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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  Best Acura yet - 2005 Acura TSX
  By jayroam - December 30 - 12:57 am

  By far, this is has been my favorite car Ive ever owned. The interior is one of the best Ive ever been in, and the exterior looks great and is timeless. For a car under $30k, its a steal.

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  2006 Acura TSX - 2006 Acura TSX
  By centralOH - December 29 - 11:21 am

  This is the car to own for "bang for the buck". Not many people have the TSX which is a bonus. Nothing touches it in its price range, NOTHING.

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  Tuly a Legend - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Larry - December 29 - 9:25 am

  Honda built these cars and never again matched their performance, height, balance, economy, space efficiency, durability, and fun to drive quotient. WE had this car from 122K to 180K and just got a 08 Accord to replace it. I am not a happy camper - no more sport mode transmission, no more multi - link double wishbone rear suspension, no more silky smooth v-6 that even at 180K would happily sing to is redline and still go 120+ with ease. What an engine that 2.7 liter was- and 161 HP??? Please - NO WAY. This car would fly, and 80-100 on the interstate? In a snap. Fantastic car and I miss her already - after only one day. shell forever be a yardstick against which I measure others.

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  Missed the mark - 2006 Acura TL
  By David Jenks - December 29 - 8:53 am

  AS an owner of a 2002 TL I cant begin to tell you how disapointed I am in the 2006 model. If your a big fan of chep leather, plastic and tin you will love the interior. The ride is poor the performance disapointing. When compared to the 2002.

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  My third Acura - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Heather - December 28 - 9:36 pm

  This is my third Acura. The other two where Integras and I was ready to move up to a bit of luxury. I didnt need a new car but I wanted this one. I knew I would not be concerned with reliability and quality of the build. Just about every feature is standard which just made it that much easier to buy. It is fun to drive and suprisingly my gas mileage is improving. When you close the doors it has a nice solid, snug fit sound that rings of quality. Of course, the downside of buying this car was moving to premium gasoline especially right at the time gas started going so high. But it is a low emissions vehicle so at least Im spewing less pollutants into the air.

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  Quality Vehicle - 1997 Acura RL
  By sdem - December 28 - 7:48 pm

  I was running through Edmunds while looking to purchase my wife a new Acura and thought id place a review in for my acura. i cant say anything bad about it. i bought it used in 2000 and its now 10 years old and still looks incredible. friends are baffled on how well it looks, how well it drives and how reliable it is. need i say more.

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  Review of 2007 TL Type S - 2007 Acura TL
  By WarriorZeroSix - December 28 - 12:50 pm

  After one month of ownership, all is fantastic! Amazing automobile with no issues to this point. Taking some time to learn all of the system(s) capabilities, but WOW! Gas mileage is getting better with each mile.

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  Great Car - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Glenn Lambert - December 27 - 4:17 pm

  Ive owned some nice cars in the past, many that were considerably more expensive. The TSX is a tremendous value. I drive 30,000 mile a year. I need a comfortable car, but I also want the performance and handling. Its not always easy to find both. Acura got it just right in the TSX.

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  Love My TL-S - 2007 Acura TL
  By nomominivan - December 27 - 2:05 pm

  I got my TL Type S July 07. It has 3500 miles on it and love it. Its gorgeous! I am very comfortable in it, although I am not very big. My husband is not as comfortable but hes tall. I love the power and the handling that this car offers. Step on it and go! I like the feel of the road, and this car has that. My kids are comfortable in the back. The sound system is great. I love the back up camera & the ipod plug. I do have a rattle on the back trunk lid part where the speakers are. Will have them check it at my first service. I did have to replace one of the tires because I hit a pothole ($240). Tire guy told me the low profile tires are horrible. They look cool tho. So far very happy!

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  RSX - S - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Silver03 - December 27 - 2:00 am

  This is an extremely fun car. You really feel like you get more than you pay for. Great performance, reliability, style, and comfort. I do wish it had some type of traction control and a little more torque.