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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  Why I bought this car over others - 2007 Acura RDX
  By cg - January 20 - 8:40 pm

  I have a BMW 323i and love it. I bought a lexus 330 3 years back b/c BMW does not do well in snow :) Lexus is a smooth car but NO excitment to drive.. I was looking for a car w/ good in the snow, comfortable to drive long distance, fun to drive, can hold 4 people comfortably, good cargo area - the RDX fit the bill for all these. Being a female, I find most of the SUVs are TOO big and too heavy for me. This car feels like a sports sedan, except that it is taller and wider. The turbo give you the peep of sporty ride. Yes there is more driving noise then a Lexus, but its a trade off for performance.

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  Ultimate Driving Machine - 2005 Acura RL
  By Nayeem - January 20 - 7:22 pm

  The ride and the drive are EXCELLENT. Drive 65 mph and you get 30+ mpg Road handling in rain & snow ? Handles without pain. The radio (XM) and the Bose!! Feels like you are in a concert hall.

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  Youll fall in love... - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Mary - January 19 - 9:18 pm

  This vehicle handles like a dream. I was reluctant to purchase an SUV because of their traditional fuel consumption but this vehicle gets pretty decent milage. The interior has the feel of a sports car and the turning radius is awesome. Safety was a big deal for me and the RDX has almost everything you could ask for in security at an affordable price. This is my second Acura and it is every bit as impressive as the first. There is also much to be said about the way Acura cares for their customers. Im an Acura customer for life.

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  The Diamond in the Rough - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By Brandon - January 19 - 12:09 pm

  For a first car, Acura has spoiled me senseless. To be honest, I didnt really want it because it was $3500 (little more than what I intended on paying for a car). The car had only 98k and all its maintenance records though, so my father encouraged me to get it. I had not even driven the thing yet, mind you... and I was buying it. It took 3, yes THREE seconds behind the wheel to realize that I absolutely loved this car. I call it my baby, and plan on buying a party hat for it on its first birthday (Jan 22nd). If you find one in good shape, heavily consider it - Ive only seen around 10 Vigors on the road since I bought mine nearly a year ago. They are built to LAST (over 200k w/care).

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  The funnest car to drive - 2007 Acura RDX
  By The Boss - January 18 - 6:25 pm

  The car is great. It drives like a sports car, but it is a safe, small suv. Highly recommended.

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  MY RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By xxxx - January 18 - 1:57 pm

  A great car. Driven weekly and often for short trips. No issues. One trip, Chicago to Orlando. Pleasure to drive, navigation system works well. Climate control and audio flawless. Would recommend this auto to anyone including grandmother.

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  The best car Ive had!! - 2006 Acura RSX
  By jen - January 17 - 2:27 pm

  This is a car for those who want a luxury car for a good price. It handles really well in all conditons, I live where we have ice and snow on the roads and it has never let me down.

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  97 GS-R - 1997 Acura Integra
  By tjf - January 16 - 4:08 pm

  I just sold the 1997 Integra GS-R I bought new in 1997, and Im sorry to see it go. It was quick, handled well, and was just generally fun to drive. The gas mileage was exceptional, and the reliability was positively stellar. When I bought the car I believed it was the best bang for the buck available, and 10 years later, I still believe that was true. There may have been a few faster, better handling, cheaper cars, but none that provided so much performance with practicality and reliability. As a used car, I think a properly maintained Integra (particularly a GS-R) is a tremendous value.

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  Best SUV for us! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By binh - January 16 - 3:46 pm

  Me and my wife absolutely love this car. We were previous owners of an RX8 and making the switch to an suv/cuv we expected loss on the fun factor. Turns out this car is a lot of fun to drive and feels solid all around. Gas mileage has been around the 19/20mpg with mixed driving. Everything I had hoped for.

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  Awesome - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Ara - January 16 - 11:04 am

  Sold my 2k Celica and got an 07 TSX. Perfect transition. Its a bit larger with 4 doors, and has much more power. I actually use every feature its got and its awesome. I never need to take my phone out of my pocket or reach over for any controls. Everything can be controlled by either voice, steering wheel, or headunit. At first I thought the gearing was weird, but in the city its perfect because you can do most of your driving in 3rd or 4th to reduce shifting. You dont need the iPod connector because it has an AUX jack standard. Seats heat up extremely fast.