I felt at home in it. 6-speed is close ratio...for around town, just get to 3rd and stay there. Engine is a marvel of Honda engineering hungry for revs, and with 8 grand redline....well I have to get used to it! Interior is very comfortable and good looking, exterior is handsome and paint is flawless. This car has every feature (standard) that cars at 10K more have...an incredible value if you are in the market for this type of car.

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  No compromises - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Leroy R - August 26 - 10:00 am

  I was determined to get a fun car and my RSX-S is indeed fun. Coming from an SUV, I am still driving my RSX like a 87 year old so about 50-100 of my 200 horses havent gotten out of the stable yet. But is still cant stay below 80 miles an hour. When I was looking for a car, I still had a bit of former SUV enviromental destruction guilt, but I really wanted to surpass the 89 miles an hour I could achieve at maximium warp on my old Blazer. The RSX-S has 200 horsepower and is a Low Emission Vehicle. It is the best of both worlds and I can afford it. The interior is flawless. The stereo is amazing. The interior is what sold the car to me.

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  great value - 2006 Acura RL
  By wright - August 26 - 12:18 am

  The car has been everything I expected and more. Great ride and the power is there when needed. I have been very impressed with the navigation system. Its easy to use and has already saved my wife and I time while tring to find places in cities we were not familiar with. The gas mileage has avg 23 in the city and 27.5 at 75 miles per hour on the freeway. XM radio Bravo!

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  Type - S Review - 2006 Acura RSX
  By solid - August 22 - 7:36 pm

  This car is definately the best bang for the buck. Everyone keep in mind I drove a Honda Civic prior to purchasing this car. The Type-S comes fully loaded with nothing to really do. (unless I wanted to fix it up) This is my first car purchase out of college and I am very satisfied with it. I have looked at other cars in the same price range for many months and found this to be the most attractive with a decent amount of hp. I have had no problems as other users have had year to date. I get about 23 to 24 mpg driving local most of the time. I got a great deal on it (Leased it).