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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  2009 Acura TSX - 2009 Acura TSX
  By BRSJ - November 9 - 12:53 pm

  I bought my car the 1st week the 09 TSX babies went on sale. I dont regret a thing. I looked at the IS, A4, MB C-class, Volvos of various models, and the TSX won hands down with $, features & reliability. Magnificent car. Love the navi knob - a touch screen would require the eyes to be off the road. My TSX has a telescoping steering wheel and a 6 disc in-dash CD player. All my friends love my car. At night the interior looks awesome! UFO style! Fun car & will last a long time!

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  Very Satisfied owner - 2005 Acura TL
  By COvalle - November 8 - 7:00 pm

  I love my car. I got it for my birthday after having test driving it a few months prior and dreaming about it since. My husband and I have bought 7 cars in the last 2 years none of which were older than 2 years old and this one is by far the favorite. I love the memory seating connected to the lock clicker... The leather is butter soft. Mine is anthrocite with quartz interior. Its a computer on a great powerful engine that is comfy to ride in. Gotta love those Xenons. My husbands car came with Xenon lights also but mine are brighter! I definitely recommend this car. Other dealers would charge you thousands more for the same equipment and they dont even have touchscreens!

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  Best Value - 2005 Acura RL
  By CGPRL - November 7 - 9:59 pm

  Test drove most of the competition from MB, BMW and Lexus. I think the RL is the best value and best overall performer in its class. It may not have the best handling and road feel, nor the most horsepower or torque, but I feel it is close to being the best in all categories. I didnt find a perfect car in my test drive (with a budget of under $60,000) and the RL is as close as it gets.

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  Comfort in driving - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Christine Spampinato - November 7 - 10:46 am

  I love driving my MDX. It is a smooth and comfortable SUV. It has power to get you where you want to go. The visiblity is also great.I am able to see a lot more of the country side than with my sedan. I also like the seat warmer during this winter season. Over all it is a great SUV for the price.

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  Top Performance - 2006 Acura RL
  By Don - November 5 - 2:56 pm

  This is my 4th Acura experience. It seemed the prior models always lacked something the other luxury sedans had, i.e., horsepower. The new RL has it all horsepower, design, performance, electronics, and very good fuel economy. What a pleasure to drive, especially on mountain highways.

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  Great Family Vehicle - 2006 Acura MDX
  By blackjack - November 5 - 10:28 am

  An avid Honda fan, I decided I was at the age where I deserved a little more luxury. However, with two kids and two dogs, a sports sedan wasnt going to cut it. Our MDX is so smooth and fun to drive, yet it offers all the things we need as a family. It is very spacious and feels sturdy and responsive on the road. It brakes well and handles rough roads easily. The gas mileage is suprisingly good for such a large and powerful vehicle. We use regular gas most of the time, and the gas mileage does not appear to be affected significantly. We enjoy our MDX very much and feel safe in it. I highly recommend purchasing the optional side molding as we did - I do not have one ding to speak of.

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  2 years + in TSX - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Seattle TSX - November 5 - 2:34 am

  Fun to drive if you like light 4-cylinder cars that you have to rev. I usually drive far too fast in this car. Great value for the money, plus reliable. If I were comparing a 3-series, a Passat, and an A4 to this car again, I would buy it again. Extremely comfortable seats, both front and back. The 6-speed stick is essential to this car if you are planning to buy an automatic you should just buy an Accord. I love this car and bought it because of the quality and value proposition. However, as a Euro-car type, it appeals to me mentally but ultimately fails to satisfy in spite of its excellence and in spite of the fact that Id buy it again. Lifes a contradiction.

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  Acura TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By twormer - November 4 - 9:56 pm

  Ive had this car for two months and so far it is wonderful. Fun to drive, comfortable and reasonably economical. My only complaints at this time are somewhat more road noise than I expected, and a wider turning radius than anticipated.

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  93 Integra - 1993 Acura Integra
  By kp - November 4 - 5:16 pm

  I bought this vehicle new in 1993. I have had very few problems with it. The only problems that I have had have been normal maintenance. I would highly recommend it.

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  Unique Luxury Sleeper - 2005 Acura RL
  By Bruce Bolen - November 2 - 8:22 pm

  Have owned five Mercedes, four BMW, two Saab. Acura RL is the best of the bunch because it has has modern, timeless styling that grows on you with time. The interior is totally modern and a pleasing, comfortable, friendly environment. Performance is more than adequate and 28 mpg at 80 mph on the highway is good for a 300 hp 4x4 luxury sedan. What I like most is you have something modern, enduring and unique with long term durability, and you dont see yourself coming and going in upscale locations. Mercedes has too many models and is no longer unique and their quality is sagging. BMW is too flashy and yuppie and has durability problems. GM has ruined Saab and it may never recover.