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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  Good but can offer more - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Crazy Al - January 6 - 9:10 pm

  A great car. Powerful, fantastic handling and unbelievable gas mileage (30+). Ther could be more offered with this special car like heated seats, etc. Even the A-Spec package is not yet available. Cant wait!

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  Very Happy - 2001 Acura CL
  By greg - January 6 - 7:33 pm

  This is my first Acura and Im loving it. I bought it certified and the dealership has been great.

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  Quality at a reasonable price - 2001 Acura CL
  By v maggio - January 6 - 5:11 pm

  Fun and comfortable to drive. Gets over 30 mpg on long trips. While the rear seat is comfortable it is not easy to get in and out.

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  A true work of art - 1998 Acura Integra
  By Slammed Teg 98 - January 6 - 4:20 pm

  I couldnt have asked for a better first car. My 98 LS coupe is PERFECT. The manual transmission really gets the most out of the power. With a stock engine, Im side-by-side with a V6 car. It handles like a Porsche, and has the reliability that Honda is known for. Comes loaded with standard features such as: ABS, CD player, sunroof, and all power features. Great on gas, Ive never paid more then $15.50 to fill from "E", and I usually only fill up once a week. Simply put, its quick, handles great, inexpensive, reliable, loaded, fuel efficient, and fun to drive. Why buy anything else?

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  05 purchase - 2005 Acura RSX
  By diver - January 6 - 2:52 pm

  Ive been extremely happy with my 05 rsx type-s. The car is very refined, has more than adequate performance for a regularly aspirated 2 litre 4 cyl, reasonably comfortable for a performance sports coupe and has great fuel economy to boot. I waited for the 05s to come out as I wasnt thrilled that the 04s still had 16" wheels and a little too much road noise. The changes for 05, although relatively minor, were enough for me to forgo the 04.

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  WORTH EVERY PENNY - 2004 Acura TL
  By JIGGY - January 6 - 2:00 am

  IF YOU CROSS AN AUDI A6 WITH AN ES 300- -THIS IS WHAT YOU WOULD GET. FACTOR IN THE VALUE OF THIS CAR, RELIABILITY AND THE PERFORMANCE/DESIGN---THIS CAR IS TOO GOD TO BE TRUE

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  Best for your money!! - 2004 Acura TL
  By TL love - January 6 - 2:00 am

  Ive looked at almost all the cars out there on the market and when I drove the TL and saw all the things I was getting for my money, I was very satisfied. This car could sell for mid 40s and Id probably bought it but for $35,000, there was no competition. I love it!!!

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  Great - 2004 Acura MDX
  By sro100 - January 6 - 12:44 am

  We love the MDX. Highly recommended.

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  RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By Mark Shedrofsky - January 5 - 1:20 am

  Great car. The interior is fabulous, the exterior could look a bit more elegant. With all wheel drive the car handles incredibly well. XM Radio and hands free Blue tooth phone capability is great. Using the voice commands to adjust almost anything is nice, especially in bad weather, when you dont want to take your eyes off the road to adjust a dial.

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  Best Car in its Class - 2004 Acura RSX
  By BHMnPalmBeach - January 3 - 12:19 am

  This car is great! I traded in a 350hp Trans Am for this car because I was quite upset with having the brand new TA in the shop for over $5000 worth of work in the year I owned it. I have always hated these little foreign cars. However, after opening my eyes to the actual value, performance, gas mileage, reliability, and outstanding customer service (including a real live, brand new Acura TSX loner car when your car needs even minor service). If you even remotely like to drive compare this $24,000 car to the $24,000 04 Grand Prix (my mom just bought one). All I have to say in closing is a little quote from my favorite periodical, Car and Driver, "Best Car in its Class!!"