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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  Nice car to have - 2008 Acura RDX
  By czechmate - December 10 - 4:58 pm

  I only have a few hundred miles on it. It is well made with nice internals and a few bugs. Complicated not-so-friendly navigation system. One must learn the exact commands (over 100 of them) to handle it safely and efficiently while driving. There is information missing on streets that have been in existence for many (7) years. If that is to be programmed one needs to look up MAP-IT beforehand and find the major intersection.. The engine require synthetic MOBIL-1 oil, and a higher octane gasoline. Trunk is large enough but be prepared to purchase the cargo net.

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  Tight and nimble - 2007 Acura TL
  By Rick - December 10 - 2:00 pm

  This car has about as much fun as you do. It corners nimble and stays on line in the direction it is pointed. The suspension gets into front and rear tires when tight cornering and launches the car out of the turns into the straights with positive acceleration pushing you back into the seat.

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  Wow! - 2008 Acura RDX
  By VB - December 10 - 12:09 pm

  Never did a review before, but had to comment on my new ride. Overall this car is terrific. I find a new feature I love every day. I am on my 5th tank of gas and am getting 21.8 mpg. Traded an 03 Aviator that never got better than 16, so Im thrilled. Looks good, feels good, drives good. Never owned a 4 cyl. before. Cant believe the pick up. Plenty of power when you need it. Love it! Love it!

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  What a car - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Alex Schaffhausen - December 10 - 10:00 am

  Wonderful to drive, beautiful to look at. Would recommend it to anyone and would buy it again in a heartbeat. Adding the spoiler and underbody package really makes it stand out.

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  A Real Steal - 2004 Acura TL
  By RMayes - December 10 - 10:00 am

  Tons of car for the money. Nimble, great feel for the road, corners nicely and has powerful acceleration. Extremely comfortable with some nice touches, such as hands free phone with bluetooth technology. Head-turning new body style makes it stand out among such others as Audi and BMW. Leather seats are most comfortable, and have two memory settings to match drivers 1 and 2. And last but not least, the sound system is without peer. The in- dash 6 CD player also handles audio dvds, which are much better sounding that simple CDs. You will not regret buying this one.

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  No regrets at this time - 2009 Acura TSX
  By GDR - December 9 - 5:33 pm

  We decided to get this car because, we are returning our worse car ever 2007 c230 Mercedes Benz in few weeks. The new 2009 tsx with tech package is the best deal I ever had. A good size for family daily drive and options. A little bit bumpy. But, overall its an a+ on its class. Quality speaks for itself.

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  A good, comfortable car - 2002 Acura RL
  By BlueJay - December 9 - 9:18 am

  I have enjoyed this comfortable car. It always starts and has never conked out on me while driving on the road. I noticed that holding to the speed limit, especially 55 mph the gas mileage approaches 30 mpg. In the winter, around town I expect 20-25 mpg. I drive with a light foot. I didnt think I wanted a sunroof, but have come to enjoy it, even in winter--opening it on a sunny day with the seat heat and feet heat set high. The antilock brakes have saved me from fender benders when I didnt even realize it was slippery. It handles a bit loose, like a boat, not a bullet, but feels very solid and the engine never feels strained.

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  What a great package at a great price - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mark - December 8 - 8:56 pm

  Spent two months researching and testing numerous sedans. As a tall driver (64") coming over from a SUV, I was looking for roominess, economy, and hopefully decent styling and sportiness at no more than around $50K. A tough combination indeed!! First zeroed in on Avalon and C300, then test drove BMW 330 & 530, A4, G35, M35, Maxima, Lexus 330, and Volvo S80. Whew! The TL was just simply the best combo of what I was looking for. Surprisingly roomy. What a ride! What features! The rest - forget it. Im in heaven!

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  My Review - 2003 Acura MDX
  By stsweetser - December 8 - 2:00 am

  I have owned the Acura MDX for one week and I love this vehicle. The ride is smooth, the noise level is minimal and the style and luxury compares to my luxury sedan.

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  Beyond expectations - 2009 Acura TL
  By al - December 7 - 6:13 pm

  Ive waited for this car since first trying the 2005 RL, which I found to be too soft. This 2009 TL is really superior. Even in low speeds, on side streets, theres no feeling of nose-heavy understeer. On highway on/off ramps, in spite of having had snow, sleet and wet pavement, its been holding the road as if on rails. The brakes are superb - which is the first time in an Acura (Ive owned six before), that I do not feel that need to be upgraded. So as I stated, this car is, definitely, much better then all Acuras that I greatly enjoyed before, as well as much beyond my expectations of it.