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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  Unhappy so far - 2003 Acura MDX
  By carbuyer - June 22 - 11:10 am

  Purchased this car in Oct 06, pre-owned certified. Since then the vehicle has been in the shop for faulty electrical, steering wheel controls replaced, replaced heated seat sensor, hatch has a short in the light (quits working after about 2 wks), latch door sticks, wipers come on at whim, rattle/shaking at high speed (repair says it is the tires, I purchased new tires, problem still not fixed). Very loud squealing noise happened, something about torque valve - luckily I have the wrap-around coverage. The dealership has been working with me and I really like the car but have been plagued with problems since owning it. My old 93 Mitsubishi ran with 304k without incident. I will stick with Mits.

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  the best car - 2003 Acura TL
  By rajesh - June 22 - 10:00 am

  If you are trying to find a car for a good price, this is the car for you. this is better than INFINITI g35 and NISSAN 350z. ACURA 3.2 TL is the best car ever built. Best sound system, has a lot of power and ummph.. to it. YOu will not be dissappointed with this car.

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  Great Intro-Luxury Car! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Les - June 22 - 7:36 am

  A lot of thought was put into this car. Smooth shifting using the "tiptronic" mode, but sluggish on the low end. Get it up to 4000 rpm, and look out. Runs like a six otherwise...outstanding deal for the money.

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  Exceeds Expectations - 2008 Acura MDX
  By pdx family - June 21 - 4:36 pm

  We have had the 2008 Acura MDX for a month now and couldnt be more delighted. It is replacing a Chrysler T&C. My ratings are based on what my expectations are in this class of vehicle. The size is perfect for us, it seats 5 easily and the +2 rear seating is quite acceptable though the access is difficult. The ride is comfortable, firm and responsive. Sport upgrade is worth it. The navigation system is outstanding and can be operated while moving. You must read the manuals to understand all the features. The gas mileage we have gotten is significantly better than EPA ratings. We got 25 mpg on a 200 mile x-mountain trip and see about 19 mpg in mixed town driving.

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  Fun, Luxurious, Affordable. - 2006 Acura TSX
  By speedracer3 - June 21 - 3:06 am

  Ive thought long & hard before buying this car and have driven the competition. The TSX does everything right, its quick , handles great, it is luxurious and wont break the bank. My only complaint so far is that fuel economy is not that great for a 4 cyl car. The car is fully loaded, every luxury feature that I wanted is there. The car looks especially good with a spoiler and the parchment interior with wood trim rounds out the luxury look. I would recommend this car to anybody looking for fun to drive, affordable sporty sedan.

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  Perfect mix - 2007 Acura RDX
  By jfc - June 20 - 9:49 pm

  Acceleration, handling, comfort and utility. Limited capacity is not a surprise based on the size. 20 mpg mixed driving - aggressive at times but not needless (like racing to a stop light). Stiff ride took a whole week to get used to and one more to love.

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  Another Acura - 2007 Acura TL
  By Peter - June 20 - 7:04 pm

  This is Acura number 4 for me. These car are incredibly reliable and great to own. The TL comes with virtually every option that all of the competition puts into pricey packages. I put in a lot of miles every year and comfort is a priority. The TL is extremely driver/passenger friendly. The ride is smooth and the shifting is seamless. Navigation and voice activated system is very good. No more fumbling for phone or headset since everything is hands-free and controlled from steering wheel. Design is pretty conservative but not bad. Mileage is better than last TL even with more horsepower. Currently I get about 28 mpg hwy and 25 overall.

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  Sweet Ride!! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By annlee - June 20 - 5:11 pm

  Exceeds every SUV I compared to. It either has it better or less expensive. This car has every feature you can think of. The DVD surround stereo is amazing (front and rear can be operated separately by driver). I am having so much fun driving it. My husband is always trying to find a reason to drive it. We traded a 99 Landcruiser and the insurance only increased $100 over the 6mos... WOW!! This car has excellent safety ratings along with an alarm system that cuts off the fuel supply.

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  I Love It! - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Hannah Acey - June 20 - 4:34 pm

  Although I havent owned my integra for long, I have absolutely no complaints about it (apart from the small center console). It handles great, as well as having impressive performance and awesome reliability!

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  Nice dependable car - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Geo - June 19 - 10:01 pm

  I exchanged the 06 MDX for the 07 MDX. I like the exterior and the interior, compare to the 2006. The only problems is that with this 2007 the bumper front and back are plastic and makes the car look cheap. I do not understand on a luxury $40,000 dollar car they would install a plastic bumper. Also, the car has too much wind noise and the steering wheel is unconvertible.