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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  Sweet Ride - 2006 Acura RL
  By Steve - April 30 - 1:46 pm

  Just got this car after driving a TL for a few years, loved my TL. Love my RL even more. This car does almost everything. The handling is great, it is quick the stereo is awesome and it has all kinds of bells and whistles

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  excellent on gas - 1997 Acura Integra
  By adam - April 30 - 11:27 am

  I drive this car on the highway mostly and get 33mpg. If I drive in the city I get 29mpg. I think Edmunds underrated this cars fuel economy, I consistently get higher miles per gallon and have the automatic transmission. Of course I dont beat up on it so this is probably why. This car is fun to drive, and handles well. I dont have to brake for turns which helps get great gas mileage.

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  Just a very good automobile - 2005 Acura TL
  By tomgutshall - April 29 - 8:29 pm

  Have owned a AcuraTL from 1996 and this 05 is the best so far. Cant wait for the 09 to come out

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  Lovin it! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By mjoe - April 28 - 7:11 pm

  I love my Acura TSX. It handles the corners great and comfort is the tops! This is my second Acura and I am sold and I will never go to another car make. Nothing but fun in this car.

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  Enduring Beauty - 1995 Acura Legend
  By Rob Smith - April 28 - 2:57 pm

  Now with 204,000 miles I continue to be amazed with the quiet strength and grace that this car demonstrates at rest and in motion. Routine maintenance still all that is needed and mileage not bad in low to mid 20s. A great highway cruiser or country road hugger. I think Ill just keep it...

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  Love my TL-S - 2002 Acura TL
  By snowman81 - April 27 - 6:18 pm

  Great car. Tranny problems exist in some CL/TL/MDX but Acura has provided an extension on the warranty to 7yr/100,000 miles. Other than that the car is wonderful. Ive added a few things for my preference to get a little more juice out of the engine and changed the suspension, however, stock the car does extremely well. A great combo of sport and luxury with the Type S.

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  Good..but not good enough - 1993 Acura Legend
  By Okus - April 27 - 3:55 pm

  I bought my Legend at 129,000 miles.. i loved every bit of it until 2 years and 35,000 miles later. I was upset to learn that these cars have expensive problems. Bad Head Gasket, sticky door. Rust around typical Honda and Acura areas. Gages went out. Window motor slowed way down. I sold it after 3 years and bought a SC400 Lexus. I would never go back to 90s Acuras or Hondas ever again!!! 1st and 2nd gears are good. But 3rd lags and 4th is nothing. I took care of my car very well. washed all the time and maintained at Acura Dealership. No major problem except BHG. I wish i owned the rare Type 2 Coupe Manual!! I suggest buying from a non-snowed state. where rust hasent started.

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  Best car ever owned! - 1995 Acura Integra
  By chevelleguy - April 27 - 5:49 am

  I bought my Acura Integra roughly 2 years ago. It has had NO problems. I repeat. NO. PROBLEMS. SCARY, i know. Car gets amazing gas mileage, but still passes cars on the on ramp. My car has 180K on it and it still remains full on the oil fill line at 3,000 miles. At 4,000 miles it drops roughly a half a centimeter. Simply amazing engineering into this 1.8L motor.

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  Strut issues - 2006 Acura RSX
  By JB - April 26 - 5:08 pm

  I bought this car and traded it in 6 months later (last weekend). The struts make noise. Had the right one replaced, then shortly after the left one started making noise, however the dealership wouldnt fix it, saying that Acura is developing a permanent fix. This was back in January. The car was also broken into via UNFORCED ENTRY. Why even have an alarm? I bought an Accord Coupe EX with V6 and couldnt be happier. I expected more from Acura, but didnt get it.

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  A young professionals dream car - 2005 Acura TSX
  By GM - April 26 - 12:53 pm

  I love the interior and exterior design features of this car. It is the perfect car for a young professional with no family (as the back seat is very small). I have only one complaint thus far---This car requires premium gas!!!