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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  Its a Honda - 2008 Acura TL
  By John S - April 29 - 7:21 pm

  Moving from 6 years with 5-series BMWs to an Acura TL requires a major adjustment. The TL is a well-built auto with nice interior design and complementary touches. Its a bit light, and coupled with the regular skinny tires, provides a harsh, shaky ride over rough pavement. Go for the better tires. I dont agree completely with the car being described as having sporty handling, especially as a front-driver, as it pushes through the turns. But it does have good acceleration to get you safely on the highway, but at a cost in fuel economy (averaging 23 mpg overall). Sunroof operates nicely, but admits cool air in the winter with the shade open and roof closed.

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  Very Impressive - 2003 Acura MDX
  By cwilson336 - April 29 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned the car now for just a little over a week, and I still cant wait to drive it. The ride is extremely smooth, the controls are right where they should be, and the performance is a knockout. I test drove the Lexus RX 330 and loved it, but I just couldnt pass up the value in a simarly equipped MDX. My only request would be a better use of dash space. The trip computer seems to be kind of silly and overkill.

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  Great value - 2003 Acura TL
  By AcuraTLDriver - April 29 - 10:00 am

  Got my TL-S in early March, 2003. So far, its been a great drive -- fast, powerful, great standard features. Actually, if I couldve gotten a G35 for about the same price, I wouldve gotten one, but the TL-S was available for 2.9% financing and the dealers were making good deals, unlike Infiniti. Plus, I think the TL-S looks better than the G35. Ive been getting about 25-26mpg all-around and even got over 31mpg on a highway drive (with A/C on!).

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  Good but not great - 2009 Acura TL
  By rickpoole - April 23 - 11:29 pm

  After test driving 3 different 2009 TLs w/Tech while my 2007 TL was in the shop I found it was improved in many areas but took a few steps backwards that would keep me from trading my 2007 TL for a new 2009 TL - not worth the price difference. Main issues was worse city mileage 09 ratings are supposed to be fairly accurate, 07 ratings were high by 10-20%. Both were rated at 18. Driving my 07 conservatively I can get 19-20, driving the 09 the same way only got 16-17.

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  Somewhat disappointed - 2008 Acura TSX
  By Texas Trix - April 23 - 1:38 pm

  This is my first experience with a Honda product. Purchased the car directly off the showroom floor. Beautiful black exterior with tan leather seats and wood grained interior rear spoiler, loaded but without the navigation system. Unfortunately, the dash had a rattle from day one. After 6 trips (and counting) the dealership has not been able to resolve the rattle, and it continues to be worse and never stops - not something I expected from a Honda product. Previously I drove Ford Explorers, Mercedes C230 and Mercedes SLK 320.

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  Acura TL 3.2 - 2003 Acura TL
  By JesusFreak1986 - April 23 - 10:00 am

  This is a very nice car to have, I am only 17 and I love it. It is build very solid and is reliable, I have already driven it almost 20,000 miles and have only owned it for 8 months and I have loved every minute. I have driven to several states and I enjoy showing it off to everyone and anyone who looks my way, and they love to look b/c it is a beautiful piece of art-work.

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  Brakes are bad - 2009 Acura TSX
  By BRANDON - April 21 - 12:52 pm

  The car looks great! Smooth ride on the highway. Seats are comfy! Love the chrome finishes on door handles & front grill.

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  05 Acura TSX - 2005 Acura TSX
  By gw - April 20 - 9:40 pm

  Gives outstanding gas mileage (30+ highway). Major problem with rear camber. (had kit installed) and door lock actuators. Otherwise fit and finish as well as performance had been what I expected. Wish Acura would put a four in the TL (more room). Would recommend for an average size or below average sized person.

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  US built, what you pay is what you get - 2005 Acura TL
  By Stephen - April 20 - 1:33 pm

  I love the fact that the TL comes with a lot of toys that you would have to pay extra if it were Lexus, Audi or BMW. The Nav system is very easy to use except you have to pay almost $200 if you want to get a updated DVD. The 5.1 sound systems is terrific except the interior integrity of the vehicle is not built to handle such great sound, after months of driving, rattle, rattle, rattle can drive you nuts! I had a 02 TL-S and they share the same problem, my friend has an 02 Japan- built GS300 and that car is still as quiet as if it were brand new. US quality is taking a dump, I aint buying another US built Acura no more.

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  A so-so product in a competitive segment - 2004 Acura TL
  By regrets - April 17 - 2:00 am

  I traded in a 2000 BMW 330i coupe as I need a 4-door sedan. My original draw to the TL is the impacable specs(HP, torque, tires, fuel consumptions, etc), and the cool exterior. The car drives pretty good, better than most other Japanese cars(except the G35), but what kills this car for me is the excessive oversteer, probably due to the front wheel drive. The notchy gas pedal response doesnt help either. The suspension also cannot be really rated as sporty. The car starts to float at 80mph, and the steering response is really unsure during moderately-spirited manuvers.