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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  Hard to improve on - 2004 Acura TSX
  By TSXaholic - July 22 - 10:00 am

  i went from a 2003 Accord EX 4cyl. The performance is similar but the TSX just handles like a dream. They need to graft some of this on the Accord. My only suggestion would be to consider a taller 5th gear for high speed cruise control modulated highway commutes; I have averaged 30 MPG vs 34 in the Accord.

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  I LOVE THIS CAR - 2004 Acura TL
  By JoJoRocks - July 22 - 10:00 am

  I BOUGHT MY 2004 ACURA TL IN OCTOBER 2003, 2 WEEKS AFTER IT CAME OUT TO BUY, I HAD BEEN LOOKING AT THE 2003 TL WAS GOING TO BUY IT AND WHEN I SEEN THE ADVERTISEMENT FOR THE 2004 I SAID "THATS IT, THATS THE ONE IM GOING TO BUY" SO I WENT TO THE DEALER THEY HAD ONE IN THE SHOW ROOM WITH ALL THE OPTIONS,SO I BOUGHT MINE AND PUT ALL THE OPTIONS ON MINE. I LOVE MY CAR BEST DECISION I EVER MADE.I GET COMPLIMENTS ALL DAY LONG. ITS AN AWESOME CAR THANKS

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  Rick - 2004 Acura TL
  By RixToy - July 22 - 10:00 am

  Great car. Fun to drive. Great blend of performance, luxury and comfort. Looks great, very quick and agile. A great value. Super sound system.

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  Very Happy with our TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Meena - July 22 - 10:00 am

  My wife keeps cars forever and we have been looking for her next car for the past couple of years as her 93 Honda Civic EX Coupe passed 100,000 miles was still running and looking great but needed to become our sons car. We looked at the Infinity but they were ugly and not nearly as nicely appointed as the TL. We looked at the Lexus but it was a car for old people and fairly plain inside compared to the TL. The BMW was asking too much for what they provided. The reviews and our experience have been great. All the technology is easy to use and the looks are great. This is the best riding and handling car we have ever owned.

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  nice for a Japanese car! - 2005 Acura TL
  By Brett - July 21 - 6:40 am

  The TL is nice, needs rain sensing wipers and auto headlights. Very fun to drive, quiet and smooth, good gas mileage, wonderful 6 speed manual transmission, comfortable, neeeds work on the trip computer display and the radio display, why not make them so you can see more than one thing at once? You can only get the radio to display one thing at once? Why not always have the channel number up there when in XM, along with at least one of he other things like the station name, song title, artist, etc. The engine transmission is best, loads of power, good handling, space inside the car is very good!

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  One great car - 2008 Acura TL
  By AK - July 21 - 3:46 am

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  simply amazing - 1995 Acura Integra
  By Nicky - July 21 - 3:36 am

  I bought my integra gsr on my 18th birthday. Ever since I bought my car, I have never regretted it. The engine on this car delivers plenty of power and the handling for the price is unbeatable. As for reliability, I have only had minor wear and tear issues such as a squeaky clutch and a blown out speaker. It has not given me any mechanical trouble at all. I plan to drive this car until I cant drive it anymore.

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  MDX Overview - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Kevin - July 21 - 1:32 am

  Good car overall, the biggest SUV size for the smallest SUV type.

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  Best Luxury SUV - 2001 Acura MDX
  By lbclagett - July 20 - 3:22 pm

  I purchase a 2001 MDX and Love it. It has all the features and a great price. It is a perfect daily driver and road trip car. It was my first of many.

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  Business administrator - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Ernesto Thiffer - July 19 - 8:01 pm

  Acura Integra Waaahoooo. how can I explain, Im a car fan, to me japanese tech is awesome. I bought my car in NJ and sent it to Costa Rica, here I have been to the beach and to the race tracks since I came here - the car is awesome at the race track , fuel economy to the beach trips, attractive, is a great great car , so if you are thinking of getting one, get it soon of course make sure is in good condition.