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:

• 

  exceptional value - 2006 Acura RSX
  By tompanone - May 5 - 9:35 pm

  i have owned a honda civic for 10 years. this car surpasses my expectations: it is fun to drive, it handles like a high-performance race car, and it is very reasonably priced. the value for price paid is outstanding. i am thrilled with this car! i wish i had bought it years ago instead of the honda civic - which was also an outstanding buy.

• 

  Fun Car - 2005 Acura TL
  By Joel - May 5 - 9:15 pm

  I bought this car used for right at $30000. At this price, it is a GREAT car, wounderful sound system and alot of great creature conforts. No regrets

• 

  The Perfect Car (toy)! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Brian - May 5 - 6:13 pm

  I was originally looking at an Eclipse GT-S, but after test driving it, it was as boring as a Buick. The Celica GTS and Prelude just didnt do it for me either. But the moment you sit in an RSX Type S, it fits like a perfect glove. It moves forward effortlessly, and is a ton of fun to drive. I like the cockpit, the seats, the styling, the firepepper red exterior - its all good! You can tell it was meant to be a unique experience by design. It feels like everyone on the road is just too slow when you are behind the wheel of that bad boy. The "new car novelty" never wears off. I want to be buried in this car.

• 

  The Ack - 2006 Acura MDX
  By The Ack - May 5 - 2:45 pm

  After owning a 1994 Acura Legend Coupe, this new addition to the family was no surprise of its greatness. I have been exstremely pleased and the expectations continued to be met each time I start the MDX up.

• 

  Love the RL - 2000 Acura RL
  By NC Acura Owner - May 5 - 7:19 am

  Just purchased this car with 100,000 miles on it. Love this body style and this car was extremely hard to find. I plan on driving it for several years. For those who have an RL with less miles, let me put your mind at ease that with 100,000 miles, the car is still top of the line.

• 

  2007 RDX Tech deluxe - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Vern from Florida - May 5 - 4:36 am

  I use on line reviews a lot but dont often have time to give back. Id like to here. This is my 5th Acura and first SUV. I traded a 2005 RL which was nice but not nearly as much fun and functional as this. Its fun, cool and for a 56 year old guy, it fits my needs perfectly. Who says it has to go to upwardly mobile 30ish types?

• 

  Excellent - 2003 Acura TL
  By Paul - May 4 - 9:04 pm

  What a joy to drive. This is a dream car for anyone. If you want to have a car that will be fun to drive and last a lifetime, then this is the car for you.

• 

  A car that doesnt loose its value easily - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Leo - May 4 - 11:12 am

  I have posessed this vehicle for more than a year now and all I can says that there isnt anyday that I could tell myself that I dont feel like driving. It has the most amazing pickup which I can always feel as I can see the cars left behind when I take off . Fuel efficient and also the feeling to be the top dog of possessing Acura the higest brand car of Honda

• 

  2005 Acura RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By Mary Ellen Gase - May 3 - 7:28 pm

  The RL is a wonderful car to drive as its very smooth riding and is extremely comfortable. It also has a beautiful design. Its a very quiet riding car. The AWD, navigation center, XM radio,and moonroof are all positive features of the RL. I bought it also for the many safety features. Love it!

• 

  Cruises best at 80mph - 2004 Acura TL
  By Stephen Campbell - May 3 - 6:01 pm

  The TL is an excellent performing vehicle with comfort supported by quick handling. I get 29-30MPG on the highway at about 80mph, which is its optimal cruising speed. Bluetooth hands free phone system is also great, except when calling out utilizing the internal phone pedals. Voice activation is not as good as one would expect from an Acura.