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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  Another Great Honda - 2003 Acura TL
  By daimler560 - March 8 - 2:00 am

  Great car. I had a top line Accord from a few years back, and the Acura goes one step higher--not much, but its just a little better. More power in the motor, but smooth as usual. Awesome car for the price!

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  Remarkable 2003 TL Type S - 2003 Acura TL
  By fletch2645 - March 8 - 2:00 am

  I just took delivery on my new 2003 TL Type S W/Navigation 2 weeks ago and couldnt be happier. This is one fine automobile. The ride is a little firmer than the 1998 Camry LE V-6 that I owned, but I cant believe the overall quality of the car. I made an initial 400 mile trip in it upon delivery and got 27 MPG. Ohhh the power and acceleration!!!!!! Best value on the market. I purchased gold emblem package, nose bra, tinted windows, trunk tray, splash guards, and wheel locks and still paid $3000 under MSRP (before taxes and license) with 2.9% financing. I did have to pay a $195 dealer doc fee which was non- negeotiable, but the final price was $30,900.

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  Awesome car - 1997 Acura CL
  By dude - March 7 - 10:24 am

  Fun to drive, I bought it used and it has been handling great. I read the review here before I bought it and it helped. It still turns heads. People say it is hard to believe it is a 97. Mine is in great condition, great paint and my new fuzoni racing speed rated tires makes it looks great. Very fast, with the V-6. If you like power, get the V-6. Else if you like a honda accord lx power then get the regular coupe.

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  Awesome car - 1997 Acura CL
  By dude - March 7 - 10:24 am

  Fun to drive, I bought it used and it has been handling great. I read the review here before I bought it and it helped. It still turns head. People say it is hard to believe it is a 97. Mine is in great condition, great paint and my new fuzoni racing speed rated tires makes it looks great. Very fast, with the V-6. If you like power, get the V-6. Else if you like a honda accord lx power then get the regular coupe.

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  Type-S is a FANTASTIC RIDE!! - 2008 Acura TL
  By vegasrph - March 4 - 3:20 am

  Wow. Where do I begin? Well, coming from a BMW 325i all I can say is wow! What a difference!! The Acura is actually more fun to drive, has more room, you get the "all-inclusive" package when you get the Type-S vs BMW everything is "a la carte". So far I have only 300 miles on my Type-S, but I LOVE IT!! My first, second and third test drives were all very fun. I was able to "push" the test cars very hard and every time I left the dealer, I had a huge smile. The Acuralink NAV is amazing, seriously. This car can do it all! Very impressed with road noise suppression and overall ride. This car is FAST and NIMBLE without loosening your tooth fillings :)

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  Love my car - 2010 Acura TL
  By Becky74 - March 3 - 3:00 pm

  I bought this used - it was 5 years old with 50,000 miles and one owner and I got lucky because she took such good care of it that it was like buying a new car - it even smells new. I love everything about it, especially since my prior car was a Prius - this is much "zippier" :-) As one other reviewer said, the only annoying things are somewhat rough downshifting and no detailed info on the Bluetooth - all you see is a tiny number in the odometer area. But it is a 6 year old car with 6 year old technology, so I guess thats to be expected. Other drawback is the gas mileage (I average about 22 mpg overall) and the need for premium unleaded - but I knew this going into the purchase.

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  my dream car - 2004 Acura TSX
  By dina - March 3 - 1:11 am

  I love this car. Ever since I road tested it until now Im still in love with it. I love the way it looks and the way it drives and most of all I love the way that it turns heads.

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  I Love My MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Shelley N - March 2 - 12:53 pm

  I have been driving an SUV for 16 years and this is by far my favorite of the lot! I bought my 1st MDX 4 years ago when they first hit the market and I now have my 2nd. I love the look and the ride is comfortable and car like. It is totally reliable and the size is perfect for a sports Mom with 3 growing boys. I cant imagine a better SUV available in this price range! Drive one and you will be hooked

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  Great Total Package - 2005 Acura TL
  By Dan - February 28 - 6:23 am

  I have owned Saabs and Volvos for many years and decided to look for an all around performer for road trips, city driving, snow, ice and hot weather driving. I looked at all the competitors to the TL and found the TL to be tops in the "total package"; the well integrated controls of the excellent sound system, navigation system, the blue tooth cell phone technology, the power and handling. There are definitely improvements that can be made but no other car puts it all together like Acura did with the TL at under $35K. A bit surprised about the poor milage the TL has shown me in the one year Ive had it - only averaging 17MPG mixed. Nice job Acura and its also built and designed in the US.

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  Sharp, fast, Fun to Drive - 2005 Acura TL
  By Todd N - February 28 - 2:50 am

  Im 49---needed something sporty without spending a ton. Got it! Chose Black color--looks GREAT when clean! but you should plan on washing it every week with this color. I have had ZERO problems, now have 7000 miles on it! I really recommend this car to anyone. Navigational system great...would NEVER buy another car without it...