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! - 2004 Acura TL
  By leeherman - October 29 - 10:00 am

  The new TL is a well built car with plenty of performance, comfort, and nice features. Its reasonably economical, and I expect it to have typical Honda reliability.

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  Transmission Replaced 3 times! - 1999 Acura TL
  By Kristina - October 28 - 2:53 pm

  This vehicle was my favorite, wanted to keep it forever! Until I had to replace the transmission 3 times, so I dumped it at a pawn shop! Didnt have the conscience to sell it outright to a buyer, because of the tranny issue. I spoke with an employee of Honda Research and Development, and he told me there was an inherent transmission problem that wouldnt go away. He said to buy a Honda product newer than 2002. Other than that, I owned the car for over 4 years. Sexy car, but born with a lifetime defect that ended up costing me money, because the new transmissions were only covered under warranty for 10k miles. Dont buy it! It will cost you money!!

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  Sweet car - 2006 Acura TL
  By scs - October 28 - 2:40 pm

  Researched the 3 series, G35, IS350, and the TL got my vote.

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  A+ for the Automatic RSX - 2002 Acura RSX
  By eyrelle - October 27 - 1:00 am

  Sports car purists should stick to the manual. But for the daily commuter the steptronic automatic transmission offers all the fun of a manual with no clutch. I purchased it becuase I spend hours in stop and go traffic. Other convincing features include Acuras luxury interior, loads of standard features, good value and excellent quality.

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  Cant Get Rid of This Thing - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Ben - October 26 - 3:43 am

  Ive had my Legend LS for 10 years now. Ive contemplated getting a new car numerous times, but I just cant seem to justify buying a new car with my Legend still going strong. Its like trying to kill a zombie. Sure, it has some issues that I may eventually take care of (A/C no longer works, all Bose speakers but one have died, valve seals need replacing, ABS no longer works), but the car still runs great. Im thinking that Id rather spend the $3K+ to fix these items than spend another $30K - $40K for a newer car. Besides, if I were to get a new car, I still couldnt part with my Legend. My wife and I switched cars one day (never happens), and she commented on how smooth it still rides.

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  My Acura TLX blows away other cars in its class - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Acura guy - October 26 - 12:39 am

  Im an Acura guy, owning for 12 years before this new 16 TLX I just bought. I thought about changing - looked hard at BMW, Lexus, Infiniti, Jaguar - and Im really happy I didnt. Love the performance, ride and comfort, and I get all of the bells and whistles that the other guys have at a significantly lower cost. Plus the car just looks great.

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  I have given the most accurate rating. - 2002 Acura TL
  By kenneth M Peterson - October 25 - 9:07 pm

  I absolutely love this car and if we did not have to sell it we would not. This is a beautiful sport sedan with lots of plush options and it is fun to drive! This car is a real head turner it is black on black leather interior, with all the options with the exceptions of navagation. The powerful engine and handling is very impressive.

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  2005 Acura TL 6spd Man - 2005 Acura TL
  By Brian Miami - October 25 - 5:46 pm

  The Acura TL 2005 has been a great car to own and drive. I went from a German vehicle so the steering and handling took some getting used to - but thats the only flaw in my eyes. Otherwise the car is amazingly well designed.

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  Second MDX - 2007 Acura MDX
  By nvdesertrat - October 25 - 11:01 am

  I tested the BMW X5 3.0 (too small, slow), the X5 4.8 (fast, too expensive!), the Lexus RX (nice, not sporty enough). This vehicle is a big step up from the 02 model: more power, better handling (doesnt feel a bit like a mini-van anymore), more creature comforts and roughly the same fuel economy. Drivers seat is very comfortable for my 5-11" frame. The SH-AWD system is terrific as you feel it pull you around sharp turns as you accelerate. Nav. syst. has good display and gives clear and adjustable directions (from almost constant advice to concise directions). Hands Free Link hooks up to B/tooth c-phone on startup, sound system automatically switches to phone when called.

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  Fun to Drive - 2003 Acura MDX
  By ECT - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Great handling vehicle. Its amazing that the 20hp increase from the 2002 model to the 2003 model gives so much more acceleration power. Workmanship quality is superb- not even a minor defect found in first 10 days.