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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  Excellent performance, reliability & style - 2002 Acura TL
  By Carlos Valentin - August 18 - 4:54 am

  This car has always the one of my dreams for long years. I had owned it for about 3 months now, completely certified & everybody thinks its brand new. Its an excellent car, excellent performance and incredible features with top of the line technology. Its everything anybody could want in a near-luxury car. On the highway, it just glides... driving its just a pleasurable experience by itself. The Bose 6 disc in-dash system just blows my mind with is beautiful sound quality. I feel so safe because its drivebility is amazing. Leather heated seats, automatic sun-roof, and the anti-theft system... everybody that has been in it has fallen in love with it and I couldnt be more satisfied.

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  Trade up to 2005 MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By John - August 17 - 8:31 pm

  4,000 miles of experience and still enjoy driving my MDX. Features and comfort are better than expected, gas mileage a little worse (18 MPG). The on board computer shows about 22 MPG best case on the freeway. The RES causes some rear visibility issues, but workable. The ride is much better than my prior SUV (V8 Explorer) and power about the same. As claimed, the MDX drives a lot smaller than it is, and feels very stable at all speeds. The MDX is a perfectly balanced SUV that does just about everything well, albeit not best in class.

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  Unreal Unreal - 2001 Acura CL
  By Awesome - August 17 - 7:42 pm

  I must say it handles and rides better then 99% of the vehicles I have driven. Very reliable, very fast, very well built, no complaints. Resale is wonderful and so is gas mileage. BUY ONE

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  Excellent ride - 2002 Acura RSX
  By HeVen - August 17 - 12:33 pm

  Very good bang for its buck, and also you wont find a luxury/speed car combination out there like the Type-S!!

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  An "Accurate" Description - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Jim Lipsky - August 17 - 12:23 pm

  Im very pleased with my Acura MDX. I traded up from a V6 Accord Navi and havent looked back or regretted a thing, short of filling the gas tank daily (Im a Realtor, and put lots of miles on the car). My invalid father gets in and out easily and clients like the roominess and Navi system. Nice job Honda!

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  Nothing Else will Do - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Jackie Morehead - August 16 - 9:11 am

  My new MDX is the best, it drives so well, turns so well, rides like a dream. I let a friend drive it and they were so impressed. I love my On Star and Navigation they are so good and the blue tooth phone as well as the other phone. I cannot say enough about how wonderful my new Acura MDX is.

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  Dependable Vehicle - 1998 Acura TL
  By Olga - August 16 - 1:29 am

  Ive had this car since 1998 and have never had a problem. I just changed the battery for the first time. I also agree, the cruise control button is not in a convenient location. Other than that my car has been great to me.

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  A great minivan alternative - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Hangdog - August 15 - 1:14 pm

  I love the seating for 7. Driving the MDX feels like driving a car, no heavy truck feel. I think Ill stay with this one for a while!

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  Home run from Acura - 2005 Acura TSX
  By SC Boy - August 15 - 9:08 am

  This car is top notch. No problems. No bugs to work out. A sweet ride at an excellent price. Acura should be proud. Hopefully new models will improve the options like install electric seat adjusters. That is my only complaint. ...And Im picky.

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  Keep it simple - 2005 Acura TSX
  By skshrews - August 14 - 7:39 pm

  My wife just bought this car after 13 years and 250K in an Acura Integra, 92. Smooth, comfortable, and not "overly-teched", the car is simple to operate. Sunroof, leather seats, plenty of storage is standard. Acceleration is excellent, and 6 speed manual keeps you entertained while driving. Pricing is reasonable relative similar cars. Weve been getting over 30-35 MPG. Acura reliability is the best in the business, the first scheduled maintenance (other than oil changes) is 100K.