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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  50% shop 50% road - 2000 Acura TL
  By tom - January 2 - 10:20 pm

  I bought this car after trading in my Subaru, as fast as I could. The car is a great car when it works. I have had to replace all four tires for belt shift - factory originals, new brakes all around, front rods, and the auto rear mirror. The side air bag light goes on with no one in the seat and the seat belt buckles have been done in the front. This is my 2nd Acura and the dealer has been good about repairs. Once out of warantee get a good mechanic and use original parts, they are expensive but will make a difference. Dont bother with the high end gas it is only expensive.

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  Awesome Car,way better than 3Series etc - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Rocker - January 2 - 9:33 pm

  The TSX happens to be the ultimate combination of pleasure, fun, sporty, reliable and low cost driving machine. This car drives great, feels great, runs great and does everything splendid it is designed to do. Dont have any complaints about my TSX and definitely recommend this one!!!

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  One Year+ Update - 2004 Acura TL
  By Brewster - January 2 - 10:54 am

  We now have 21,000 miles on our TL. After solving the OEM Bridgestone tire problems by installing Michelins, all seems well. As long time Accord V6 owners, though, we have never become satisfied with the overly harsh ride. Our dealer is excellent but is aware of the ride problems for former Honda owners. While we love the car, especially the interior features, the ride really detracts from our overall pleasure. When Acura dropped the older TL and incorporated all the S model features into the new 2004 model, we lost our chance to have the smoother ride. All systems are functioning well and we have not had any excessive warranty items.

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  Best SUV Ive owned - 2005 Acura MDX
  By wm stiehm - January 1 - 10:09 pm

  The MDX is superior in all respects for an SUV. Although the total weight didnt push the specs, I towed a 1100 lb boat and 400 lb trailer 1800 miles with ease and with a feeling of control at all times. This included driving the mountains of NC and NY. Its third seat is handy and I love its muscular look (compare to sister vehicle, the Honda Pilot).

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  Nothing Better for that Price - 2003 Acura RSX
  By John Usman - January 1 - 10:00 am

  You can not, and will not find a better vehicle. I have raced this car and spanked everyone. Beyond the auto/manual shifter, sleak design, and great alpine system, there are girls. Every time Im driving girls fall in love with me (MY CAR). Maybe some would call it pothetic that I use my car to get girls, but they are just angry that they are not getting any. Two thumbs way up for this one.

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  Happy VTEC owner - 1996 Acura Integra
  By Happy VTEC owner - December 31 - 2:40 pm

  This four door GSR has been reliable, fun to drive, and fuel effecient. For the first few years used premium gas, stopped when gas $ spiked and have noticed no degredation in performance. Would recommend car to anyone. Still runs great after 108K miles.

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  97 TL, an Excellent Car - 1997 Acura TL
  By Clay - December 31 - 2:14 pm

  Excellent car in every way. At 110,000 miles the dealer replaced the o2 sensor and the spark plugs under the free Acura extended emissions warranty (up to 150,000 miles). Otherwise the car has been extremely reliable with only regular maintenance. Regular maintenance costs were low. The paint and the fit and finish of all interior and exterior parts are still great after eight years of use. And its still comfortable and fun to drive with good acceleration, braking, and handling.

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  A good design not implemented well - 2006 Acura TL
  By gainful - December 31 - 12:00 am

  Replaced my 2003 TL with this car, big disappointment. The 2003 has been silky smooth and this car is jittery and jerky. It has more torque than previous generation, but you get alot more noise in the cabin, and the hard ride shakes the car loose and create rattles. This car is a good buy if you ONLY travel on perfect roads. I am in PA where the roads are like the moon surface, therefore rattles all over the cabin, some even resonate with engine vibration when you hit the gas. Honda is not spending enough time to fine tune the mechanical of this car as it does before, instead, tries to allure customers with a ton of electronics----not a good way to go

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  Just got my car - 1998 Acura TL
  By Deb - December 29 - 10:30 pm

  We reviewed this year for the TL and so far Im delighted. Its beautiful and rides like a dream, although it does have some road noise, but the stereo is awesome. Im confident it will be an excellent car for us. We looked at the 1999-2003 TLs and the transmission problems scared us off. We have a 2002 RL, and although the TL is not as luxurious as that, it is just as fun to drive and it has all the same toys, just a little smaller, and I LOVE this car! The metallic blue paint is just beautiful also, and this car is in perfect shape.

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  Shes a KEEPER !!!! - 1995 Acura Legend
  By Stephanie Joy - December 29 - 6:16 pm

  I have had by Acura now for 3 yrs & it has about 158k miles. I am a realtor & this car has been soooo reliable & enjoyable. It rides & looks great. I was considering treating myself to something newer like the 2004 Infiniti M45 or 2004 BMW 5 series. However, after reading the reviews I dont know.... I already have a jewel !!