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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  The 2004 Acura TL rocks! - 2004 Acura TL
  By _jeff - August 26 - 2:00 am

  You absolutely cannot go wrong with the 2004 Acura TL. For the money ($35k), its jam packed with features, performance, and comfort. The car feels very solid to drive. Its 270hp engine provides a great punch off the line. It corners well (not fantastic, but you knew that). Its very comfortable inside. The nav system is great. And the audio system will really knock your socks off. You cannot, I repeat, cannot get a better car for the money.

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  Best car Ive had so far - 1996 Acura TL
  By tjael - August 25 - 2:00 am

  I bought this Acura in 1996 and it was a terrific car It has/had 157,000 miles on it. We had major maintenance work done at 100,000 miles, new belts, timing belt, etc. Other than that no major expenses. Just last week my teenage son totalled it, and at time of wreck the car was still running extremely well. Am now looking for another Acura to replace the TL.

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  Acura/Hondas Rule the World! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By umbclacrosse - August 25 - 2:00 am

  This car is the best for the under 25K coupe class. Great performance, car is as solid as a vault and you know re- sale value and long-term reliability are a given.

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  Best bang for the Buck!!!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By bigbri - August 24 - 10:00 am

  The 03 type S is like no other car. Comfort, Speed and handling is the cars strong points. I have to say the speed is the most excited thing about this car. 0-60 in the low 6s, is fast. I also love the sports shift. I recommend this car to my brother and he bought one. Test drive one and you will own it.

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  Hard To Kill!!! - 2003 Acura CL
  By Edk - August 24 - 2:00 am

  When this came out in the 6-speed I bought it! I put 20k a year on her & they are hard miles.. I drive it like the performer it is!! NO PROBLEMS!! I have 45k on it now!!

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  TL what a car - 2006 Acura TL
  By Randy - August 23 - 7:03 pm

  Just came off a lease of a 2004 Maxima. TL is better all around car for the same montly payment. Average 24-25mpg mostly city driving. Very comfortable and quiet ride. Radio is great. Looks great. What else can I say.

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  Sweet Car! - 2005 Acura TL
  By wisngamecock - August 23 - 2:23 pm

  Best looking model in the Honda/Acura lineup. The 6 sp is a blast to drive and much more exciting than automatic. Wonderful stereo and DVD sound. This car is very refined, balanced in all aspects. Compares to cars $10k more in price.

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  nice car - 1997 Acura CL
  By niaka - August 23 - 2:00 am

  u should definitely get it because its really comfortable and its easy to drive when u are a beginning driver, nice handling and can be a good family car, too. interior is the best thing about the car that is so grand that i would give it an A+++++

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  Fantastic Car for the Price - 2002 Acura RSX
  By SomeRSXGuy - August 22 - 4:43 pm

  Its too bad there wasnt a better registration system for being able to write a review. The people that give this car really bad marks probably dont even own one. Most of them are probably Subaru WRX fanboys (and they probably dont own one of those either.) The RSX Premium (Canadian model) is a fantastic value. I love our car...

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  Acura makes the best SUV - 2004 Acura MDX
  By MGZ - August 21 - 2:00 am

  This is an excellent Suv. Only the 85K Range Rover compares.After test- driving the Toureag,X5,ML350,PIlot,GX470,Land Crusier, and XC90, the MDx was my choice due to having the best combination of on and off road performance,features, styling in and out,dashboard layout,prestige,reliability,and value. I think that I spent my 46K well(Its the best SUV in the segment).I love my Acura.