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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  I love the sports mode of RDX - 2007 Acura RDX
  By harvey agustin - September 6 - 8:50 pm

  Its fun to drive using the sports mode. I never had a car this fast and stable at high speeds. My average mileage after 3000 miles is around 17-18 miles per gallon both city and highway driving combined.

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  EXCELLENT MACHINE - 2003 Acura TL
  By MAD - September 6 - 2:00 am

  IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE WORKMANSHIP ON THIS VEHICLE. VERY RESPONSIVE, STEP ON THE GAS AND YOURE GONE. HANDLES VERY NICE AND SMOOTH. EXCELLENT CAR FOR THE PRICE, EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS STANDARD.

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  EXCELLENT MACHINE - 2003 Acura TL
  By mad - September 6 - 2:00 am

  IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE WORKMANSHIP ON THIS VEHICLE. VERY RESPONSIVE, STEP ON THE GAS AND YOURE GONE. HANDLES VERY NICE AND SMOOTH. EXCELLENT CAR FOR THE PRICE, EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS STANDARD.

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  Great power on demand - 2006 Acura TL
  By matthew everett - September 3 - 5:50 pm

  I really love my Acura, it has power to spare,and turns well. I am a little disappointed in the styling of the rear of the car. I think they need to address this isssue, and make a TL that looks a bit more intimidating

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  Luvin My Car - 2005 Acura RL
  By AcuraOwner - September 3 - 11:03 am

  This is one of the smoothest, most responsive vehicles I have ever driven.

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  Great car, great price - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Tom - September 3 - 8:59 am

  Definitely worth the money. Had it for about 2 months now and still cant wait to get in and drive. Im in love with the interior design and the handling. My car only has 850 or so miles on it so I havent taken it over 4000 revs yet. Havent seen what this baby can really do. Lovin it so far.

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  Great Car!! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Dominic Alexander - September 3 - 4:52 am

  Love the car!!My first Honda product!! Good gas mileage w/ gas prices being so high. Love the leather interior, climate control, the sports shift is a lot of fun

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  Outstanding SUV ! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Tchello - September 2 - 8:36 am

  After thorough research that included major brands (BMW, MB, Volvo & Audi) the MDX came on top. The standard model comes with leather, moonroof and 3rd row seat. Got the Sport package with technology and its a bargain compared with the other, more fancy, brands. At least $10K less for a very similar, and in many cases, superior product. If you dont need the status of a BMW or Mercedes, this is the way to go. I traded my Audi A4, and Im very happy I did so. Overall, very solid and handles great. Smooth.

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  Kick Ass - 2003 Acura CL
  By B. A. Smith - August 31 - 2:00 am

  This is the most fun Ive had driving in a long time!!! However, the new Accord is almost just as fun and will save you a few thousand.

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  MDXOVERXC90 - 2003 Acura MDX
  By MDXOVERXC90 - August 31 - 2:00 am

  The best SUV on the market for its class and lots of values for your $$$$$ The car perform superb both on and off road include in rain and snow condition. All in a 10++++++++++ Keep up the good work ACURA.