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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  2006 Black Type S - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Carl - March 7 - 12:46 pm

  My Type S is fun to drive.The performance,quality and appearance are just what I was looking for.

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  i thought i was the only one!!!!! - 2003 Acura CL
  By lesley5272 - March 7 - 10:00 am

  oh my god, i am glad to know that i am not the only who constantly complains about the squeeky and rattling noises that come from my dash and sunroof. i have had my sunroof worked on at least 5 times. every time i take it there is a bulletin recall but the problems has yet to be solved so i give up.and now im complaining about the whistling noises that ac makes but of course they say its normal.take my advice the service dept of southern motors acura sucks. ishould have purchased a lexus!

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  Perfect - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Xero - March 7 - 10:00 am

  Absolutely Perfect and lovable. You dont need any other car but this one.

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  Like it - 2003 Acura TL
  By billo - March 7 - 10:00 am

  Looks cool. Little short on headroom for tall driver. Has zip when passing or entering freeway. Get a lot for $. No haggling over options they;re all there! Did not get the GPS, an expensive road map. Audio system a big surprise for a Honda product. I like that feeling of RELIABILITY.

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  I love this car! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Karen - March 7 - 8:30 am

  I love this car, it is so much fun to drive. It handles great, unfortunately, the gas mileage leaves a little to be desired, but the rest of the car more than makes up for that. Just found out it was listed as one of the top "sport" sedans in Consumer Reports.

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  Awesome vehicle - 2007 Acura MDX
  By John Arran - March 7 - 12:56 am

  Amazing on gas for size & 300hp! Ride is exceptional and the gadgets inside are very enjoyable. Love this vehicle! Ride is best in category!

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  Great Car for the price - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Tdubby23 - March 4 - 1:39 pm

  This car is really great. It is so quiet inside and very sporty. The car has a real up market feel and is a great choice for this price range. Dont buy any other car in the $25,000 range until you test drive a TSX. Great Reliability and tons of standard upgrades.

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  TL automatic - 2004 Acura TL
  By Park - March 4 - 10:00 am

  Best car ever in all respects except the ride and seats. The ride is a bit harsh and the front seats are not comfortable on a trip. Not enought padding on the bottom and the side bolsters are too close even for my weight and size (175 lbs/6 feet)

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  2 months - 2005 Acura RL
  By almost new - March 3 - 4:13 pm

  I bought this vehicle with about 2000 miles on it. Apparently the person who owned it before me could not master its array of controls and turned it in early. I find the controls very intuitive and love everything about this car except the shifts which seem leisurely. Handling is great, acceleration is smooth and more than adequate, and the climate control system is quite effective. This car offers much more than a comparably priced BMW which I test drove.

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  Robs 2003 Accura TL Review - 2004 Acura TL
  By rbertj - March 3 - 2:40 pm

  Very solid, excellent ergonomics. Great performance. Very comfortable interiors, super technology and features. Stylish exterior, always draws looks. Love the Xeon headlamps fog light combination. Plenty of room for four regular sized adults and their luggage. Firm and stable ride that provides good mix of comfort and control.