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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  Solid as Steel - 2004 Acura RL
  By atbeach - October 31 - 1:00 am

  This is my second RL in 3 years. It continues to reflect great quality and workmanship. The new 05 will provide the extra ponies needed. A very reliable car and the service is excellent. Continue to think Acura just makes a good product. Only negative is HP and placement of Nav screen which has a problem with sun relfection.

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  Classic Acura - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Robin & Penny - October 30 - 2:00 am

  Classic Acura, consertive styling, good (not excellent) interior materials, outstanding reliability!! I checked out four luxury SUVs (MDX, GX 470, X5, XC90) and the MDX was the most versitle (Seating 7 and excellent performance) and was, what I thought to be the BEST value. The GX 470 was really nice but you had to pay an extra $9 K and the 8 cylinder has 25 less HP. The X5 has an aweful relibility rating, and the XC 90 was nice but just too small - The MDX Wins!!!!

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  The Best For Sedan - 2007 Acura TL
  By Speedy_TLS - October 29 - 1:23 pm

  I recently traded my 01 BMW X5 4.4 sport package in for the new Acura TL Type-S. I love the Type-S performance and all the toys are in.

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  Acuras are the best - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Madd Dawg - October 26 - 2:00 am

  Great vehicle. Buy Honda

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  Reliable Car and fun to drive - 1996 Acura Integra
  By bdooley23 - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Mine has 107k and only non scheduled work Ive had to do was new brakes (front & rear) and minor repair to exhaust system. Great gas mileage and very fun to drive. clear coat isnt that great but hey after 9 years everything cant be great.

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  Very solid - 2004 Acura MDX
  By alg863 - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Extremely solid, well-built, fun to drive SUV. Feels like a car. Memory seats work well given my wife and I both drive it. Very good road trip vehicle with kids.

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  Like no other - 2005 Acura NSX
  By RIDDA - October 23 - 2:00 am

  This car is really like no other. Sure other cars can boast higher horsepower and probably have a longer history or lineage, but in terms of something very unique which not many people know about, it has a character all in its own. There are no real words to describe it. It does no justice, but for the select few who get a chance to step in and drive one of these hand built exotics, it trully is an experience one should partake in.

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  Four months experience! - 2005 Acura NSX
  By Morrow - October 23 - 2:00 am

  Most responsive car I have ever driven. Mine is a silver 2004. I also have a 1978 Corvette. No contest. I often find someone standing around it when I park in a lot. Mostly, they want to know what it is. There are no identifying marks on the outside except the Acura "A" on the trunk.

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  Fun to drive Acura - 2004 Acura MDX
  By ldnhpnc - October 23 - 2:00 am

  This is the most pleasurable vehicle to drive that I have ever owned. It handles like a fine European road car on country roads and is sophisticated and smooth on highways. There is a great blend of performance and economy for an SUV that weighs 4500 pounds with all wheel drive.

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  A Lot of Bang for the Buck! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Milt Payton - October 21 - 2:00 am

  My MDX handles extremely well in city traffic. For a large vehicle it is quite nimble. The climate control system is able to keep the vehicle comfortable with the sun roof open. The sound system is great with a killer sub-woofer. It a very convenient SUV to drive with all of the standard features like automatic wipers that turn on and change their speed automatically. The same is true of the lights that come on automatically although the should come on automatically when the windshield wipers are working to enable compliance with our state law. The seats are very comfortable especially on long trips. It has more features that my wifes BMW X5 at a lower cost and better city handling.