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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  Very Impressed! - 2006 Acura RSX
  By twiztidklonwztx - November 14 - 9:39 pm

  This car is great! Seemed a little stiff at first, but after break in it really opens up. Im a pretty big guy and most sports cars arent very comfortable to me but this one suprisingly is. Handling is amazing, and the amount of power they get out of this little four cylinder still suprises me (especially being naturally aspirated when everything else that tries to compare to it is turbocharged). If you want a nice comfortabe daily driver that is still a pretty impressive sports car also this is it!

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  Jenns Legend - 1993 Acura Legend
  By Jennifer Mannon - November 13 - 3:22 pm

  I love my Acura, the only things I have had to replace were the battery and the radiator. Other than that I have never had a problem. It is very fun to drive and I will never get rid of it!!

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  Great Acura - 2005 Acura RL
  By Bill Gimby - November 13 - 12:45 pm

  Last 3 cars, 2 MBs and a G35 the Acura tops them all. Drove all the competition and found the Acura the most solid on the road. Absolutely no problems for the Acura in first 7000 miles, delivers fair city mileage and excellent highway mileage, driving an even 70 on interstate have achieved 30 MPG but more often about 27 to 28.

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  Great, but only time will tell. - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Dax - November 13 - 3:40 am

  I have had my 07 MDX for about 2 months now, I love the thing from its fun to drive to its looks. Only problem was a loose rear suspension bolt that made noise over some bumps. Dealer took care of that and now its as solid as anything out there. Fuel economy isnt all that great in the city but on the highway its very good. Its a new design so only time will tell what the recalls will be if any. But so far with 2000 miles on it its great.

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  All I can say is WOW! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Andy - November 13 - 12:26 am

  From the first moment I test drove this vehicle I was very impressed. Its amazing how much HP a 4 cylinder with a turbo can give you and not to mention the decent gas mileage. The handle on this vehicle is awesome compared to other small suvs thanks to its sh-awd.

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  Luxury SUV for a great value - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Pawel - November 12 - 11:22 pm

  Great overall SUV The breaking is very responsive and very solid, acceleration very quiet and smooth. Handling is great!

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  My Silver Bullet - 2005 Acura RL
  By Deborah - November 12 - 3:12 pm

  I have been driving my RL for the last two months and I am very pleased with the vehicle. As the owner of a 2002 TL Type-S, I find the difference in the two cars to be everything I expected it to be. While I enjoy the sporty ride I get from my TL, when I get into the RL I can still appreciate sporty but I get a hugh dose of luxury. The comfort of the interior is beyond what you would expect from a car that on the surface appears so sporty. The handling is also excellent. Very quick and responsive.

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  Very Good for price...!!! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By JimmyTSX - November 12 - 2:40 am

  This is the first ACURA I own. All the amenities come as standard. The driving experience is good, not boring at all. The small I4- 2.4L, really performs well. Very smooth and ready to rev quite effortlessly. The interior is well laid-out and good materials abound. It surely gives you the feeling of a entry-luxury model. All in all, this car wont win over the famed and famous euro brands but for a model under 26K, the TSX will gain a lot of enthusiasts.

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  Great Car - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Frankie - November 11 - 8:42 pm

  This is a great car. My second Acura (1994 Integra), I went back to Acura for the dependability. I love this car. The six-speed makes it fun to drive and the pick up makes it rewarding to press the gas. The navigation system is a feature I do not plan to live without again, and the XM radio is nice when traveling.

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  I love this car! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Elisa - November 11 - 6:19 pm

  This car is not only safe but it is fun to drive. I love the little kick it has when you accelerate. It is the most fun 4 cyl car I have ever driven. The gas mileage isnt bad either, but it depends in all what you are looking for in mileage. All in all great car!