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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  The best - 2003 Acura RSX
  By dadadada - September 23 - 2:00 am

  It is the coolest car ever.

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  Stitch - 2003 Acura MDX
  By vncjj - September 23 - 2:00 am

  Good Great Fuel Ecocomy To Buy

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  BetterthanBMWreliabilty - 2005 Acura TL
  By domingo Martine - September 22 - 2:10 pm

  This car is an absolute beauty. I test drove it 5 times (manual transmission) and simply could not it off my mind. My acura is reliable, a real beauty-> almost feels Italian, very fasssst and the 6spd is simply out of this world... so what if you have a bit of torque steer...Take this baby out for a spinnn, double clutch 5-> 3rd, not a single complaint.

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  Thumbs up for my MDX! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By DebO - September 22 - 1:53 pm

  I was deciding between the MDX and the Lexus RX 330. All the reviews, including Edmunds, seem to view the MDX as more utilitarian and less "desirable" than the RX. Well, thankfully I didnt listen--I bought the MDX and I absolutely love it. Im so glad I decided to test drive the MDX. Fuel economy is a little less than I expected in the summer, but a small price to pay for such an awesome SUV.

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  I think I got a steal - 2003 Acura CL
  By erich - September 22 - 2:00 am

  I had been eyeing the CLS for about 3 months so I checked out ebay for used 2001s. I put a bid on a 2003 for the hell of it and settled outside of ebay for 20k! The car has 18k on it and is in pristine condition inside and out. I was expecting something to be wrong with it when it got to my door, but wow, was I surprised. Im glad I didnt go for the 2001 and if this guy wants to sell any others at that price I will let you guys know!!

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  biffs review - 2003 Acura RSX
  By CrazyRSXdriver - September 22 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my RSX S for a year and a half. It rides like a rollercoaster, man. Its like a rocket under my nuts. Amazing car, and a dream to drive. Peace!

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  Great car - 2000 Acura TL
  By JimT - September 22 - 2:00 am

  Great value, great car, fun to drive. What more could you ask for

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  Acura TL Test Drive 99 - 1999 Acura TL
  By Anton911 - September 21 - 2:00 am

  Decided to drive around in different cars. Took 3.2 TL 99 for about 15 of fun driving. Silver/black leather. Wheel and pedals are honda touch (pretty hard for Japan made). Good exeleration though, tip-tronic is fun. Suspension needs work though, honda like (does not pass as luxury suspension) Went 100 mph, very stable, doesnt really feel that fast. Good Car over all, any way it was 1999, they may have improved it a little/a lot. The Acura Dealer at Stevens Creek (SJ,CA) is very pushy.

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  Fun to drive but out of control on turns - 2004 Acura RSX
  By ZachT - September 19 - 10:00 am

  This car is fun, it has pretty good exceleration, but at high speeds it feels a little out of control. The tires flat out stink and give little grip to the road leading to the back end sliding. But that is fixable, besides that the suspension is great and corners well, and it catches eyes where ever you drive it.

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  Too Nice to Believe! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Thorstein36 - September 19 - 10:00 am

  I feel totally secure when driving in the worst weather--this MDX is a dream come true. It hugs the road, has a touch of luxury, and is absolutely reliable.