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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  Love my MDX! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Hecklabs - March 22 - 10:32 am

  I am so pleased with this vehicle. I looked at BMW and Lexus and found that the storage capacity (we have 3 Labs) was much bigger in the MDX. It is extremely comfortable, roomy and well built. Add to that the fact that it is the most reasonably priced and youve got a winner!!

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  Love It! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By SueOOO - March 22 - 10:06 am

  I love my MDX and Im looking forward to upgrade to the 2007!! This SUV has everything! And living in New England in the winter...the MDX was made for snow! It also looks great in the summer and having a versatile car as a young woman is key!

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  FUN FUN FUN...no regret! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By HC - March 21 - 8:05 pm

  This car is the perfect package, combining performance, luxury, fun, design, and quality in the standard package. Although, acceleration cannot compare to BMW, Lexus, or Audi, its perfect for everyday driving. Comparing to the entry level vehicles offered by the 3 listed above, TSX wins hands down. In the standard pkg at 36,100 cdn, leather, sunroof, automatic, 6 cd changer, heated seats, etc...basically all you could ask for except the nav option. I have it in black, looks great with the contrasting chrome.

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  Great SUV - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Bill - March 21 - 4:07 pm

  I have had Acura sedns for years. I got the MDX for the higher seat due to a bad back. I find that the SUV gives me many more options for transporting things as well as providing a very confortable reliable ride. My only wish would be for better gas milage.

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  Unbelievable Value - 2005 Acura TL
  By James - March 21 - 9:23 am

  I spent considerable time researching various models including the A4, Infiniti G35, Volvo S60, and of course the TL. The majority of the competitors simply couldnt match the options and the drive of the TL. Its interior is more comfortable than most furniture and its a stunning vehicle to look at on the outside. In order for the A4 and the G35 to match the options another 5-10 thousand dollars is required and still neither holds the quality name recognition of Honda. The manual transmission is blast to drive, so much so its difficult not to blow by traffic when the chance presents itself.

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  Great Car!!! - 1999 Acura TL
  By Sergey - March 19 - 11:34 pm

  This is great car! I bought it at 2 years old with 9000 miles for 23k, sold it at 7 years wit 115k for 6k. I put 106000 miles on it in 5 years. It still drives like new. All interior features are working great. The service during warranty was outstanding. This is great expirience and very low price

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  05 TL a pleasure - 2005 Acura TL
  By chas - March 19 - 6:45 pm

  This car can make any commute a pleasure. I drive 35 miles one way, I look forward to my ride since I bought this car. Smooth ride, tight handling, quiet, fast, blue tooth phone and audio are great. Avg gas mileage 25 mpg mostly highway. I wish I had the navigation it adds more versitility to the voice command. My only complaint is a few creaks and rattles in the interior come and go, cant figure why. If you buy this car get a radar detector you will need it.

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  Simple & dependable - 1998 Acura RL
  By pzrogers - March 19 - 5:36 pm

  I have owned my RL for over four years and have been very pleased with its dependability and comfort. Like most cars made by Honda/Acura, it has an understated, timeless style and is very dependable mechanically. Its only performance issue is its limited acceleration ability, which is sufficient for normal driving but not for those days or situations where you prefer a sporty feel. Overall, I would recommend this vehicle and would definitely consider buying another Acura for my next purchase.

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  Dream Car - 2005 Acura TL
  By Sharon Colombo - March 18 - 12:37 pm

  I had been researching the Acura TL for 2 years before we purchased. I love the newer (2004& up) styling. That first caught my eye. Then I test drove one and realized it had a quiet ride and really had the power I have been wanting. This year at the Auto Show in Portland, my husband and I spent a lot of time at the Acura booth with the TL. After the show, we went and purchased our TL with the Navigation. The Navigation is such a treat, we will never get lost again. We are very happy with our TL and knowing it is a Consumers Digest Best Buy and one of the Top 10 most popular cars sold in America, its just the icing on the cake. We will enjoy it for many years. I give it 5 stars all then way

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  GOOD SO FAR! - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Tina - March 16 - 7:45 pm

  I ONLY HAVE 50O MILES ON MY suv. but so far, I love the cozy interior, and the way most things are layed out. It drives quiet on the freeway and acceleration is adequate. great bluetooth, navigation, and black leather feels like quality leather.I Wish navigation was able to display what I am interested in seeing. but systems gives great verbal directions when looking for destination. Heated seats are ok, not as hot as the TL. Please re-design the front end of this rig. Please give us the choice of dark interior for any color choice we choose.Cargo space is super large, and wide, nice back seat room, seats move easily compared to other 3rd row seat SUVS.