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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  One Outstanding Ride - 1999 Acura RL
  By Mark M - August 14 - 2:11 pm

  I purchased this car 6 months ago and have absolutely loved it. As soon as you get behind the wheel you instantly recognize the quality that was put into this car. The ride is very smooth. I replaced the tires with Bridgestone Turanza LS-Vs which greatly improved the ride and reduced road noise. I have not had to put a penny into the car other than normal maintenance (and the tires). At 79,000 miles there isnt a squeak or rattle, it as tight as it was new. The engine is powerful enough for the car but not as powerful as its competition in this class. Gas mileage is not great. If your looking for a great quality used car I would strongly recommend the Acura RL.

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  Great 1st sports car. - 1998 Acura Integra
  By sneeedle - August 14 - 4:38 am

  Ive been driving my Integra (98 GS 2dr 5-speed) for almost 4 years now. In those 4 years I have put almost 100,000 miles on it. I have never once gone to get in my car and it not start. I have never once had it break down. My stock clutch has 156,xxx miles on it, and has hardly any slipping. By far the easist manual transmission car ive ever owned. As far as performance goes, stock itll handle pretty good, and get up and go pretty good. If you put some money into the car (suspension, engine) Itll be a great handling, great performing daily driven car. My car has 156,000 miles on it, I beat on it daily, and it still runs like brand new and begs to be driven harder.

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  All the major things right but - 2005 Acura TSX
  By stillooking - August 12 - 11:46 pm

  could do much better with build quality on minor but irritating items. First month, discovered high pitch noise from ventilation fan. Third month, discovered creaking noise from the windshield. Currently, have buzzing noise from drivers door. Two of the three were eventually fixed after multiple visits to two dealerships. Other than these minor problems, it has been a great drive.

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  RSX TYPE S SUPERCAR - 2002 Acura RSX
  By WILLDI - August 11 - 6:00 am

  SUPERB AUTOMOBILE WITH GREAT SAFETY FEATURES EXCELLENT LOOKS AND THE BACKING OF ACURA. GREAT ACCELERATION SPECIALLY AT HIGH RPMS. THE OVERSIZED DISKS BRAKES STOPS IT ON A DIME. GREAT STABILITY ON CURVES.

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  Best 4 dr sport car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By johns - August 11 - 12:35 am

  Bought this car 2 years ago and it is the most fun 4dr car around. I have a 5 speed and it has never given me any problems. I would highly recommend it.

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  You Gotta Get One - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Wendy - August 10 - 8:20 am

  You must buy the Acura MDX. I really enjoy mine. I researched it for about two months before I purchased it. This was the best SUV purchased Ive ever made. I have all the toys, which is standard. You will not go wrong with this purchase. I also have the Bose system and it sound GREAT! Especially with my iPod. Smooth and quiet ride.

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  Love it, recommend it - 2005 Acura RL
  By Petemc - August 10 - 2:54 am

  Nice luxury vehicle. Tested against most competition (BMW, Audi, Infinity) and was best overall. Technically advanced...do not purchase if you are technically challenged. Interior is outstanding, 5.1 surround sound is excellent. Exterior paint quality is best out there. Drives like a smaller car, SH-AWD does work and enables advanced performance around corners. I would definitely buy it again. Pete

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  New Acura Owner - 2005 Acura TSX
  By AS - August 9 - 6:12 pm

  I just bought my Acura TSX and I love it! It is the most attractive sports sedan on the road in my opinion and people actually turn to look at it.

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  Superb! - 2005 Acura RL
  By ziggy - August 9 - 1:34 pm

  I had a 2000 TL for 5 years and 134000 miles. I hated to part with it but now that I have, OH BOY ! Love this car ! Powerful, excelent handling, loads of toys that for the most part are intuitive. The hard part of driving this car will be avoiding tickets.

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  no more Fords - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Don Fuller - August 9 - 1:53 am

  Great handling and power, faster than my "SHO", 23 mpg in town driving and 33 on the road. Global navigation is great for my real estate business. The suspension is stiffer than my Lexus but that is expected.