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 gals opinion - 2005 Acura TL
  By Bobbie Manheim - March 23 - 1:20 pm

  Great get up and go. Drives smooth with good acceleration. This car appeals to both men and women. Definite buy for the price.

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  Good Stuff - 2002 Acura RSX
  By hawk14414 - March 22 - 3:40 pm

  Smooth, rev happy engine. Excellent handling for a front driver. Nice six speed. Great fit and finish.

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  BMW Slayer - 2004 Acura TL
  By BrianD - March 22 - 10:00 am

  Test drove the BMW 325i, 330i, Infiniti G35 sedan and coupe, Maxima 2004, Camry, Honda Accord, Lexus IS300, and this car slayed them all. Awesome acceleration, gorgeous interior.. by far the best ive seen in a car under 40k, awesome look, and the best sound system Ive heard in a car... ever. Fully loaded from the start, can you really pass this up for some of these wastes of money?

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  FUN AND CUTE - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Christine 568 - March 21 - 7:26 pm

  If you want a fun and cute sports car that it not outragiously expensive, the RSX is the perfect car. It handles great and with the price of gas, you cant beat the gas milage. It also gives you the option of shifting gears for those times when you need a little more pick up.

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  You cant go wrong - 2002 Acura RSX
  By slywun - March 21 - 1:16 pm

  Although there are other cars in the price range with similar performance numbers, you cant get a better deal in quality, performance, luxury, and economy for the price. The 6 speed is a thing of beauty second to no other car I have owned. With all the fun and performance I still am averaging between 27-30 mpg.

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  all around great car - 2002 Acura TL
  By Knine - March 21 - 2:22 am

  Ive had this car since its release date in July 01. Its fast, handles well, has a tight turning radius and corners like a race car. So far its been reliable (no $$ other then regular maintenance), very comfortable and great for road trips with the optional Navi. Ive had many cars before this, including a a 99 Chrysler 300M (which was a lemon) and never even thought of keeping them ... Id highly recommend purchasing this car if youre thinking about it ... and then recommend picking a city 500+ miles away and take a week off. Enjoy.

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  This is the best car Ive ever owned - 2007 Acura MDX
  By JWEISS - March 20 - 10:03 pm

  This is a full sport utility vehicle and a luxury car combined!! It rides like (even better than) my Lexus ES 330 and it still does the job for skiing, surfing, and road trips!! This car fits 6 adults in real comfort. You could easily do 4 adults, 2 kids and a dog on a long road trip and nobody feels cramped. This vehicle is awesome. Took a 600 mile road trip and several coastal drives so far. Do get the cooler to keep your beverages and food cold so you dont have to stop and buy food (helps offset the cost of the gasoline) . I know its not eco-conscious, but it is the most fun you can have for the money and still feel like a star pulling up to Spago.

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  Lead foot is cured - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Mike - March 20 - 9:33 pm

  When I bought this car I was very impressed right away by its spectalcular performance. The gas is avg for a 4cyl, the interior is a little cramped but still is stylish. The exterior is like a very sportier Honda look but I like it. The red inteior lighting for the dash and speedo looks very awesome. The CD is just avg though.

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  Best car Ive owned - 2005 Acura TL
  By Gary - March 20 - 8:53 pm

  I read a lot of reviews about the TL before I bought mine. I drove both the 6 speed and the 5 speed automatic. I recommend the automatic because it definitely exhibits far less torque steer than the manual, and with the traffic in California who really wants to deal with shifting (besides, the automatic has a manumatic feature which really works! Im surprised that it sticks well enough in corners, as long as you dont take it too hot, that I really dont miss my IS 300. On the flipside, the turning radius is longer than I wanted and the disclaimer for the Navi system everytime you start the car is just way too annoying. The car is very quiet, and the ride firm but comfortable.

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  A Pleasant Surprise - 2002 Acura TL
  By arlo47 - March 20 - 10:00 am

  It was $$$ that sold me on the 2002 3.2TL -- I got an unbelievable price of $27,300 delivered through a dealership about an hour away via the AAA website. I have been amazed at how comfortable and luxurious this car is, not to mention solid and fast -- especially on the highway. The interior is absolutely beautiful, and the standard features list goes on forever.