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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  A great little car - 2006 Acura RSX
  By sundownlady - April 14 - 5:13 pm

  This car drives great has the handling capability and stability of a BMW. It seems its cruising speed is around 80 mph and is a real pleasure to drive. The fuel economy isnt that great, but perhaps if I maintained a "normal" speed it would be better. Bottomline, I Love IT!!

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  awesome vehicle - 2005 Acura RL
  By Brad - April 14 - 2:34 pm

  This is a phenominal car with all the extras you could ever want and the real time traffic is a must have in any big city in which you drive. The easiest nav system to use on the market.

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  A Little Slice of Heaven!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By alinki - April 14 - 10:00 am

  Take the car for a test drive. Try all of the others first. BMW,MB, Cadillac,etc. This car for the money ,is a secret that that will not last long. This fine automobile should put Honda on top of the near luxury market.

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  Brilliance in Black - 1999 Acura CL
  By Blacura - April 12 - 6:20 pm

  I have owned multiple Hondas, and traded in a 1994 Accord EX to get the Acura. I have also owned a smattering of vehicles, all purchased used. This one is, by far, the superior car. Basic maintenance only, and still commands attention around town. The interior never fails to please anyone it surrounds.

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  Great car, highly recommended - 2004 Acura TSX
  By jjlatch - April 12 - 12:28 pm

  Our 2004 TSX is fun to drive. 5sp auto makes a huge diffence on power delivery over our older accord. Would highly recommend. We have black (looks great...hard to keep clean), will probably trade in for a 06 white TSX. I read some complaints of poor traction in rain, we never had any problems. The HIDs are super! Car handles like a roller coaster.

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  RL Thoughts - 2005 Acura RL
  By Mike - April 12 - 10:13 am

  The car is a very nice blend of luxury and performance. While it lacks the handling of a BMW 5 series, it also has better real world driving characterisitcs. It has a very well integrated approach to technology and I love the features, all of which are standard; Navigation, XM radio, OnStar, All Wheel Drive. Add the beautiful interior, refinement and the fact they are willing to significantly reduce the price and you have a great combination.

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  Better than my old BMW - 2005 Acura TL
  By Thowgo - April 12 - 12:20 am

  I looked at purchasing a new BMW, but found the Acrua TL to be better for my dollar, especially with all the service extras, such as an 8-year/120k mile warranty and free oil changes for life. Cant beat it.

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  Well Pleased - 2006 Acura RL
  By TOM H. - April 11 - 2:17 pm

  This car feels solid,handles like its on rails The interior is as nice as my 2003 lexus gs300 (just sold) You get all the possible "toys" you could imagine This car offers a great value for the $$ I thought i would replace my lexus with the new gs300 but i was disappointed with the power It just didnt feel any more powerful then my 2003 gs300 Lexus missed the boat on this one I am very please so far & sinc i have owned acuras before i am sure my satisfaction will continue

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  The Exotic Without the Headache - 1997 Acura NSX
  By ticomba74 - April 11 - 2:14 pm

  Not only was this car the fulfillment of a young mans dream, but it exceeded every expectation driving, appearance, satisfaction, value (yeah, value in an exotic). Its fast, and has looks and technology that 15 years later still excels. Every owner Ive ever met has been classy and that says a lot about the type that drives this car. Ive had Ferraris and a Porsche, and the NS is the most satisfying.

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  everything i expected - 2006 Acura RSX
  By robert - April 10 - 10:38 am

  searched long time to replace my old car, this car was the result. originally i looked at the civic EX but it was only 1000 cheaper and i knew the acura service would be much better. the car goes quick, slight noise on rough roads, but on nicely paved ones very quiet. for 20000 wont find more reliable car w/2 liters + all std features of elec acc, cruise control,auto climate control, great recaro standard seats. i test drove manual found it to be geared tall. i liked the pickup of 1 and 2nd in the auto. didnt try the rsx-s because i need the mileage more than the acceleration, and the -S only comes in leather. leather tears eventually. my best city mileage 28, best hwy at 65mph was 44