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 to Drive - 2006 Acura TSX
  By MikeD - January 11 - 7:30 pm

  Just got the TSX 6sp and enjoy the drive after having a 95 Acura Integra. Great performance, handling and looks. Moderate gas mileage, however, as I expected above 30mpg, and seem to only get about 27mpg on highway. Just noticed significant squeaking in drivers seat, and saw another review on problem with seat rail. Anyone else experiencing problems with seats squeaking? Great car, great performance, and got a great price at my Acura dealership- below invoice. Buy this car, but look at seat noices as you test drive.

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  Had a lot of fun with this car, but .... - 2001 Acura TL
  By Doug - January 11 - 4:46 pm

  I have had my TL with navi for 7 years now! I still enjoy driving the car, but I have had too many issues with the transmission to give it a good rating. I am on my 4th transmission already but the dealership has worked with me to have it replaced each time. The car drives smoothly and the navi is great! Overall, I have been very happy with the car and I would purchase a new one, provided the transmission issue is fixed.

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  Nearly as Fun as a Mini - 2008 Acura RDX
  By Eilidh - January 10 - 10:20 pm

  When my cute mini cooper became a sled in the Boston winter, I reluctantly hunted for a small SUV. After much deliberation, decided on the Acura over the BMW X3 on cost and reliability. So glad I did - the sound system is superb, the build is quality, bikes fit in the back, the turbo makes pleasing whooshes and the acceleration is plenty for me. Its just as grin inducing as a mini - and no icy skidding. Negatives include instructions more mind boggling than physical chemistry textbooks and a voice recognition system that doesnt quite understand my UK English. However, Im persevering to learn Honda-ese and confident well become friends. An excellent fun car in every way.

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  Best of All Worlds - 2007 Acura TL
  By AllenH - January 10 - 3:56 pm

  I checked out the competition such as IS 350 and G35 and none can match the utility and value of the Type S. The navigation on the Type S blows away any of the competition and it is just a handsome vehicle. I get over 30 MPG when driving steadily at 70 mph. I just passed over 600 miles (break-in period) and stomped on the gas. WHOA! Is this thing fast!!

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  Noise, noise, & more noise - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mohamad Halabi - January 10 - 3:53 pm

  Sine the minute I left the showroom, I discovered weird buzzing noise coming fromt he drivers side window. Within a couple of weeks, I started discovering more noise from the glove compartment, the center console, the steering column, and the sifter area. After changing three dealerships, and seven visits, the noise is still there. Even my 99 Huyndai of few years back was much quieter!!!

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  09 TSX Awesome!!! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By 09 TSX Owner - January 10 - 2:40 pm

  Traded in my 04 Honda Accord for the new 09 TSX. I have had the car for 3 days and I absolutely love it. It has great performance, stylish profile and fast pickup for the 201 hp. The interior is very sleek looking starting with the textured dash, display on dash easy to read, great sounding XM/radio. The bluetooth is so nice and handy, plenty of storage areas and large trunk space. I cannot say enough good things about this car. I give it 10 stars all the way and highly recommend this sleek looking, fun to drive car that will get you 2nd glances everywhere you go.

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  1 For the money$$ - 2007 Acura TL
  By KJV from GA - January 10 - 1:17 pm

  Had an 01 CL and traded in for a comfortable 4 door in August. Went for the more affordable Honda Accord EXL V-6 and couldnt get past what I loved about the Acuras performance, handling, craftmanship. Very easy to go from Honda to Acura, not easy to go from Acura to Honda. Im hooked. Went to Acura, and traded the 07 Accord for the 07 TL-Type S and dont understand what I was thinking in August!

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  2005 Acura TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By zydecolady - January 10 - 4:03 am

  Great car - comfortable ride and handling. good gas mileage with city driving better with highway. A fun car to drive

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  Meticulous Owner - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mark - January 9 - 9:50 pm

  I researched and test drove nearly every possible competing vehicle and I previously owned a 2000 Acura TL with Navi. I had transmission problms with the 2000 Acura but Acura rectified the situation to my satisfaction and saved a customer. In addition, I have read that previous transmission issues have been rectified. I am a gadget and value junkie. Acuras combination of the two won me over, again. Sure, there were some features that other vehicles offered that would be nice, but overall no other car offered as much for the price. I have had my 05 TL for three months and have driven it about 5,600 miles with no problems to report and I still love to drive it!

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  Stype is great! - 2003 Acura TL
  By LAdaveH - January 9 - 10:00 am

  I just picked up an S type 3.2 and I want to say that I am very happy with my decision. Acura is more car than others in its class. The car came fully loaded with 6CD chnger, full NAV syst., Onstar services, electric seats (heating option as well) along with way more room in the car. Mercedes and Infiniti wanted so much more for the features that came standard with the Acura. With the money that I saved I can pay for my insurance and gas throughout the year. Most imortant feature on the car is that it drives well...fast, handles well, and the interior is extremely quite. Great car and a great deal!!...260hp helps as well!