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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  I Love My MDX - 2006 Acura MDX
  By Jenina - June 29 - 7:28 pm

  I checkd out my MDX for 3 months before I purchased. I definitely did my homework before I bought this vehicle, the only opponent to the MDX was the Lexus and the deciding factor was when I realized that every option added to the Lexus would cost atleast another grand! With the MDX all the goodies were included.

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  I love the Ack! - 2007 Acura TL
  By jay214 - June 29 - 11:43 am

  I love the Ack! I turned in a 2004 TL lease and got a new one, I am hooked. It is a sedan and sports car all in one. Much roomier than the TSX with finer quality interior and engine. I have no complaints about this car and plan on getting another one when my this lease is over.

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  Undervalued - 2005 Acura RL
  By rhorne1 - June 29 - 10:24 am

  I have driven this brand for 6 years with excellent reliability. I rate this vehilcle fully capaple of holding its own. The RL adds style and the right package of "standard equipment" that meets your needs. The power from the high perf. V6 is awesome with respectable MPG. Clearly undervalued in my book. Enjoy yours!

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  Just What I Had Hoped For! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By jgriffo - June 28 - 10:03 pm

  I upgraded from a 2000 Chysler Sebring Lxi. HUGE upgrade, that is! I couldnt have asked for a better car. It handles like its on rails, has just enough power, and looks great. Acura did a great job with the interior and exterior styling. People give a glance at stoplights...even a gentleman driving a Viper gave a glance! I would recommend this car to anyone, especially for the price. I feel like I ripped off the dealership. Go get yours today!

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  Great Car... except strut problem - 2006 Acura RSX
  By MKB - June 28 - 8:36 am

  The perfect blend of a daily driver and a back road driver with the ability to exhilerate. This car can be driven as two different cars, below 4k rpm and above 4k rpm. Take your pick and you wont be disappointed. Be aware though that the RSX and from what I have learned the TSX have issues with the front struts. The right front strut on my car began making noise at 500 miles, now at 7200 miles and no fix yet from the minds in Japan. Other than a minor paint blemish this is the only fault Ive found with the car. Seats are great, providing a comfortable driving position, although extended drives become somewhat tiresome. Auto headlamps would be nice.

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  What a car!!! - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Ron - June 27 - 11:43 pm

  My last 2 cars have been BMW 330xi and Audi TT. This one is much better than the Audi and at least as good as the BMW. Makes me remember the good old days of my Honda Prelude! Great ride, beautiful car. Very lively and fun.

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  Best Value for the Performance - 2005 Acura TL
  By Pamela Tzakis - June 27 - 8:50 pm

  This is one of the most attractive cars on the road. Its not the tight drive of the German made cars, but for the money it is amazing. We do have an issue with the volume level of the stereo - have to max it with a window open. Also, we have beige leather interior and it is wearing VERY badly. Looks like a 10 year old car and we only have 6000 miles on it. Also, we loved how it looked, and the price point was great, but it is a bit small. Navi is hard to read during the day, especially on a sunny day. Overall, the complaints are few. The leather is a costly disappointment however.

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  On My Radar - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Autocrat - June 27 - 5:13 pm

  It was always really fun to drive, but I hadnt really considered the TSX until the 06 model came out. Now slightly more powerful, but much more techno-equipped, with complete hands- free Bluetooth capabilities, iPod interface, trip computer, much nicer steering wheel and gauges, improved exterior look, fog lights,seating memory, and other personalization features (my favorite: you can set the remote unlocking to unlock all the doors on one touch, not just drivers door). Autotrans is soft but ideal for everyday commuting, while sportshift is very crisp and great for mountain roads and other fun driving without heavy traffic. About 25 mpg from 205 hp 4 cylinder engine that feels like a V6.

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  RSX - 2003 Acura RSX
  By jack zhang - June 26 - 10:00 am

  I think it is very good 4 racing

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  Smart Attitude - 2006 Acura RL
  By Mañuco - June 25 - 1:27 pm

  this is the type of car we get to appreciate for talented appeal and sturdy construction. It is authentically beautiful and acute in driving and looks, it is a looker no doubt, congrats on designers. This is a goody.