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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  A+++ - 2005 Acura RSX
  By jajr12345 - January 17 - 12:42 am

  great capability of modification engine power at 275na

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  Nothing Like It - 2008 Acura TL
  By Highway Star - January 14 - 10:10 pm

  The commute was never so short! I drive about 500 miles a week and need a car that is safe and responsive. The TL Type-S has got to be the best value of any car on the road today. All the reviews compare it with cars that are much more expensive with the same equipment. For me, the nav traffic and voice-activated everything is key since you can keep focused on the road and not the controls. The Brembo brakes and tuned suspension gives you a level of confidence that keeps you sharp. I drove the Moroccan Red as a demo and bought the same car a month later. Great comments from everyone - the contrasting dark wheels and body accents put it in a class by itself. One awesome ride!

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  Acura RL at 500 miles - 2005 Acura RL
  By nyuboy23 - January 13 - 1:50 pm

  Great car, by far the best value in its class. Acceleration slow at start due to its low torque, but from 30-100mph it is comparable to the bmw 540 (my old car). Excellent interior design, all wheel drive system makes it turn like a European car... excellent handling at high speed... excellent design

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  acura mdx - 2003 Acura MDX
  By cavender - January 13 - 10:00 am

  After having owned Explorer Limiteds, and having driven Lexus, Mercedes, GMC, Toyota, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, and other SUVs, this is definitely and clearly the best luxury SUV for the money. Extremely low maintenance and excellent dealer service. Very quiet but powerful. Comfortable ride, high visibility, well-built, good tracking, very versatile, packs a lot of gear. Have never used the thrid seat, and luckily, it folds flat so it offers good storage in back. This is easily the best SUV on the market. I told Ford I would never be back.

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  TSX... Awsome Car!! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Josh - January 10 - 3:00 am

  I just purchased the TSX and I love it. Its stylish, fun, and awsome to drive. Even though its a V4, it has great power. I love this car and i would suggest getting it. I looked at the Volvo S40 also, and for the money the TSX is a better value!

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  acura mdx - 2005 Acura MDX
  By sguinan887 - January 9 - 4:30 am

  this is an excellent riding and handling car. fun to drive and so far very reliable, the reason we bought it.

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  Love My Acura - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Steven J Casey - January 7 - 12:35 pm

  Yes, its a very low mileage car, so consider that. But for 15 years it has been flawless -- best car we ever owned. We have had several others in those years, but still have this one because we cant think of selling it.

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  great car - 2005 Acura RSX
  By RickC - January 6 - 11:54 pm

  Great all around car. Fun to drive!!

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  I love this car - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Rich - January 6 - 10:36 pm

  I absolutely love my RSX Type-S. Whether Im driving to the supermarket or across the state it is the one of best cars I have ever driven.

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  Excellent quality car for the money - 2004 Acura TSX
  By LKS - January 6 - 10:35 pm

  Love this solid built car. Its fun to drive, handling is excellent and very comfortable. The sound system is awesome. Heated seats are great for New England weather.