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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  S2000 with a Backseat - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Samantha - December 8 - 12:39 am

  I have been a fan of the RSX since it was introduced a fews years back. I used to work for Honda and have had the opportunity to drive rival models. The 2005 RSX awesome in performance and reliability without sacrificing style or the economy. The new Type-S is an amazing machine! With over five thousand dollars in upgrades this year, driving this one in juxtaposition to the 2004 is like night and day. A couple of days before I bought my Nighthawk Black Type-S, my mother testdrove one and loved it so much she traded in her year-old Si for a Jade Green Type-S. Acura has made a shocking 360 with their designing. All the new Acuras are as beautiful as they are breath-taking on the road.

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  TSX ABOVE AND BEYOND THE COMP FOR LESS $ - 2004 Acura TSX
  By TroutiousMaximous - December 7 - 1:05 pm

  I bought my TSX back in August and by far it is the most fun I have had driving a car. I have owned BMWs and test drove the rest, and the TSX performance/standard options/and fuel economy blow the comp away. Waiting to see if there are any upgrades (chip wise) for the engine, however it is still got the awesome pep for a 4 cyl. The TSX turns heads without a doubt, most compliments I have ever received about a car, and people do not believe me when I tell them how much it costs.

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  Hook It Up and Race It. - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Zick - December 7 - 10:00 am

  This car is a fun, quick car to drive. The response and handling make it a prime racing car. driving a 2002 Celica GTS and a Mitsubishi Eclipse would drive this car over both of those.

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  Best Car Ever Owned - 1991 Acura Legend
  By WhiteKnight - December 7 - 6:07 am

  This is a solid, quiet, well-built, reliable luxury automobile that I bought on 12/95 with a little over 59,000 miles. It is fast as I have had it up to 135 mph on three occasions, with plenty of gas pedal left there was no wind noise and I did not feel like I was going over 80 at that time. It will still run high speeds with no wind noise even though it is almost 14 years old with 148,000 miles.

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  cant stop driving this car - 2005 Acura TL
  By jdc - December 6 - 7:56 pm

  It is the best car for the money in the market. Love this car; it offers every thing you could ask for. Design, power and just fun to driveÂ…

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  Great Car - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Airtouch - December 5 - 4:29 am

  This is my first new car and let me tell you, it is great! Bought it last February and I have not regretted it. While not the most "sporty" looking car, the styling grew on me and then I knew I just had to buy this car. Overall, Id say best car for my price range. Rev this engine up and I guarantee youll be breaking the speed limit. Great handling, Great interior! Could use a little smoother tranny, but I get by with it.

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  Great car, best in class - 2005 Acura TL
  By Chris - December 4 - 7:43 am

  There is a reason why this car is a top pick by Consumer Reports. For the money you are not going to do much better. The vast array of incredible standard features is just amazing, its an awesome car to drive and seems to do everything you could expect for a car of this price. Sure the new 3 series handles better, but youd have to spend $40K+ to equal the features of this car, and unless you live on a race track it isnt going to make any difference. This is a fast, luxury car that does everything you expect and more. I love mine and if I had to do it all over again would make the same pick.

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  Oh what a car - 1990 Acura Legend
  By yoji6365 - December 3 - 9:32 pm

  Beautiful car, nice ride, but as with most high end cars, a pricey maintenance bill. But it wont break down and leave you stranded in the snow.

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  Still a winner - 2002 Acura MDX
  By PCH - December 3 - 1:11 am

  Car delivers as promised. Theres a reason why it continued to win editors choice awards after 3 years. Interior design is good, could be a bit more luxurious. Gas mileage excellent under 70 MPH (23.5 MPG highway on my last trip - awesome for a mid-sized suv!). Minor build quality issues back of drivers seat broke off, cup holder latch needed to be replaced. Like that they used to be rare on the road

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  One Great "SUV" - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Emile Riendeau - December 2 - 9:35 pm

  This vehicle rides and handles like a luxury car. It is a great value because it comes with so many standard features. It was $8,000.00 less than a Lexus GX470 & the BMW X5. Seats are extremely confortable and the navigation system is user friendly. a joy to drive everyday. The dealer options available really dress this vehicle up.