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:

• 

  My MDX rocks - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Quinnmedicine - September 8 - 2:00 am

  I just bought my second Acura vehicle (MDX) and still enjoy every minute i am on the road. The SUV handles very well and the road noise appears insignificant. The Bose speakers are fun to listen to. No problem thus far...

• 

  Value up the yingyang - 2003 Acura TL
  By BokQui - September 7 - 10:00 am

  Replaced a 98 BMW 528 with a new TL- Type S and looked at Lexus, and Infiniti. Couldnt find anything comparable that offered similar performance, value and reliability. German cars have the edge with suspension, braking and A/C, but didnt receive the benefits associated with the maintenance costs.

• 

  My Type S - 2004 Acura RSX
  By hivpozbud - September 7 - 2:00 am

  I just recently purchased this car and though disappointed with the sound the exhaust makes as well as the Bose sound system (sub in spare doesnt sound like a sub at all), I have to say this car is fantastic! Pulls hard in every gear, shift action is better then Porsche, pedals are spaced perfectly apart, 0-60 faster then any car in its class. Also had good dealership experience.

• 

  No Doubts about it. - 2008 Acura TL
  By No Doubts about it - September 6 - 5:30 am

  I purchased this vehicle after owning a 2005 Altima, and this was my best decision that I have made so far in life. I have received so many compliments on the vehicle looks. My husband is constantly wanting to drive me around on the weekends in it. I love the sportiness of it and just the overall luxurious feel of the vehicle. The fact that the car comes standard with alot of luxurious features is a plus. With the right deal you can purchase a luxury line vehicle for about the same price as a Honda Accord Ex-L- V6

• 

  Alot of bang for your buck - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Ad Rock - September 6 - 2:00 am

  After researching and test driving an almost endless number of automatic coupe/hatchbacks I found the Acura RSX to be the best bet. It has awesome handling and acceleration extremely well for being a 4cyl. 160hp. Another selling point for me was the high safety and quality ratings that the RSX has. Also, in the long run the RSX has a higher resale value over the Hyundai Tiburon, Toyota Celica and VW Golf & GTI. What the car lacks in back seat room it makes with by having a hugh trunk.

• 

  Funtodrive=high - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Yesitsthatgood - September 5 - 2:00 am

  All around nice balanced car. 1. Power is great 2. Handling is great 3. Doesnt rob you at the gas pump 4. Excellent build quality 5. Very Reliable 6. Great interior/exterior 7. Nice Sound system Youd be hard pressed to find any other car with all those amendities at that price. When I originally test drove the car it didnt do much for me but after the break-in period and learning how to drive...I was like wow!!!

• 

  Fun 2 Drive - 1999 Acura Integra
  By AcuraInteg - September 4 - 2:00 am

  Its a great car. Youll want to drive it everyday. Get an integra while you can.

• 

  Acuras Best - 2002 Acura MDX
  By B. Tierney - September 4 - 2:00 am

  We love our MDX - so much so that we will never drive any other car. We are completely sold on this car. In almost three years we have had absolutely no problems with it. The maintenance schedule is reasonable and we have been able to keep it up with limited cost. This car is a winner!!!!

• 

  IMPARTIAL - 2004 Acura MDX
  By RPGLIDER - September 4 - 2:00 am

  EXCELLENT AND USER FRIENDLY NAVIGATIONAL SYTEM I CANT UNDERSTAND WHY IT IS RATED BELLOW AVERAGE OFF-ROAD WHEN I HAVE PUT THIS SUV THROUGH THE RINGER ON MOUNTAIN TERRANE UP AND DOWN WITH SNOW ICE AND MUD WITHOUT EVER A PROBLEM! I COULD NOT BE HAPPIER IT BOTHERS ME TO SEE OTHER LESS CAPABLE SUVS MAKE THE 13 BEST LIST HAVING RENTED AND DRIVEN THEM UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS AND KNOWING THAT THEY DONT HOLD A CANCLE TO THIS VEHICLE! WHY IS IT THAT THIS BRAND DOESNT GET ANY RESPECT EXCEPT FROM THE ACTUAL OWNERS?

• 

  Best in Class - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Fugazy - September 3 - 6:43 pm

  This is the best car Ive ever owned. And Ive gone though 15 cars in my life.