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:

• 

  Excellent Choice - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Happy Driver - April 24 - 5:54 am

  Love driving it. Holds to the curves and handles like a dream. Only problem I have found is that the doors do not lock automatically when you start the car.

• 

  Not my 94 Honda - 2006 Acura TL
  By CTsteve - April 23 - 9:23 am

  Picked up my wifes 06 TL on Saturday, 3/25. Black, camel interior, navi and six speed. The car is a beauty. We broke her in with a 300-mile city (Manhattan), highway (I 95) drive. First impressions: the six-speed is very slick. Brembos work as advertised. Navi is mighty interesting: "GW Bridge Upper Level." Wow. Still, I have to do my homework on this device to really understand its capabilities. Suspension is solid, couldnt detect any torque steer on such a short sample. Quiet cabin, comfortable seats. XM Radio sounds pretty good through the standard hifi. So far, so good.

• 

  Must be a lemon - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Ouzo - April 23 - 7:51 am

  I was very taken by the price/value of this car. However I have had many problems. Brakes, AC, Stereo and console lights to name a few. The car was not designed to be servived affordably. Total cost of ownership has been comparable to more expensive cars I passed up that include better warranties. Should have bought a BMW.

• 

  Excellent engine, styling, & comfort - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Kyle K. - April 22 - 9:48 pm

  2nd owner, bought car in 99 with 60k mi put in after market suspension & audio system car has driven like a dream since with regular preventive maintenance (oil, air, coolant) and a preventive water pump, belts, and radiator change at 90k drives as well as the day I bought it with no major repairs receive many compliments from friends who thought car is new.

• 

  Good car for long time user - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Nicollette Mourot - April 22 - 9:40 pm

  I love my car!!! This car has been well worth the money we spent on it. It is beautiful, fast and elegant. My car has 112 plus miles and has been faithfully maintained by local Acura dealership. Still runs like a top and is still current.

• 

  Bold - 2009 Acura TL
  By Bold - April 22 - 5:10 pm

  I compared the RL with the TL and there is no comparison. The TL has a better drive, better gas mileage, more pickup and cost $5,000 less. I was surprised that the two models are about the same size. The AWD is great in the snow. I previously had a BMW 750 and am not disappointed. It takes time to learn how to use all the features.

• 

  everyday rSx - 2006 Acura RSX
  By russmey - April 22 - 1:17 pm

  Its been a great experience to drive a car that can provide 160 hp with v-tech at only a few thousand rpm away.

• 

  2009 Acura TSX - 2009 Acura TSX
  By M. Alari - April 22 - 10:23 am

  Down sized from a luxury SUV. First benefit is the average MPG for my first week of 29.4! Great styling, performance and comfort.

• 

  Best Overall Value - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Scott - April 22 - 9:46 am

  I have had this car for almost a year now (silver w/6spd). Pros: many standard features, superior quality build, perfect control layout, low maint. requirements, fun to drive. Cons: average stereo, weak engine below 3k RPMs, occasional dash rattle, and seemingly weak paint. The paint seems thin as even the slightest rock chips/scratches the paint. I have had cars with more durable finishes. Overall: You will not find a car in this class that beats the TSX when it comes to value. I looked at the Audi, for example, and when you look at cost vs. features, build quality, reliability, etc., nothing can complete with the TSXs value.

• 

  one hot car - 2005 Acura TL
  By oznow - April 22 - 7:18 am

  Overall I luv the Acura TL. Its a blast to drive.