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:

• 

  awesome - 2005 Acura TL
  By Bill - October 1 - 6:56 pm

  This is my fourth Acura and it is an awesome car. I have owned cars for over 50 years and this auto is the finest and most advanced automoblie I have ever driven. At one time I drove over 50,000 miles per year. I would also like to point out that there is practically nothing that one can add, all accessories are included from the get-go, I would have had to spend an additional $10,000 to get the equal in another vehicle.

• 

  VERY classy luxury vehicle! - 2004 Acura RL
  By Joe215 - October 1 - 2:00 am

  Extremely pleased with this car!

• 

  SUV for Smart buyers not for name seeker - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Acurate Rating - October 1 - 2:00 am

  This is a vehicle for someone who cares about the quality (and by quality I mean the Consumer Reports, the reliability, the high resale, the inexspensive replacement parts, the excellent highway safety reviews) of a vehicle and not the logo on the hood. If you want to impress the Joneses, buy a BMW or a Mercedes, but if you want a car thats leaps-and-bounds above those names, get this one.

• 

  Perfection all around. - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Dvotd2Honda - October 1 - 2:00 am

  Having owned the same Civic for the past 12 years, I wanted to stay in the Honda family without breaking the bank. I couldnt be happier with the RSX. Plenty of power for my needs and Im absolutely in AWE with the steering, braking, and transmission.(and I even like the stereo, especially the CD) SO fun to drive. For me, this car does its job PERFECTLY. And I know it will for years to come.

• 

  My 2002 Acura TL Experience - 2002 Acura TL
  By George Mount - September 30 - 2:00 am

  Since purchasing my Acura TL over a year and half ago, Ive been totally satisfied with the overall quality and performance of the vehicle. The look and ride comfort of the Acura was the main reasons for making this purchase. In the past, Ive bought vehicles which were initially very appealing from a look and/or ride comfort perspective but I would quickly lose interest in the "look" and the ride became uncomfortable shortly after purchasing the vehicle (i.e., within 6 months). This has not been the case with my Acura, in fact, the look and the ride comfort continue to impress me more and more each passing month. Great vehicle!

• 

  mdx 2003 - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Tadgh45 - September 30 - 2:00 am

  I was an original 2001 MDX owner and loved every minute of it.Auto Weeks excellent test of the vehicle in Belize convinced me that this vehicle was for me. So,2 brief years later,it was a no brainer on what my next vehicle would be.All I can say about the 2003 MDX is that Acura actually improved on what I thought could have no improvement.I LOVE it! Bravo,Acura!

• 

  Satisfied - 2001 Acura CL
  By Goody - September 29 - 11:56 am

  My CL rides great and so far has been very reliable, unlike my Ford TBird which cost me $2600.00 in repairs in just one year! Im very happy with the design and I have confidence this car will last a long time.

• 

  Stupidly underrated by Edmunds!!! - 2000 Acura RL
  By gkisa - September 29 - 2:00 am

  We bought one at 49000miles pre-owned with extended warranty up to 3yr/85000miles and needed to change one of the seatbelts because the SRS light would not turn off, it was covered under the warranty. Nothing else malfunctioned since then and drives nicely (over a year now), a lot of comfort for the buck. Fuel economy could be improved, yet I disagree with the poor performance ratings, the engine is quite capable of responding to your needs and accelerating rapidly.

• 

  Best Car Ive Owned (oh, & THE MOST FUN) - 2003 Acura CL
  By TMRNewYork - September 29 - 2:00 am

  This Car kicks tail! I swear Ive never seen such a well put together package - in terms of workmanship, performance, comfort, thrill-to-drive, and sexiness - of a car, especially for the price, ever in my life. Were talking under six seconds for 0-60mph, leather seats and a slew of other luxury features that are standard, four passanger bucket seats that are heated, close shifting and a rev happy if you want it to be so engine, etc. etc. etc. - and all for thousands less than its competitors.

• 

  love my new TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By bill - September 28 - 9:43 am

  I finally purchased my TL after test driving the Cadillac CTS and Dodge Charger R/T several times. Neither of these other vehicles could compare to the handling and comfort of the TL. It took me 2 months to finally purchase my white diamond TL and I love it! I find myself doing all the running of errands just to find an excuse to drive her. Shes comfortable, well equipped and the sound system is top notch! I found no other car out there to comparem to the quality and comfort of the TL. Way to go Honda, great job!