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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  Dont buy this car - 2006 Acura RSX
  By masterbulk - August 20 - 9:30 am

  Strut noise will haunt you. It would be the most embarrassing new car you would ever own. The noise started 3 months after I got the car (3700 miles. They kept saying they are working on a permanent fix. Its Aug as of this review date. NO FIX!!!! Worst part. The dealer refused to replace the struts several times. I had to go to another dealer to have my struts replaced. But they say the noise will come back. I guess we just have to replace the struts every 15000 miles

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  2001 CL-S Review - 2001 Acura CL
  By txengineer - August 19 - 9:56 pm

  I purchased this car from a co-worker who bought it new. It had 41,000 miles when I purchased it three short years ago. The transmission had been replaced under warranty by the original owner, but not the control computer. After having the computer replaced at 85,000 miles, the second transmission started to have issues. Back to the dealer for another transmission and matched computer. They even threw a set of motor mounts in for free. Now at 135K the tranny is starting to shift ruff. Well see. Otherwise, the car runs great with a bad squeak from the back package tray (solved with a piece of electrical tape wedged between the glass and the 3rd brake light tray.

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  Great Car for Teens and Stylish Women - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By PrettyKlassy - August 19 - 3:43 pm

  This car just seemed to call my name as I was looking my 16 yr old daughter a car. Was purchased with some 140K miles but had some minor problems we didnt discover until we had it for a few months. After replacing the engine (with one that had 90K miles) and a few other fixes, not only did my daughter but I loved driving it. It still looks good,runs well, and for a teenager thats all that really matters.

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  Wonderful car... but not perfect - 2005 Acura MDX
  By andygs400 - August 18 - 10:20 pm

  I have only had this car for a couple weeks now, but I absolutely love it. It definitely has its shortcomings, but the car as a whole makes up for it. Drove it from Phoenix to LA and back and I was never more comfortable. Great blend of utility and luxury. I would definitely get the Touring package because the little luxuries are great.

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  Disappointed - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Hench - August 18 - 8:26 pm

  Waited 6 months, had to bring back at 350 & 1500 mls for noisy front end. It appears its inherent to the X. Wind noise, tail gate slight bend and e-brake doesnt hold without extreme pressure. Im disappointed with the build quality. It wasnt worth the wait. Make sure to take a good test drive if you can. I do love the look, the interior layout and it does cruise very nice on the highway, but at $44K delivered, knowing what I know now, I dont think I would buy again with these problems.

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  Almost Perfect - 2001 Acura CL
  By Jake - August 18 - 1:58 pm

  I love my 3.2 CL. I would have liked the power of the type-S but prefer the understated base model. Small things have been irritating like no switch for the foglamps which look like 40 watt lightbulbs next to the awesome HID headlamps. The door mounted arm rests have started to separate slowly. The transmission was replaced because I mentioned it wasnt shifting as smoothly as it used to. As a precaution and probably to drum up some business, the service department went ahead and replaced it.

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  fun to drive - 2006 Acura TSX
  By rosen - August 18 - 10:17 am

  handling is exceptional, especially on cournering. variable seat position excellent. more interior room than expected. could improve on the night setting of rear view miror, to eliminate glare.

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  Very Pleased With This - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Bill - August 18 - 10:03 am

  I really wanted a TSX, but with the kids and boat, etc. that became impossible. I test drove this vehicle and could not believe it was an SUV. It handles (no kidding here) almost as good as my Audi A6 (dont laugh . . . really!) Very comfortable. Dont bother with the DVD package .. . you can buy each kid their own for a lot less. NAV however is well worth it. Surprisingly good voice recognition. Plenty of power (surprised here also. Bose system okay . . . Definitely get the Acuralink for Ipod . . . works GREAT. Some things dont make sense however, no lighted controls on steering, placement of clock . . . but next version expected to be better. A solid purchase.

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  a great value - 2004 Acura TSX
  By mike k - August 17 - 10:00 am

  Im very happy with it.

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  My car - 2004 Acura TL
  By MCGEEHAN37 - August 16 - 10:33 pm

  I bought my car becasue my brother-in- law basically said "If you buy this car I will be so jealous". I am a fast driver this car is quick. It gets out of its own way. I like that. No matter how many times I look at this car I love it. It is a beautiful car to look at no matter what the color. I have the white diamond pearl. I was also told that if you keep on top of it this car will last you for about 10 or so years. Its a good car