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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  Best car in its class - 2001 Acura CL
  By JLW1212 - September 28 - 2:00 am

  This was my second car, I went from an Acura Integra and although I paid twice as much, its 10 times the Integra will ever be. I was in my market for a BMW 330Ci and to me the 3.2CL beat it out in every catergory. This is a fantastic buy and the 225 HP is a big improvement from 140 HP.

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  One of the top Honda products - 2000 Acura TL
  By Deity42 - September 28 - 2:00 am

  Solid, solid car. I drove nothing but GM products before this, and let me tell you there is a difference. I found my copy used with 43K miles and it feels brand new. Fantastic value. I drove the vehicle off the lot for less than the sticker price on a top- of-the-line Civic. Dealer took care of all of my worries. The performance is also surprising. It blows the ES300 off the road and is one of the better handling sedans Ive driven. You have to really ease into the throttle in order not to just launch the car. And this is just the base car, not the Type-S!

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  More than enough. - 1997 Acura RL
  By Glove - September 26 - 2:00 am

  After washing, the shine off the pearl white is priceless. this is truly a sexy automobile. Although the RL is a dog at the line, its acceleration while already moving is terrific. the 3.5 v6 is great for highway driving but lack a little from 0 mph+. The interior is durable and classy, enough wood enough leather. I do hear a clunking noise whenever i go over a bump but my mechanic doesnt seem to think its anything to worry about (he has no clue what it is). The sunroof has a problem with the electronic STOP mechanism adn the left fog light is out. i think for a car thats 6 yrs old this is a smart choice if you want luxury you can use!

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  AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!! - 1998 Acura Integra
  By Eraze - September 26 - 2:00 am

  this car is awsome, if you want wny of the above, this cars got it

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  Great SUV - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Kevin G. - September 26 - 2:00 am

  Great SUV - would purchase again. Some minor initial items were fixed by the dealer, no problem. Roomy, confortable, decent styling - I think the reviewers who pan the styling are a bit off since Ive checked out all the competition in the same league. This is my third Honda vehicl (first Acura) and Im a devoted fan. All you need to do is put gas and regular maintenance and it will go forever. Great resale value as well. Love it, love it, love it !!!!

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  The Legend of the Legends - 1991 Acura Legend
  By Phredd - September 25 - 2:00 am

  Picked up the car 8 months ago after my Hyundai got totalled. The Acura had 154,000 when I got it.. and with a little TLC to get the heat working, and fix some cooling system issues, the car is very nice. Its now got 167,000, and is going strong. About the two worst things are the gas mileage and the missing cup holder... But hey, its not an economy car, and Ive learned to live without the cup holder.

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  LOVE THIS CAR!!! - 2002 Acura CL
  By CLYDE - September 25 - 2:00 am

  22000 THOUSAND GREAT MILES AND STILL LOVE THIS CAR

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  Best SUV yet - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Bobkes - September 25 - 2:00 am

  This Acura is the third suv I have owned, after driving a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder. It is the best yet. Drives and handles like a car with no skittishness in the corners, with wide comfortable seats, good head room, and a comfortable driving position. Plenty of power when you need it, and great in snow. other than gravel trails. Feel it is the best Suv out there now, others are too small, too trucklike, or too expensive for what you get.Small peeve, picked up a couple of parking lot door dings because of no side moulding protection, metal dents easily. Good ride so far, will see how it does after some more miles.

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  My 2003 MDX SS/S Navi Review - 2003 Acura MDX
  By vcolangelo - September 24 - 10:00 am

  The good news is the MDX is built by Honda and its build quality, ride, quiet cabin and overall look and feel are well above anything experienced with any of my previous GM, Jeep and Ford SUVs . The bad news is the MDX is serviced by Honda. If Honda could learn how to service their their luxury Acura line like Toyota did with Lexus, it would be perfect. I love my MDX, but I love the service my wife gets with her less expensive Lexus GS more. Common Acura owner service complaints include: no free pick up and delivery service; no free loaner; and, no feeling that theres a service person at Acura who really takes an interest in your car.

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  great buy - 2003 Acura TL
  By ll - September 24 - 10:00 am

  the s no skid feature is awesome on snow,the car is fast and my teenage daughter thinks it is cool enough to drive. Great mileage 29 on the highway, city/highway 24mpg. Dont get the the gray interior molding looks sickly. Very happy with car, people think it is an 8 cyclinder, it moves.