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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  Great car at a great price - 2004 Acura TL
  By CJ2000 - December 27 - 2:00 am

  Great dealership experience. Kind and friendly service common amongst Acura showrooms. The car is quick but its FWD layout limits its performance severely. However it makes the most of its setup. It has beefy sway bars installed from the factory. Great interior design. I love the blue backlit instruments. DVD-A sound is amaazing. Dealer provides a list of CDs currently available in DVD-A format. Seriously, if just to hear the demo CD they have, test drive this car.

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  One Hot Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By Cruzder - December 27 - 2:00 am

  Just traded my 99 TL on a new 04. There is no comparison. The 04 is fantastic. Great handling, power and comfort. Had it on Skyline Drive last weekend in the rain and it handled sharp turns with total confidence. And the stereo system is superb. A true sports sedan. Absolutely love it!

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  In love with Honda products - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Former Chevy driver - December 26 - 10:00 am

  I bought my wife a 2001 Accord a few months back and fell in love with Honda quality. The Acura RSX is no exception. I test drove everything, including the new Nissan Altima, and nothing came close. Fun to drive, quick, and great quality. Bypass the Type S, the base engine is quick! Unless you are going to the drag strip, it is more than enough engine.

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  Pure excellence - 2002 Acura MDX
  By RocinRob - December 26 - 10:00 am

  I have to say, buying my New Acura MDX was a smart decision. I paid more than sticker and I would do it again. This SUV drives like a car, handles rough roads in NYC with ease and dosent toss me around like the competition does.

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  I love my SUV - 2002 Acura MDX
  By JCBC - December 26 - 10:00 am

  Excellent Performance. I love the front

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  Acura 2001 MDX - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Alicia - December 26 - 7:11 am

  Bought my 2001 MDX back in 2003. Have never had any major problems with it. I love the MDX, very sporty for the money. Engine light came on and took it to the dealer. It needs a new transmission. It only has 79,000 miles on it. I have followed all the maintenances on it, changed the oil every 3,000 miles. Just so discouraged at this point. Not sure how this happened.

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  RSX-S is a Fun Car ! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By David... - December 25 - 2:00 am

  Just got one on 29 March, and am almost at the 600 mile break-in. Originally, I planned to buy via a discount buying service (CostCo), but ended up with a much better price from the local salesman; this was a surprisingly good experience. RSX-S is a fun car to drive! Handling and performance are wonderful; the engine is very responsive, especially (but not only) beyond 6000 RPM. The 6-speed manual transmission is great -- very smooth! Especially fun on winding, two-lane roads, where it passes slower logging trucks & RVs quickly and safely. Its also relatively fun (& quiet) on freeways -- certainly more solid and quieter than my 94 Integra.

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  Filler up and GO !!!! - 1992 Acura Integra
  By MadRacer - December 23 - 9:44 pm

  Ive had this vehicle now since Dec. 1992 and no problems whatsoever. 225K and still on original engine and transmission. Even radiator is OEM. Only thing needed to change was pass. window motor, clutch at 175K, muffler at 190K. I lose about 1/2 qt. of oil per 4000K oil change. Have used synthetic since new.

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  Priceless - 1994 Acura Integra
  By CM221975 - December 21 - 10:47 am

  I purchased this car for $2000 dollars here in southern california and what a steal it was. I love this car, its powerful, fun, great ride, I feel like im 18 again. This is by far one of the best two cars ive ever had (my other car being a 94 honda civic ex). The v-tec is amazing and very responsive even after the 170k miles it has on it.

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  Better than BMW 5 Series - 2004 Acura TL
  By exbeemer - December 21 - 2:00 am

  Traded our 01 BMW 5 series for the new TL. The Acura has lots more power, its faster, handles better, has more interior room, a modern interior and more luxury features--best of all $15,000 less than a new 525i. Plus it has Honda/Acura reliability (BMW is a nightmare when the warranty expires). Thankfully, we traded before it ran out. Loved our Bimmer. Love our Acura even more...and we love having the extra luxury and performance for a LOT less money!