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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  Excellent Choice - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Happy Driver - April 24 - 5:54 am

  Love driving it. Holds to the curves and handles like a dream. Only problem I have found is that the doors do not lock automatically when you start the car.

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  Not my 94 Honda - 2006 Acura TL
  By CTsteve - April 23 - 9:23 am

  Picked up my wifes 06 TL on Saturday, 3/25. Black, camel interior, navi and six speed. The car is a beauty. We broke her in with a 300-mile city (Manhattan), highway (I 95) drive. First impressions: the six-speed is very slick. Brembos work as advertised. Navi is mighty interesting: "GW Bridge Upper Level." Wow. Still, I have to do my homework on this device to really understand its capabilities. Suspension is solid, couldnt detect any torque steer on such a short sample. Quiet cabin, comfortable seats. XM Radio sounds pretty good through the standard hifi. So far, so good.

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  Excellent engine, styling, & comfort - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Kyle K. - April 22 - 9:48 pm

  2nd owner, bought car in 99 with 60k mi put in after market suspension & audio system car has driven like a dream since with regular preventive maintenance (oil, air, coolant) and a preventive water pump, belts, and radiator change at 90k drives as well as the day I bought it with no major repairs receive many compliments from friends who thought car is new.

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  Good car for long time user - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Nicollette Mourot - April 22 - 9:40 pm

  I love my car!!! This car has been well worth the money we spent on it. It is beautiful, fast and elegant. My car has 112 plus miles and has been faithfully maintained by local Acura dealership. Still runs like a top and is still current.

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  Bold - 2009 Acura TL
  By Bold - April 22 - 5:10 pm

  I compared the RL with the TL and there is no comparison. The TL has a better drive, better gas mileage, more pickup and cost $5,000 less. I was surprised that the two models are about the same size. The AWD is great in the snow. I previously had a BMW 750 and am not disappointed. It takes time to learn how to use all the features.

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  2009 Acura TSX - 2009 Acura TSX
  By M. Alari - April 22 - 10:23 am

  Down sized from a luxury SUV. First benefit is the average MPG for my first week of 29.4! Great styling, performance and comfort.

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  Love it! - 2006 Acura RL
  By ed - April 21 - 11:13 pm

  I finally found the car I was looking for - initially the performance is great, the ride is smooth and wonderfully responsive, both on the highway and in the mountains the controls are not as complicated as some indicate, the noise level is the best (lowest) of all the cars I tested, and the interior is exquisite. The car loves to be driven and the driver feels alive and excited. There is plenty of power and plenty of luxury - combined with a sense of sportiness, makes this a competitive combination almost unbeatable. Perhaps a more expensive Lexus might be a better choice, but after hours of homework and many, many test drives, I think I found the perfect combination for what I wanted.

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  Very Satisfied + More - 2006 Acura RL
  By Jay Wolfe - April 21 - 4:22 pm

  Upgraded from a 2005 TL. Checked most others in this category and the RL just offered too much for much less cost. The handling is very good and excellent on wet and snowy payment......Interior well thought out and exterior a "not in your face" classy design. Slow off the mark, but I keep my pink slips in the glove box at my age. Great acceleration when needed to pass or when getting on the highway. After 6,000 miles have average 23.4 MPG. Navi easy to use, bluetooth great, Audio screen really helpful and with a large screen to display ball scores, golf leaderboard and programming. You can see all the words and data lines, not just a few ie Infiniti.

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  Excellent Car. - 2003 Acura TL
  By Jason - April 21 - 3:08 pm

  I purchased this car new almost 3 years ago - thus far, it has been flawless. Nothing has gone wrong with this car. It is quick, it is comfortable, it handles well, and its held up well both inside and out. I have had to avoid 3 accidents with emergency braking and manuvering - each time the car has reacted perfectly along with the anti-lock brakes - the cars performance has kept me out of accidents on both wet and dry roads. My only expenses to date have been the regularly scheduled checkups recommended by Acura (every 7,500 miles - which include oil changes). The dealers service department has been very good as well.

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  This car is SILLY! - 2005 Acura TL
  By lindo - April 21 - 1:57 pm

  I fell in love with this car the first time I saw it and ad to get one. I went with the 6spd/man just for the fun of driving it. The clutch and shifter are awsome! Its a short-throw shifter and the clutch is very forgiving. The only problems Ive noticed are teh performance tires, Ive already had to replace one because the radial came lose...and Acura refused to pay for it!!! and the other thing I noticed is when you honk on it...it tend to lose traction pretty easily on the front end. Other than that...its a sweet ride and my favorite car Ive ever owned...which includes a mustang cobra convertable...I would definatley buy again!