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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  Fun but hate the service dept - 2004 Acura TL
  By rhtorr - July 4 - 10:00 am

  Great car all the way around but had to have a minor service and service dept claims I scrapped a rim on thier loaner and threatened to sue me if I didnt pay for it. Even after the GM told me they wouldnt sue he still made me feel like a liar. I guess they have a odd way of treating there customers so that they will buy cars from them in the future.

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  MDX Rocks - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Brad - July 4 - 12:00 am

  We love our new MDX. Fun to drive, extremly comfortable, and as reliable as any SUV on the market. Engine is very impressive.

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  Great car, great value! - 2003 Acura TL
  By ScottsTL - July 3 - 6:52 pm

  No doubt the best car Ive ever owned! Purchased at end of my lease, as I could not find a better combination of performance, features and comfort. Strong, smooth acceleration, ride & handling rock steady at high speed. Averaged 23- 24MPG overall, 30MPG at 75+ cruising.

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  Best Sedan under $30K - 2006 Acura TSX
  By arlingtonian - July 3 - 1:21 pm

  Have had the car just over 1 month and I love it! It is fun to drive, has many cool features, and the gas mileage is very good. Cant believe that I hesitated to take a TSX for a test drive, but was not super impressed with the exterior styling... However, the looks have grown on me. Was looking for a sedan or small wagon under $30K and I think I found the best thing out there for the money. Try it, youll like it-- and probably buy it!

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  Quick midsize SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By black satin - July 2 - 2:53 am

  I purchased the black satin looks great in that color. Quality compares to no other. Tech pkg. is the best out there.

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  Great value in luxury category - 2003 Acura MDX
  By owahn - July 2 - 2:00 am

  The Navigation system is simply amazing. Space is great, we can go with friends, 8 people not a problem. Its the first car where I actually need to study the manuals though because there are just so many gadgets. Fuel economy is said to be the best, so I feel ok about it, although I hope car makers will still be able to improve on this. The only snag was that I had to wait 3 months for the car.

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  Outstanding Acuras - 2003 Acura TL
  By daRick - July 2 - 2:00 am

  Acutally, my TL was bought in Feb 00, an is a 00 model. It, like the 89 Legend I had for over 165K miles is outstanding. To the shop only for normal maintenance! Love it.

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  great car! - 2003 Acura TL
  By Natalya - July 2 - 2:00 am

  I was really thinking about buying a 3.2TL with Nav, but the dealer convinced me in to trying the Type-s. Oh, boy, was he right! Got 260hp under the hood, and driving it is a breeze. I just love this car! The independent wheel suspension is awesome, you can barely feel it when you go over a bump in the road. The interior of the Type- S is so very cozy, and well designed! The IR light sensors are awesome. I cannot describe how excited I am to own it! Acura surely is the way to go!!!!

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  Excellent - 2004 Acura TL
  By rick - July 1 - 8:33 pm

  This car is great and looks great with all the ground effects and short wing installed. the only problem is the dash looks faded.

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  RELIABLE FUN - 2004 Acura TL
  By Mt T - July 1 - 5:39 pm

  This is one of the finest cars I have owned. Having been a Lexus and Infinity owner, this cars stands along them in quality, ride, and enjoyment.