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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  2005 Best Buy 6 cylinder - 2005 Acura RL
  By Sohan - June 27 - 11:20 am

  The Acura may not be able to out perform European competitors such as Jaguar, Mercedes, and BMW, but remember it is only a V6. The Acura is really in need of a V8 that can offer much more performance as its competitors. For a V6 though it outperforms many cars.

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  great choice - 2004 Acura TSX
  By convert - June 27 - 10:00 am

  this car is better looking, better handling, better equipped, safer, more fuel efficient, more comfortable,faster,and the sticker was $7000 less than my 190 E2.6. Im hoping this car lasts as long---15 years.

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  Nice car, needs some improvement - 2002 Acura RSX
  By chrisnick - June 27 - 2:00 am

  i love my RSX. its a great car. i used to drive from toledo to detroit everyday, so my RSX now has almost 78000 miles. it runs perfect, and have only had to do minor maintence, except for some transmission wear issues. when the original air filter was dirty, i replaced it with an Injen Short Ram air intake system which really helped the car out. it sounds excellent, but city mileage has decreased slightly. the car is plenty quick at the top end, but low-end torque is lacking. more displacement would be great, as well as a screw- type supercharger. i also have energy suspension motor mount inserts that really helped the wheel hop problem.

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  I love my RSX-S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By CodeToad - June 26 - 5:50 am

  This car is simply a ball. Its very quick, the interior is very nice, and the six speed is simply fun. To sum the car in one word: FUN!

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  My favorite Car - 2004 Acura RL
  By Todd Scherer - June 25 - 2:00 am

  Although the styling is subdued, it still is a bit wolf in sheeps clothing. I am interested in what Acura chose to improve on in 2005. This version is a great car after 100,000 miles. I still enjoy it every day. I put spoty TL wheel on the car and it looks great.

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  Love my Red Rock MDX - 2004 Acura MDX
  By cheri loyd - June 24 - 2:00 am

  Only complaint? Its difficult to thoroughly clean front seat interior area around the "cracks"-near gear shift,cup holder and door panels. I am very pleased with gas mileage-I have gotten over 23MPG on the highway twice. Probably would have been 25 if I had kept it down to 55. LOVE MY ACURA!

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  I love this car!!!!! - 2000 Acura TL
  By 2000TLOwner - June 23 - 2:00 am

  What else can I say. This car has been everything I could ask for. I spend 2-3 hours a day in my car so I need one I like and I have found it. 93K miles and still no major problems.

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  My MDX - 2004 Acura MDX
  By olie - June 23 - 2:00 am

  Absolutely the best I have bought. I was originally going to purchase a BMW X5 but changed after driving the MDX. It has more features and creature comforts at no extra charge. I also was impressed with its handling ability at higher speeds.

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  Best Car I Ever Owned - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Mi Ami - June 23 - 1:30 am

  From the second you open the door to this high tech monster you know you made the right choice. It is fast, secure, comfortable, fun, safe. The sound system is beyond the finest. Navagation - wow. This one is a no brainer to own. Best car I ever owned and I had them all. This is the least expensive and the best.

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  Icemans ride - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Tadpole - June 22 - 2:00 am

  When i first got in it we were like family