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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  Best car Ive had in years - 2003 Acura TL
  By Carol McGinnis Kay - July 27 - 3:22 pm

  After having had a small sports car that was a lemon, I was determined, above all, to have a reliable car, but I didnt want to lose the fun of driving a responsive car and I also wanted something a bit larger and more comfortable. The Acura TLS has it all: never a moments worry about reliablity, plus comfort and the pleasure of driving an easy-handling powerful car, and--to top it off--a great Bose sound system.

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  Super Handling Describes It - 2018 Acura TLX
  By David - July 27 - 4:52 am

  I love this new 2018 A-SPEC SHAWD TLX, which replaced my 2005 Acura TL. Every day, I look forward to driving it. The SHAWD feature is impressive. If you test drive both the SHAWD and the standard front wheel drive version, you will recognize the obvious difference. I am yet to find the limit of this cars handling. The appearance is striking, and it gets a lot of looks from other drivers on the road. The interior is top notch. The ride is smooth and quiet. My only complaint is that every time I start the car, I have to manually disable the annoying gas saving feature that shuts the engine off at red lights. I am getting 26 mpg average. Hats off to Acura. I am glad I waited for the mid year refresh before I made my decision to purchase.

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  VERY FUN CAR TO DRIVE!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By AWESOME!!! - July 27 - 2:02 am

  Very luxurious exterior and interior, with the speed to match. I drove a Lexus IS300, but the interior in the TL is so much nicer. Also, the in dash 6 CD Changer is great. unlike those that you have to open the glove box or go in the trunk to take cds out or put new cds in. And also the SPEED! Im a high school kid and me and friends like to race cars. I keep my cars exterior stock so no one can tell when im about to destroy them in a race.

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  Great car - 2005 Acura RSX
  By stereo5 - July 26 - 5:33 pm

  I have owned many cars in my 32 years of driving, the 2005 RSX Type S is the BEST car I have ever owned. The car is very quick, very quiet and extremely reliable and fun to drive.

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  After 20,000 Miles... - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Nick T. - July 25 - 11:27 pm

  My experience with this vehicle has been nothing by positive. I have put a lot more miles per year than I had anticipated around the city, but the car still lives up to its reliability, and after 20,000 miles, there are no rattles, no odd sounds, and no reason to take it into the shop other than general oil changes/maintenances.

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  Great SUV! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Lynn - July 25 - 3:43 pm

  Great SUV! Nice size makes handling easy. Smooth driving. Loaded with fun gadgets and entertainment. A lot of interior bang for the buck! Kid friendly. Easy to maneuver 3rd bench when needed. Nice storage space. This is our fourth SUV in 10 years and is definitely my favorite. The safety scores are good, too. Good range of vision through windows.

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  Fantastic! - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Curtis - July 25 - 1:50 pm

  I bought this car 5 years ago, performed all recommended service, and have not had any problem. It is great looking, a lot of fun to drive, and, with the folddown seats and hatchback, I have been able to transport furniture, etc that could never have fit in any larger traditional sedan. I highly recommend this car.

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  My second but hardly final MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By M.Dennis McCarron - July 25 - 1:49 pm

  The 05 MDX is a world above the 01 I had first and THAT was a great vehicle! This may not be the splashiest SUV on the lot, but it is much more quiet and nimble than any other I have owned. I think the gas mileage is fair at 20-21 mpg but sustainable for now. The turning radius still amazes me!

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  Love the TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By cliff - July 23 - 10:23 pm

  I love the acura TL. Interior, quality are excellent. The only worry i have is when starting cold, it idles roughly. When warm it idles nice. Dont like to put premium fuel in it either. Get the navigation, its worth the extra. Buy the Type S if you can afford it.

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  Best car I ever owned - 2004 Acura TSX
  By ssweet - July 22 - 10:00 am

  It has been a pleasure to drive this car, all around