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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  Fun, fun, fun. - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Juan - February 3 - 5:17 pm

  Fun to drive, the six speed shifter can get tiring if you are not into shifting all the time. Back seat space is pretty tight, if you have friends over 58" tall have them seat up front. Great fuel economy for such a fast car. Acura build means it still feels like new. No problems with it so far.

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  A Great and Fun Sedan - 2005 Acura TL
  By Kirk - February 1 - 8:56 pm

  I bought this car based on a wide range of reviews and the Honda reputation - plus a series of test drives. I was in the market for a luxury / near luxury sedan that was fun to drive and economical. Predicted reliability and customer satisfaction were also factors. We tend to keep our cars for 8 years. The car has been terrific and exceeded my expectations. The handling is terrific, both acceleration and cornering, yet quiet and smooth (I have not had any of the rattles mentioned). The interior is comfortable and very well appointed, and sound system is terrific. It exudes confidence and quality.

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  A smart mans exotic car - 2005 Acura NSX
  By Brad Tuski - February 1 - 8:39 pm

  The car is unbelievable it handles like a gem and is a constant head turner.

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  STRICTLY FOREIGN - 2009 Acura TSX
  By C-LO - February 1 - 7:23 pm

  Bought this car for my wife. We love it! Traded an SUV. Can you say gas saver! The quality of the car is 1st class. It has so much leg room in it. My wife wanted the TL, until she fell in love with the TSX. For the price, its gonna be hard to beat!

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  A Fun ride - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Jim D - February 1 - 11:06 am

  Ive had BMW, Mercedes,Audi, Nissan and nothing tops the ride...........comfort and performance.........a fun car to drive.........had it 2 years and no rattles..............fit and finish..............will stay with Acura

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  Only Gets Better - 2004 Acura MDX
  By MDXer - February 1 - 2:00 am

  I traded my 2001 MDX in for the 2004. What a difference 3 years makes. The MDX drives better, is faster, more responsive and more comfortable then the 2001. The kids love the entertainment system.

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  Why pay more ?? - 2004 Acura TL
  By wnbresn - February 1 - 2:00 am

  Lexus, BMer, Mercedes?? Nope this car has them all beat for what you get for the price. A week after I bought my car I had to drive it 1000 miles for my job and it made the whole trip a dream. I told the Nav system where I wanted to go and it got me there and with the XM Radio blasting on the comedy channel and others it made the drive sweet. Take any of the other luxury cars and put all the features that come standard on the TL into them and you end up paying a heck of a lot more than what I had to pay for my TL. You just cant go wrong with this

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  Lovethecar - 2006 Acura RL
  By JiminSC - January 31 - 8:46 pm

  Just bought our new Acura RL. Exhaustive research convinced us it had what we wanted: AWD, OnStar, HandsFree, VoiceActivated. So far, very pleased. Trunk a little cramped, otherwise beautifully designed interior, whisper quiet, great handling, solid, powerful, Nav is stunning, tech features awesome. Night lighting in dash and ambiance lighting are breathtaking. Picked this over TL, Lexus IS350, Toyota Avalon. Longtime Toyota owner. But, so far this is a great car. Keep you posted.

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  2005 Acura NSX - 2005 Acura NSX
  By Harry Leff - January 31 - 11:07 am

  This my second NSX. I had purchased the first one in 1991 and and in 2003 purchased the anniversary corvette. After a year of the corvette, had to sell it and purchase another NSX. The NSX is agile, quick, responsive and beautiful. The car is pure, not fancy regarding features ...lacks navigation, heated seats, bluetooth, etc. But if you are looking for a great sportscar that virtually has not changed for 15 years, its because Honda created perfection from day one.

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  overated - 2003 Acura TL
  By K Nguyen - January 30 - 10:47 pm

  I reall enjoy the car when I am able to drive it. The car is great in fuel consumption. I am still averaging 22mpg in city and 29.2 mpg on highway, which is one of main reasons why I bought it. However, Ive had a few problems worth mentioning. Alignment was off within first 10k mi. Ive had the battery replaced at 23K mi. All under warranty. At 30k mi. front rotors were warped and new brake pads had to be replaced. This set me back $200.00. The tranny seems to be in good condition -- knock on wood. Now at 37k mi. the tires have dry rot and in need of replacement. Anything but those overpriced Michellins. Probably will go for the Yokohama Avid v4s at Tirerack. Any thoughts?