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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  Excellent - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Melissa S - January 27 - 10:00 am

  This car is beautiful inside and out very reliable and a fun car to drive!

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  Best entry-level mid-size sedan- IT ROX - 2004 Acura TSX
  By dadood - January 27 - 10:00 am

  Bought it in Jan 04 & have already put 16K miles on it. It drives like a dream! LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! Sports- tuned suspension, tight chassis, 17" wheels and sports seats makes it a joy to drive. GET THE NAVIGATION! Its well worth the price. I dont use Mapquest anymore. :) Acura sound system (350W) is better than the Bose in Nissans (for real!). Its got the works - Xenons, REAL leather, side-mirror indicators, dual-climate control, 6CD in-dash... its all there! If you like sporty, luxury & classy this is your car! Its way beyond Toyotas, Nissans, VWs, etc. So dont even bother comparing them. This is in the 3-series, C-class, A4 league. Get it! You get your moneys worth for the price!

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  The perfect car for a single girl - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Mzcool01 - January 27 - 10:00 am

  I love this car very much! This is my third car from the past five years and I feel each time you buy a new car, you should upgrade the style according to your style. My style is sporty. Im twenty-seven years old with no kids but sure to have some within the next three years. I wanted a four door car, but something sporty too to accomadate my needs and wants in the future. I first started out with a Pontiac Sunfire. Then a Honda Accord coupe. Now, my TSX. This car fits me perfectly and the performance is very excellent. I have no regrets buying this car at all!

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  happydriver - 2005 Acura TL
  By wondercar - January 27 - 10:00 am

  Best car Ive ever owned.

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  A lot of car for the money - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Stu - January 26 - 11:55 pm

  I drove both the 4 and 6 cylinder. I bought a 2016 4 cylinder tech. The 8 speed dual clutch on the 4 cylinder is a great transmission. A little rough shifting when very cold, but once it warms up it is a dream. Heard too many negative things about the 9 speed transmission on the V6 model. The 4 has plenty of pick up and go, but is no race car. It meets my needs. Very quiet cabin, smooth ride. Front tires do spin easily on wet roads, from a stop. I think better tires then the Goodyear standard equipment could help here. Only issue I have is that I cannot click over to any call waiting calls while on bluetooth. I have an I phone 6s. My telematics unit may be bad. Or could be a widespread software issue. Awaiting a service visit to confirm. Otherwise no issues. Love driving he car. **Update on 2/10/16: Seems the most recent Apple IOS update solved the call waiting issue.

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  Modern, Stylish, Feature-Rich - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Dost77 - January 25 - 4:33 pm

  I moved up to the 2009 TSX from a 2006 TSX. The Grigio dark copper/graphite color is strikingly elegant. Although exterior styling resembles the circa 2006 models, this is a total redesign inside and out. Added length and width make this car appear as large as a pre-2009 TL. Inside, this benefits rear seat passengers, who now enjoy a lot more legroom. Other interior differences are the premium sound, which - on the non-tech - is FAR superior to the rather dismal offering in my 2006 TSX, and includes a sub woofer for deep and thumping bass.

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  Excellent! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By jmc - January 24 - 2:00 am

  Ive had the MDX for over a year and I am still impressed by the performance and styling. The MDX gives better gas mileage the more I drive it. A telescoping steering would have been nice to have. I recommend it to anyone looking for an utility vehicle under 40K it beats all the competition hands down. Cant wait to see what Acura will put out next.

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  Excellent! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By JMC - January 24 - 2:00 am

  Ive had the MDX for over a year and I am still impressed by the performance and styling. The MDX gives better gas mileage the more I drive it. A telescoping steering would have been nice to have. I recommend it to anyone looking for an utility vehicle under 40K it beats all the competition hands down. Cant wait to see what Acura will put out next.

• 

  great to date - 2003 Acura MDX
  By goodsofar - January 24 - 2:00 am

  Have had my MDX for two weeks and so far its great. Drove 4Runner, M350, MDX and was headed to BMW but never got there. Had a Tahoe previously and the MDX handles better, has a more carlike ride, better standard features, and was less to purchase. Gave a 9 on exterior design only because side door moldings are an add on. Alittle concerned with possible door dings in parking lots. This SUV has delivered style, ride, efficiency, safety, and comfort at a very affordable price. The 5 star safety rating is a plus. I drive a car for a long time and Im hopeful this vehicle will deliver many years of maintenance free miles.

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  This is one fine sporty car. - 2003 Acura TL
  By alinki - January 24 - 2:00 am

  I Love this car. This is my first of many Acuras yet to come for me.