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:

• 

  Just Love It....... - 2004 Acura MDX
  By gohogsgo - June 15 - 10:00 am

  We purchased a loaded MDX last October and have loved everything almost everything about it. The only thing that has gone wrong with the car is one of the headlight bulbs burned out at 6k miles. Of course this was under warranty but a hassel none the less. It is a fun car to drive. The kids just love the dvd and we love the headphones! Another thing I should mention is that the nav system isnt as current as I would have expected. The neighborhood that we live in was built in 1999 and is not in the system. Also my office which has been open since 1997 isnt in there either. The software could use some updating.

• 

  Happy Owner - 2004 Acura TL
  By ted till - June 15 - 10:00 am

  Great Value. Excellent performance, decent MPG. Great looking and style. Fun to drive.

• 

  Great Car! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Bob Latham - June 15 - 10:00 am

  This is a really fun car. Very quiet, but really great acceleration. Beats a BMW 5 Series for value by a long shot.

• 

  LOVE THIS CAR - 2004 Acura TSX
  By marc - June 14 - 9:11 pm

  This is probably the best car I ever owned. I previously owned a 1997 Saab 900 and a 2001 Saab 9-5. Despite the fact that I was very satisfied with Saabs, I was extremely disappointed with the reliability. This car has been great so far. I already put 8000 miles on it in 2 months and I want to drive it everyday, which is the reason for the high mileage.

• 

  In a word? FUN. - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Eric - June 14 - 1:59 pm

  This car is just a ton of fun. Its got pretty good torque off the line, but get the RPMs at about 6500 and feel er fly! The sport-tuned suspension (I have a Type-S) makes for great handling, yet the ride is still releatively quiet. The interior is very well designed, with the focus placed (as it should be) on the driver. While there is, technically, a rear seat for two, this is really only a two-seater for all intents and purposes. Small children and/or pets are the only things suited to being in the back. If youre looking for a passenger car, look elsewhere. If you want a fun car with nice pep and great extras (what a sound system!), get this car.

• 

  My Acura - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Cheslie - June 14 - 1:50 pm

  This car is amazing, especially on turns. The only area that I could criticize would be acceleration going up bridges, other than that...its PERFECT! lots of room too.

• 

  Pretty Good - but NOT perfect ! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Baltimore Owner - June 13 - 7:01 pm

  Bought in Nov 2004 as leftover - got excellent deal (below invoice). Vehicle has had several problems since then: 1. Tire(s): Touring was supposed to have Michelin ONE of the 4 tires was a GOODYEAR !! (dealer fixed) 2. Despite VERY VERY gentle driving, developed shimmy at 7k miles and had brake rotors cut (dealer fixed) 3. Interior speaker cover fell off spontaneously (dealer fixed) 4. Headliner rattles VERY loudly on left side when going over large bumps or RR tracks - Dealer could NOT fix ..

• 

  ACURA RSX - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Ashu Dassan - June 13 - 10:00 am

  This car is the best. It is so fun to drive. The engine in this car doent ever wanna go slow. I am young and I got this car. It is so fast I just love it. By the ways I am only 18 years old. but this is simply the best for me.

• 

  Snappy car, Snappy price. - 2002 Acura TL
  By Takoah Renton - June 13 - 5:25 am

  This wonderful car, has been handed down to me and even after almost 15 years, it still runs wonderfully and we havent had any problems with it. Engine has lots of power, very sporty. Trunk has lots of space, and leather has lasted very long.

• 

  Good all around car - 2000 Acura TL
  By Nick Elam - June 12 - 1:01 am

  Ive had great service from this car. Mechanically it is smooth but I have had some misgivings about the transmission. I love the 5 speed automatic but it acts a little strange at times. The trans was replaced by Acura as a warranty at about 50,000 miles.