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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  BEST CAR I HAVE OWNED - 2002 Acura MDX
  By rgaray - August 28 - 8:48 pm

  I just purchased a pre-owned 2002 MDX over a month ago and to say that i am satisfied with this vehicle would be a huge understatement. This SUV drives and handles like a sedan, has the cargo space of a minivan and the ruggedness of an suv. I did a lot of research and test drove a couple of vehicles before my purchase(ML 320 being one) and am happy i made my decision to purchase the MDX.

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  Best Buy - 2006 Acura RL
  By Brian - August 28 - 8:46 pm

  Traded in my 2007 Trailblazer LT for this car. I love my trailblazer but the thing had so many problems from the brake lights going out to the check engine light coming on so when i saw one of my school teachers driving a Rl and i asked what kind of car it was and when she told me that it was an Acura RL I had to have one. I cried when i traded my trailblazer but when i drove this car off the lot the tears stoped flowing. I plan on keeping this car forever now if my chevy trailblazer was as good as my HHR LT is but i now have a good car.

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  2003TL to 2006 TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By Bob W - August 28 - 2:56 pm

  We loved the 2003, but wanted to get the navigation system and the blue tooth capability. 2006 has more power and more air bags. Great XM radio. great service at the dealer Front head rests are too big blocking view out the side and rear. Passenger seat is too low for short folks. Ride is OK on smooth road, but rough on broken pavement.

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  Great car - 2006 Acura TL
  By Larry S. - August 28 - 2:36 pm

  Second Acura Ive owned. Test drove the competion before I bought but Acura was at the head of the pack. Instrumentation is easy to read and controls are intuitive. The voice command system required close attention to the manual at first and mating my Blue Tooth cellphone to the car required a quick visit to the dealership to set up. The car is very fast off the line and the auto transmission shifts are silky smooth. Great fun to drive and the A Spec package with 18" tires lets it corner like a dream. This extra was definatily worth it.

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  Value+Luxury=TSX - 2006 Acura TSX
  By LUVMYTSX - August 28 - 12:14 pm

  I bought the car for my wife, but I am finding myself driving it more than she does. I love the Voice controled Navigation, Phone, A/C and the Gas Milage is amazing. You really cant go wrong for the price and the features. Same features from Audi=38,560 (2.0T), BMW=36,850 (325i), and G35=35,400 (Gas Guzzler in the city). I test drove them each one for a weekend, and for the money you pay Acura is the best VALUE. My dealership gave me a great deal (no hassle on price), and tires for life. I live in Austin and this car was make for the roads of the hill country.

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  Nice! - 2004 Acura TL
  By TL lover - August 28 - 10:00 am

  My new TL did not disappoint. If you like power, there is plenty, although front wheel drive is not the best off the line. The stereo is great. The exterior is its best feature. The interior is confortable unless you play in the NBA. The blue tooth phone for now is gimicky, as my cel carrier doesnt even have a compatible phone for it. The blue tooth guys need to get all carriers on board for that to work. Rear view vision is an issue until you get used to it, and the "dipping mirror" is more inconvenient than convenient. You also cant make tight turns. But overall, this is an excellent car which I love.

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  I Looked at All the Rest - 2004 Acura TL
  By Herbstmd - August 28 - 10:00 am

  I did my research before I bought: BMW 330xi, Audi 4 3.0, Nissan Maxima, Cadillac CTS, and this was the most for the buck. Also more pickup, power, style and technology. As sure footed as a mountain goat! I could not be happier! My family fights as to take this car over the others we have. It reeks of luxury, and not a thing appears wrong with it.

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  Electrical Trouble - 2006 Acura RL
  By Help! - August 27 - 7:13 pm

  Had the car for 1 day drove 200 miles and had to drive it back to the dealer. The dealer has had it for over 2 weeks straight. The headlights do not work properly. They come on during the day when they are not on and they go off at night when they are supposed to be on. The internal lighting also comes on and off as they please and is always blinking a warning light for the adaptive lighting. The dealer has flown parts in but still cannot fix the cars lighting problem. Great car or atleast I thought so just cant drive it.

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  5300 rpm 2nd phase. - 2004 Acura RSX
  By billabong - August 27 - 2:00 am

  Ive just purchased my 2004 Nighthawk Black Pearl RSX Type-S. Coming from sports car(Mitsu 3000GT), this car serves me very well. I love the tight cornering ability, 6sp manual, 200hp i- Vtec...etc. Just as what my title of this colume, I smile when I see my rev meters reaching 5300rpm because Im pulling harder than ever!

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  Love my MDX - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Vixx MDX - August 27 - 2:00 am

  I had the Honda Pilot (which is a great SUV)but I wanted the extras. The MDX has it all. I am extremely pleased that I decided to get the MDX. Best ride Ive ever had. :o)