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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  Acura 3.2 TL - love it! - 2002 Acura TL
  By jimbo2 - January 11 - 2:00 am

  Ive never had a car that only required oil changes for maintenance for the first two years! In addition to the reliability, I love the feature set, its comfortable to drive, and has the power available when I need it. I look forward to going to work or the store because I get to drive my TL!

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  2003 MDX Touring - 2003 Acura MDX
  By frankyy - January 11 - 2:00 am

  I have researched at least 10 SUV models including RX300, ML 320, ML 320, BMW X5 and Volvo XC 90). Acura MDX is the best one out there. Great value and Acuras high quality. Smoother than I expected.

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  Great car. - 2006 Acura RL
  By Woody - January 10 - 5:17 pm

  The Acura RL handles like a sports car and rides like a luxury sedan. Great looking and the voice activated naviagation system is easy to use.

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  Best in class - 2006 Acura RL
  By Randy Bunney - January 9 - 9:03 pm

  Acura made it simple for me to buy the RL. It comes completely loaded with all the bells and whistles. Two months of test driving everything the competition had to offer and nothing compared to the RL.

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  Love it! - 2006 Acura MDX
  By mdxfinally - January 9 - 8:42 pm

  Have owned an Acura Integra for 14yrs. but with two kids, needed a bigger car. This was perfect! Love the drive, visibility, and safety features. Could do without the cheap plastic wood accents on the interior, but otherwise love everything about it!

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  Happy owner - 2005 Acura TSX
  By JP Niceplace - January 9 - 3:17 pm

  My first Acura leasing in replacement of a Toyota Corolla LE 2003. My daughter has been an enthousiastic promoter of Honda and owns an Acura EL 2005 so I was convinced to try this car. It is luxurious, fun to drive and economical. It is powerful and very steady on the highway as it feels like a much bigger car. I will probably upgrade to the larger TL when leasing is up. I am very happy with my first ever Honda product.

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  surprise i like it. - 2004 Acura TSX
  By bruce m. - January 9 - 10:00 am

  For price,performance and style you cant go wrong with the tsx.More horsepower would be nice,but,theres the tl.A with mileage in the upper 20 mpg range and gas at $2.10 a gallon this is the perfect car.Im really surprised how much i love this car and the nav systems a plus.Only wish would a power passengers seat and standard fog lights and heated mirrors.

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  4 months no issues - 2004 Acura TL
  By NoRespect - January 9 - 10:00 am

  This is my first car in 20 years (all trucks before)I love the acceleration, Interior, sound system (Ill never go back to FM), Gas Milage after 4 months town: 16mpg, HW:28mpg. Rain handling could be better, Houston highways can get pretty deep water. Different tires would help.

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  The best - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mafioso - January 9 - 10:00 am

  I bought the 2005 TL on 10/23/2004. I spent the weekend driving this baby around and all I have to say is WOW..this is a fantastic car. Its powerful and the technology used in this car is amazing. The ride is comfortable yet still sporty. The fun factor of this car is unparallel with the powerful ride, amazing stereo system, bluetooth and the cool blue lights. I think this car is a great value. You get so much for your money. Definitely test-drive this one if youre considering getting a BMW 3 series or a Lexus GS300 or 400. In my opinion, its a perfect car.

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  1999 Acura TL - 1999 Acura TL
  By captain - January 8 - 11:39 pm

  Maintenance and repair expence during 7 years and 143000 miles has been very low. A new transmision at 93,000 mi. was replaced by Acura at no cost. They even provided a new TL to drive while mine was in the shop. My total expense for maintenance(incl oil changes), tires, batteries and repairs is less than $1600, including a new starter at 142000 mi. It still runs and handles like new. (I dont follow scheduled maintenance). Never tuned up, but do change oil and filter every 7500 mi. I still have the original plugs. Gets 26- 31 mi/ga I use only regular. I think it runs better on regular. Ive recently towed this car with 4 wheels on ground behind my motorhome over 6000 mi without any problems.