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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  Not your mothers accord! - 2003 Acura CL
  By jorruss - October 26 - 1:00 am

  This car is great fun to drive with the 6 speed. It loves to go fast and it will do so in style and comfort. Add Comptech springs and get rid of the crappy Michelins and the handling of the car improves dramatically! I can toss it around corners with reckless abandon and it handles predictably and stays flat through the turn. The many aftermarket performance parts available from comptech will make this car as fast and furious as your pocketbook can handle!

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  Great Car - 2001 Acura TL
  By JAKE F - October 26 - 1:00 am

  this is a great car, good pickup, handling, power, and smooth ride, great black on black, very comfy the autoshift is alright. it can go fast quickly.

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  Base RSX 5speed - 2003 Acura RSX
  By rsxtypem - October 26 - 1:00 am

  This car is perfect in every way. For those who wish to use it for a high class economy car for lots of traveling, this car is perfect. And it has enough power to make it a fun car to race or just push to its limits.

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  Great Car - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Pilot 11 - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Best car that I have ever owned.

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  Luxury & Race Inspired - In One - 2003 Acura RSX
  By CarrieJ623 - October 25 - 2:00 am

  I wanted a sporty car with a luxury feel to it, and the Acura RSX-S provides just that for me. Whenever I feel like doing some spirited driving, the 200-hp engine with i-VTEC more than satisfies my expectations. The stiff racing inspired seats are great for taking quick corners comfortably, but they can be uncomfortable on longer trips. My Acura RSX-S makes the usual daily drive, going from point A to point B, and enjoyable and exciting experience.

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  my Acura CL-S - 2001 Acura CL
  By esther1@sonic.net - October 25 - 2:00 am

  Thoroughly satisfied. A kick to own and drive. Really quick when needed, even when not needed. Exceptional. And, its a nice looking car with the prettiest tush of any car.

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  Best in Class - 2004 Acura TL
  By St Louis Cardinals - October 25 - 2:00 am

  We looked at the I-G35, 5 series, Audi A6 and Volvo S80. Hands down this beat them all with the best overall ride, performance, comfort and style. You could get better handling and speed from the 540 but it will cost you 15k more. For the $$ this is the best car. WE LOVE IT!

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  2 weeks - 2004 Acura TL
  By Gemini-04TL - October 25 - 2:00 am

  My review of this car is that its a excellent car!!!!!!!! This car is a everyday drivers car. I drove it into Manhattan from downtown to uptown and this car did just fine in the cold NYC streets with holiday traffic. Navigation and Xm radio surround sound was excellent they worked great. The 2004 TL is a car you can live with for everyday use. I havent had a chance to push that gas to the floor since it has only 340 miles on it but Im sure I wont be disappointed. Performance and luxury in a great package. So far no complaints!!

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  Incredible Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By lakeman - October 25 - 2:00 am

  After looking at all the cars in the entry luxury sport catagory, I was blown away by this car. It is fast, handles extremely well (with the HPT package) and is better looking than just about anything out there. The Navigation is great, and the stereo is the best I have ever heard. The real beauty of this car is that it is equally a sports car and a luxury car and gives up very little in the deal. The interior rivals the best Lexus and Mercedes. The build quality is surpurb, and the value is phenomonal.

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  Final Steps For True Performance Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By 3603 - October 25 - 2:00 am

  With only a couple of changes the TL will become a true sports car. First, rear wheel drive is a MUST! Secondly, more torque. Even with the 270 hp, only 238 pound of torque, it does not have the feel of the G35 coupe (which was the other car I was looking at). 18" performance tires and rims as an option rather than an expense accessory, almost $1,800, is the final item. I purchased the TL for the total package; performance, ride and comfort. If the choice was for performance only the G35 would win hands down.