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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  Love this car ! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Brian19 - October 21 - 10:00 am

  Forget the bmw 3 series, infiniti g35, The new Acura TL is the better car by a mile. The best nav. system with voice activation, dolby digit DVD dts 5.1 sound is unreal. stablity system and traction control. and 270 horsepower! IF you do not test drive this car youll be kicking your self later!

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  Best Car Ive Ever Owned - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Alex - October 20 - 6:28 am

  This car is the best thing thats happened to me! It shifts better than my Focus (which i traded it in for), is faster, quieter, and a 1000000000 times more reliable. The Magnesium Metallic exterior on Ebony interior gives it a sexy look (highly recommend it).

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  Bad Transmission by Darius Erby - 2001 Acura TL
  By Darius Erby - October 19 - 9:15 pm

  I love this vehicle, but the only issue I have with this vehicle is that it has transmission issues. I knew that the Acuras and Hondas from year 98 to 04 had transmission issues, but they extended the warrany out to 100000 miles. My trans went out at 90000 miles. It had 50000 on it when I bought it. I bought it in Atlanta. My trans went out on me in the mountains in Tennessee. I was frightened because my rpms just started going crazy, I was driving about 70 mph and then my car just stopped accelerating and it started rolling backwards down the mountain, as it was rolling back I was able to roll into the emergency lane, and I almost got hit by a few 18 wheelers.

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  Dont expect it to be reliable!!! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Jessie - October 19 - 6:02 pm

  I bought this vehicle thinking I was buying a reliable Honda product (Ive owned several Hondas that have had over 150K mi with nothing more than oil changes and minor repairs). This vehicle has been a big disappointment. Where should I start?? Been in the shop 3 times for transmission issues, they still cant fix the leaking sunroof after 4 attempts!!, car wouldnt start (turn over) a couple times. What makes this even worse is the ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS service at the dealership (Ive tried 5 different ones) and Acura corporate customer service SIMPLY DOES NOT CARE. While I understand that any vehicle can have problems, how they take care of you says it all! Will never buy an Acura again!!

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  Lemons, but no Lemonade - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Unhappy - October 19 - 12:38 am

  I got a lemon. So far the dealer hasnt been the least bit helpful with helping me. Its had a new transmission, 3 batteries, a new alternator and now theyre telling me Im having axle problems!! Its a cute car, but its time to get something that wont break down on me five times in half a year!

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  The Trustigious Integra - 1991 Acura Integra
  By CBell - October 18 - 4:52 pm

  My overall experience with this vehicle is very pleasing. It was purchased for me as my first car on 10/2/04. The car has had an engine swap done, but thats expected after 250,000 miles. The one thing that impressed me the most was when I found the record of the cars maintenance in the glove box. It was one owner and he bought the car brand new in Des Moines, Iowa. There was at least 30 receipts from where he had the annual maintenance done. The exterior is in excellent shape. Maybe a rust spot here or there. The mechanical is good and the supension, brakes, wheels and exhaust is in very good condition considering the age.

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  Great Car! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By David W - October 18 - 4:38 pm

  I bought this car for my wife and quickly realized I wanted to steal it from her. It is a great car to drive and has enough room for a family. The car is very affordable and out performs any other car in this price range.

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  Best Overall Sedan - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Dallas Realtor - October 18 - 1:50 am

  Very comfortable in the front. Theres not an abundance of space, but its very well used. My passengers are comfortable in the back all day. It also accelerates quietly and smoothly with plenty of power. You hardly notice the shift points. Good gas mileage, I average 29 MPG in Dallas driving conservatively & 24.5 MPG driving aggressively. Theres not any squeaks or rattles. The turning radius, as mentioned in other reviews, is pretty sorry for a vehicle of this size. However, the car handles exceptionally well: very nimble and sure footed. Very well appointed vehicle even in base form. Good luck finding a finer vehicle for under 26k! Practical & Fun, whats not to love?

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  Chic, sporty... - 2006 Acura RSX
  By kristy - October 18 - 1:02 am

  ...dependable, affordable, fun, fast, attractive, just awesome!!!

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  Thumbs up! - 2005 Acura RSX
  By DJHonda84 - October 17 - 12:16 pm

  My previous car was a Mazda MX-5 Miata. I enjoyed it a lot, however due to the need of more passenger and cargo room, I had to replace it. I wanted something that sacrificed as little of the driving experience I had grown accustomed to as possible. I wanted something with two-doors, 4-seat minimum, light-weight, sport-tuned suspension, decent cargo room and fuel economy. I chose the RSX for many reasons. It satisfied the criteria listed above, I had a good ownership experience of a Honda in the past, and the styling fit me. I chose the type-S trim for the same reason anyone else would chose it: more power and tighter suspension than the base model.