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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  Cheap BMW - 1999 Acura Integra
  By 99-DC4 - July 24 - 10:16 pm

  Love my Integra to death. Incredibly reliable car, never given me a single problem, extremly well built. Performance is astonishing, this car is quick for the price. Dont Pay attention to the 140HP, this car is so lightweight that it feels like it has an extra 20HP. Great handeling, corners perfectly and very minimal body roll (then again my car is on coilovers so...) Great car practically lasts forever if maintained properly you will not regret it!

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  Wish things were better - 2005 Acura TL
  By Jerry - July 24 - 9:40 pm

  Impressive car at first but the interior is lacking and needs some serious attention. We love the power and comfort of the TL. Dissappointed in minor issues that takes the dealorship several times to fix such as passenger window will not always work, Bluetooth, Headliner sagging under sunroof. Aggravating issues keep popping up that make me want to trade.

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  Id buy it again in a heartbeat! - 2005 Acura TL
  By bobm - July 24 - 9:08 pm

  I love this car. Looks great, handles well, does everything well! Even my 22 - 28 yr old kids like it! Ive got 45k flawless miles on it and am hoping one of my kids will be able to afford it when it hits 75k. Id be happy to get by with lower horsepower in exchange for a switch from premium to regular gas, but if it drops my gas mileage, forget it! This is truly a no-regrets car.

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  I Love It!! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Brandi - July 24 - 4:45 pm

  I love my MDX as much today as the day I bought it. It drives like a dream and is very roomy. Just last weekend we took 6 adults over 3 hours drive away with luggage and everyone had plenty of room. Now if only they would come out with a hybrid with the new models...

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  Great new SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Pacific - July 24 - 4:06 pm

  Just a great car, and an even better value. Very quick, responsive and fun to drive. Have put over 2000 miles on it in less than a month while averaging a shade less than 22 MPG. No Turbo lag at all. The gadgets are great especially the superb audio system, the rear camera, the voice activated controls and the traffic info. Acuras have always been reliable and I expect no difference here.

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  Great SUV - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Jim - July 24 - 12:53 pm

  This is my second MDX, and I think it is the best car out there.

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  My second RSX - 2005 Acura RSX
  By melvin zerwas - July 24 - 11:54 am

  I had one of the first RSX when the came out replacing the integra. I loved it from the first test drive. The difference between that and my current 2005 model are very minor. As a one time sports car race driver I find the power more than ample, the handleing excellent and the 5 speed box very smooth and enjoyable.

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  Easy fun and glad I bought one - 2005 Acura TL
  By M. klein - July 23 - 8:50 pm

  Great car and easy to drive. For me it was whether or not I would be happy without another mercedes. Had owned 4 Mercedes and decided this time to look at Acura as we were happy with our daughters Acura RSX that we bought 2 years ago. Reluctantly I went over but once behind the wheel there was no turning back. Lots of extras that the 320C class didnt have from Mercedes. The dealership was first class and the ride was superb. Loved the RL but since I still have a college student that will be driving the car in the summers with me decide that RL to fancy. I have come to love my TL in no time The ease of the navigation system and the voice command activation system is fun and I love my car.

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  Waited long enough! - 2006 Acura RSX
  By ken - July 23 - 3:51 pm

  The RSX-S was well worth the wait for me.Its got the power and handling I was looking for and the lease for $239.00 monthly was the best Ive seen!

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  Seven years and counting - 1999 Acura TL
  By pmi - July 21 - 10:02 am

  I purchased this car new in 99 and it is easily the best car Ive ever had. Ive replaced the battery once and the tires once and other than oil changes and tire rotations, thats all Ive had to "fix" in seven years. Acceleration from slow or stop is outstanding merging in heavy traffic is much easier than what I have experienced in other vehicles. Its only a four-speed so it really isnt very fuel-efficient. I consistently get under 20 mpg with mostly city driving.