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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  Awesome - 2005 Acura TSX
  By mar - February 1 - 8:53 pm

  did a lot of research-best car for the money i spent-i was a little hesitant to spend 28 grand on something that depreciates so quickly, but its well worth it.

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  Great Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By joek35 - January 31 - 10:00 am

  Have owned the car for only 2 weeks but I love the car. Researched the heck out of cars in this segment and kept coming back to the TL. Looked at the Infiniti G35 (close but Rear Wheel Drive with snow is no good), Lexus ES 300 (great ride but not close in the performance), and 2004 Maxima SE (No deals and boy racer styling). The performance of the TL Type S is unbelievable. Cant beat the price. Great dealership (David Acura in Langhorne, PA). Honda reliability. Cant say enough about the car.

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  Best Value / Best Luxury Sedan - 2004 Acura RL
  By Walter Flynn - January 31 - 2:00 am

  This is my second RL. A totally reliable luxury sedan which I rate best in class and price competitive (especially now with the dealer discount of $3,500). I like the traditional body style (unlike the car review critics) and believe it is a much better value purchase over the much pricier Lexus and Mercedes equivalents. Honda products are just clearly a better performing and more reliable car over any other make. Change the oil and rotate the tires and it will run like a clock for 100,000 + miles like my old RL. Please do not change the body style too radically in 2005!

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  Perfect - 2005 Acura MDX
  By keehn - January 30 - 12:03 pm

  After a 2-month search and test drives of the FX-45, RS-330, Touareg, SRX, & XC-90, I short-listed the Lexus RS-330 and the MDX. I found the MDX to be the all around winner.

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  Great Car - 2001 Acura CL
  By Mick1070 - January 30 - 2:00 am

  This car is a luxurios sports car Not a sport luxury car. The most comfortable driving car Ive owned.

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  1992 Integra GS-R - 1992 Acura Integra
  By johnsonm - January 28 - 2:00 am

  Bought new, and havent found anything that can replace it yet. Fun to drive, excellent reliability, still stylish looks.

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  Good Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By silver rsx-s - January 28 - 2:00 am

  love my car except for the 2nd gear grind.

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  The 07 is the best - 2007 Acura MDX
  By John - January 26 - 4:00 pm

  This is my 7th SUV and my 3rd MDX. The 07 MDX is in a class by itself. I shopped other brands. Handling and quick steering response are greatly improved. Interior and exterior are beautiful. The manual shift mode is fun. The drivers comfort and positioning with instruments and gear shift were well conceived. I would have liked to have had items in the entertainment package such as electric tail gait and heated second row seats. 3rd row seats are still cramped. Missing are the automatic wipers, and auto dimming mirror (which didnt work with the privacy glass in the rear). This is a thrilling car to drive and own. I wouldnt trade it for the more expensive BMW X3 or Mercedes.

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  Fun to drive - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Charles_RSX - January 26 - 2:00 am

  Great car- no problems after 30k. Excellent handling and performance withing tuning. Have added 18" wheels, suspension kit (koni/nuespeed) and Cold Air Intake (AEM) which increased horsepower & handling nicely. Overall Good gas mileage. Only gripe is the stereo... Not easy to tap into for aftermarket goodies.

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  My 2000 TL - 2000 Acura TL
  By indy24jones - January 26 - 2:00 am

  I have enjoyed my TL. Sometimes I wish I had waited a year for the Type S. My over-all fuel economy is 22.5 mpg. On the rare times I take it on a freeway trip, I can get over 30 mpg, and have gone over 32 mpg on 3 or 4 occassions. Took a trip to Oregon in 2002 and drove 1100 miles one day with no fatigue or the tyoical "tired butt."