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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  Very Pleased: RL vs M35 - 2008 Acura RL
  By Steve - February 8 - 5:12 pm

  I compared the RL the M35x all wheel drive autos. I found them to be very similar. Although the M35 might be slightly faster off the line I felt more comfortable in the RL drivers seat and was surprised by the sporty/firm suspension. The M35 may also win the looks category but the RL dresses up nicely with the factory flaps and spoiler. Having owned an Infinity and a Honda/Acura previously, I expect the RL to be more reliable and less costly to service. What really swayed my decision to the RL was after negotiating on both cars, the 2008 RL ended up thousands less than the M35. After a couple thousand miles, I am extremely happy with the RL.

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  Better than most - 2008 Acura TL
  By Epacal - February 8 - 3:52 pm

  I bought the Type S for a daily driver and have not been disappointed. Nice features, good ride and great performance. I cant believe the difference between the standard 3.2 TL and the 3.5 TL S. It was worth the extra money.

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  lovin it - 2004 Acura MDX
  By pny - February 8 - 2:00 am

  Great new truck but fuel economy is averaging only 13.7 mpg other than that this suv is a dream to drive I had the sony dvd installed in it and it to me beats the pants off the Lexus suvs thay nose dive around every corner I know because when I take my wifes lexus in for service I get one as a loner and have put it through the test and it fails compaired to the MDX

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  Not a BMW - 2004 Acura TL
  By George W - February 8 - 2:00 am

  I was extremely pleased with the interior features and placement, but the more I look at the exterior, the less I like it -- in hindsight, I should have gone with the BMW 3 series.

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  New TL is the best car for the money - 2004 Acura TL
  By VINORL - February 8 - 2:00 am

  Im impressed to this point. The preformance to price ratio on this vehicle is phenomenal. Some aspects of the exterior design are a little clunky but overall the perception is good. The interior is nice although the silver psuedo chrome feels a little tacky. The center console doesnt feel as clean without the navigation unit, it looks like they tried to fill space and came up a little short. The drive is taut and responsive. The only major dislike is that its not RWD. On a scale of 1 to 10 this car is a solid 8.

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  Great Handling - 2006 Acura TL
  By Wedan - February 7 - 5:04 pm

  The TL is a great performing car. Cost of the TL was very attractive to me when compared to an equally equipped Cadillac CTS or Lexus 350, Infiniti etc. The quality has been exceptional. Other than following the computer for regular maintenance, the TL will probably never see the mechanic. The reliability of Acura is tops.

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  Terrible Tech! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By What Happened? - February 7 - 11:28 am

  Unlike the previous model MDX I owned, the new design has lost many extras and the bluetooth is extremely poor sounding! The sound is ported through the AM radio and its extremely poor in the 07 and 08 models. I really miss the rain sensing wipers, the day/night mirror which is now finally included and the open bottom of the steering wheel to rest my hand on long trips. The ultimate insult is that darn Bluetooth. Company in the car just laugh at how bad it is when you cant understand people while driving over 40mph. So much for the "technology leader".

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  A great car being turned in from a lease. - 2013 Acura TL
  By Steve Stallings - February 7 - 10:54 am

  The only thing I noticed that bothers me is the transmission shifts from first to second to quickly. Its better with faster takeoff. Otherwise this is a great car and I plan to lease a 2016 before the lease ends in March. I also had a 2010 TL that I loved.

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  The 06 TSX: You Wont Be Disappointed - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Jesse - February 6 - 7:33 pm

  Just a tremendous car. I just got home with it tonight after putting on the first 120 miles or so (just driving around), so I may be a bit in that "I love my new car" mode. But, thats the way it should be. The drive is smooth, quiet, and rips around the side streets and highways with great handling. The interior and gadgets are laid out perfectly right in front of you, and it feels as though youre in the cockpit of an airplane. Just superb in every respect.

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  Best vehicle in its class - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Rick From Crofton - February 6 - 3:38 pm

  We picked up our MDX in June 2007. What a purchase! We compared all of the vehicles in the class and selecting this vehicle over all of the others from our perspective was a no- brainer. Here we are with over 10K miles and we just love this SUV. It is so fun to drive. We got everything on the vehicle. The technology pkg, the performance is unmatched. This vehicle has a powerful engine that truly delivers. We did the head to head test drives with the BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne and other top brand crossovers so the buying decision was very easy thereafter. It outperformed everything. Having had several Acuras in the past, the build quality is simply awesome. One test drive will sell this SUV.