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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  What a powerful beauty - 2007 Acura MDX
  By try2follow - September 8 - 11:57 pm

  I was driving a 2005 MDX and was offered a company car. The choice included BMW X5, Mercedes ML350, Audi Q7 and Lexus RX 350. Given my excellent experience with Acura for the last 2 years I opted for the new MDX. Acura did a great job (interior and exterior). I love the new sporty look. The seats are very comfortable and provide good support. The 300 hp engine does a great job, sound and performance are impressive. I prefer the new navigation system over the old one. The 10-speaker sound system beats my stereo at home! My children love the larger DVD screen (9 inch now). The blind spots are a problem but once you know you are just extra careful when changing lanes.

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  Cant go wrong - 2003 Acura RSX
  By rstibbetts - September 7 - 9:35 pm

  I am now at about 60K miles and this car has been great. Reliable, cool look, great handling and acceleration, excellent mileage (never averaged less than 30 MPG) and not too expensive or refined, considering its an Acura. Gives me what I need at a reasonable price (at the time). Unfortunately Acura dropped this great little car. Cons: bad driver side blind spot, rattles in the dash (pronounced when the car is cold) and a rough ride with stock tires (improved with different tires). Back seat is tight, but what do you expect in a coupe? Probably the best vehicle I have owned.

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  Nice car - 2015 Acura TLX
  By Yaba Dabadoo - September 7 - 3:58 pm

  So far so good. Been getting lot of compliments. The drive is smooth and balanced. Cant speak on much as Ive only driven it 980 miles thus far.

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  Happy Acura owner for 7+ years - 1999 Acura RL
  By Bryan - September 7 - 3:05 pm

  Great vehicle. I have owned it almost 8 years and it still runs like it did when I bought it. Regular oil changes, scheduled maintenance - and car has performed very well. Dealer maintenance at 75 and 100k can be expensive. Best car yet!

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  Love my Car! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By shl1108 - September 7 - 2:31 pm

  I love this car. I drive considerably on the freeways and side streets for my job every day. I wanted navigation, 3rd row for the kids, midsize luxury SUV. The style is great, so fun to drive and it is the perfect size for my family (3 kids). When I say fun to drive, I really mean I love to drive this car. To soccer games/practices, choir practices, school and preschool drop and pick up. It makes the necessary work and family driving less painful and that is exactly what I was looking for in this car. The upside: smooth pick up (especially at 50 mph+, like a galloping horse), real time traffic on the navi has saved me plenty of time already. My kids love the heated rear seats and DVD.

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  Good value, but isnt holding up. - 2003 Acura RSX
  By avixe - September 7 - 2:00 am

  The S is a good car and would be ideal for someone who lives in a smoothly- paved area. Tight suspension makes for a fighter-jet ride at highway speeds, but unfortunately also invites a neck- snapping, spring-bottoming ride over anything less than perfect roads. Likewise, the engine makes fantastic, ferocious noises on highway on-ramps (and at red lights) but around town tends to attract attention unless kept under 3500rpm. The car handles just beautifully, and the level of standard equipment on the S has no equal. I see some have complained about the seats, but I find them both supportive and comfortable (make sure you use the lumbar adjustment!).

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  Excellent, driving machine ! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Plateau KD - September 7 - 2:00 am

  Before I buy MDX, I took test drive othe Suvs like, Mercedes ML, BMW MX, Toyota LC. This was the best car Ive ever driven. Its fast, stable, yet I can still feel like a sport car. Eye catching design on the road too.

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  Mothers new car - 2003 Acura TL
  By Mothers - September 7 - 2:00 am

  We took this car on an extented trip and had a very enjoyable drive. The car is fast and the fuel mileage was great. We could have gotten speeding tickets several times, and we are senior citizens.

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  Fun to Drive - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Always & Forever - September 6 - 5:08 pm

  My husband purchased this car as a wedding gift in 2000. I fell in love with it and immediately treated it like a baby. Her name is "Belle" and yes she has had minor maintenance work (tires, brakes, water pump), but isnt that how babies are? Take care of them, and one day you will receive the reward, which I am receiving right now, 7 years later! I am very pleased with this car.

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  Wonderful Car! - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Princessmac - September 6 - 12:38 pm

  I just bought a brand new 2007 TSX, automatic tranny w/no navigation (so I could save the $1,000). It is much peppier than my previous car, a 2002 Mazda Millenia. The interior is well thought out and the engine purrs along nicely. I really dont get much chance to drive it the way I would like since I am normally stuck in traffic, but I can tell it wants to go. On the highway it is a dream, sportier than my previous car and very smooth.