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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  Good Combo of Comfort and Performance - 2003 Acura RSX
  By LFOV - December 18 - 2:00 am

  When I started looking for a replacement for my VW Passat, the RSX wasnt even on my short list. I was ready to buy a Subaru WRX - until I drove one. By chance, I stopped in at my local Acura dealer and test drove an RSX Type S. I came away VERY impressed with the overall package. It has reasonable performance (its a SPORTY car, not a SPORTS car), good comfort and amenities and is a tremendous bargain for what you get. As Honda was also offering low-rate financing, I couldnt pass the deal up.

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  Just drove it from Canada to Florida - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Rick - December 17 - 8:46 am

  Bought it a week ago in Ottawa, Canada and drove it to Florida for the winter. 1400 miles over 3 days and it worked better than my 03 MDX but with close to the same gas mileage. Larger engine gives it a little more power but the interior fit and finish is the greatest part. Feels like a true cockpit and the Nav System was great. Far superior to the last model. Really enjoyed the XM radio and the sound system is fabulous. The new trip computer not quite as good as elapsed time resets with each stop rather than driver resetting it. Most features were easy to operate, very intuitive. Seats with lumbar support cant be beat and I tried them all. Thanks Acura.

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  acura tl 2000 w/o nav - 2000 Acura TL
  By hcmartin - December 17 - 2:00 am

  2000 tl best auto i ever owned,97 acura cl comes in scond,and a 97honda accord se third. im 73 yrs. old and i have owned a new car ever 3 or 4 yrs. since i was 21 yrs. old

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  I love this car - 2002 Acura CL
  By jhslaw - December 16 - 2:00 am

  I am a sports car person. I have had English sports cars, GM muscle cars, Nissan Zs, Supras, etc. This is the best of the bunch for all around driving. The handling isnt as good as a rwd car, but I expected that. The pure power and comfort are astounding, both to me (57 year old male) and my son (22). You can drive this for 300+ miles straight and climb out without any fatigue. I have heard about transmission problems with early production versions (primarily 2001), but I have had no problems, of any kind, with any part of this car. It is a shame the model was discontinued, I would buy another. The new TL is on my short list at new car time.

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  S-type Ride - 2002 Acura RSX
  By WWard - December 16 - 2:00 am

  Overall an excellent vehicle. Well built, nice features and styling. Very responsive and fast, need to watch speed on highway.

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  Very satisfied - 2002 Acura TL
  By megadude - December 16 - 2:00 am

  I also test drove many other cars in the same general price range before buying this car. I thought it was the best car. I have had it for over 2 years. I still believe it is the best entry level luxury car. Period. Dont understand the comments about noisy air conditioning. Mine is whisper quiet ... even on the hottest, muggiest days of a Florida summer.

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  Mikes Acura MDX Review - 2002 Acura MDX
  By mikedhilljr - December 15 - 2:00 am

  We are very pleased to have purchased the 2002 Acura MDX. The outstanding exterior styling is matched with outstanding performance. Not the most powerful engine in the world, but more than sufficient for its purpose. This vehicle is highly recommended.

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  select observations - 2005 Acura TL
  By ccartini - December 14 - 6:46 pm

  slight vibration on the highway, to be checked next week; 6th acura over past 13 years, 4 of which were rls; wonderful and dependable autos; the new tl tops them all for driving performance and fun.

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  Techno-Driving in Style - 2006 Acura TL
  By AndyTous - December 13 - 12:50 pm

  This is a very comfortable vehicle with great variety of standard equipment. I love the included hands- free bluetooth setup with will even allow you to store speed dial numbers. The audio systems with DVD-A is brutal and sounds like youre inside a studio cabin. As far as driving performance, this car is athletic enough for the price, plus, you get tons of standard extras that other "German Rivals" will charge you a ton of money for adding.

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  Luxury Economy Car - 2004 Acura RSX
  By EddieRSX - December 13 - 10:00 am

  I have the Base RSX Automatic. I love the car! I have had the car about 2 weeks now, and I have had no problems driving it. I can take it through fast turns, and it stops on a dime. The A/C is automatic everything, so you name the temp. and it does the rest. Its got really cool mirror defoggers and its comfortable to ride in. I had the integra before, and this car really is better then ever.