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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  Great Car, Honda Delivers - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Road Warrior - September 22 - 9:40 am

  I compared this car with the A4, Volvo, Lexus (Hit my head getting in & out), BMW, Infinity, the new low end Mercedes, Ford & Dodge. The A4 was leading the pack until I really checked out the TSX. Its quiet inside, reliabilty history, handling, gas milage (thought the gauge was broken on my first trip), ease to reach controls, sound system, standard equipment and look won me over. Handling is great. The Navigation system which I didnt think I needed is saving me milage and gas and making me more productive. After 20+ Fords, this car is refreshing.

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  Familiar yet new. - 2006 Acura RSX
  By dime5150 - September 21 - 7:40 pm

  I recently purchased a 2006 RSX. Mine had 3 miles on it and just came off the boat. The car is amazing. It is what the Civic should be and fills in the gap in the lineup. The car is beautiful. The headlights are not only beautiful but functional with great light splash on the road. The interior is very clean and well thought out. The seats are comfortable and attractive with racing inspired looks. The car doesnt scream at you like what the sport enthusiasts want (add aftermarket if you want that) but has that real classy look that will last. These things are hard to find even new. Leather is unneccesary as the cloth is perfect and reminicsent of the type r.

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  Acura RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By Theresa - September 21 - 5:02 pm

  My Acura RL is the absolute best automobile I have ever owned Previously Cadillacs)- it handles superbly (rain or shine)- looks/design fantastic - evaluation would honestly by 10 + + - headlights, suspension, interior, exterior - roominess - all excellent

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  My First Acura - 2005 Acura RL
  By MG - September 21 - 4:54 pm

  It is a fun car to drive - very responsive steering and suspension. The Bose stereo system is excellent - the quality of sound phenominal and it equalizes the outside noise so all you hear is the music - very unique. Good visibility from the drivers seat all around the car. The seats are very comfortable with automatic controls for an excellent ride. The telescoping steering wheel is easily adjusted for comfort. At night the lighting in the car provides very good visibility to all controls. An added feature includes little blue lights that provide visibility for the door handles and foot area so your not fumbling for things. The adaptive headlights are responsive and brightly shine.

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  2003 Type S TL - 2003 Acura TL
  By Azeem - September 21 - 4:25 pm

  I bought this car for an excellent price with about 60K miles on it from a local BMW dealership. I did the research before I bought the car and knew that I very well could be facing transmission problems but bought it anyway after I learned that I am covered by warranty till atleast 100k. The car is extremely sharp looking and beastly under the hood. When using steptronic the engine releases some mean horses. The stereo people have complained about but I must say, I think it takes some time to break the speakers in to sound great. Love the Xenons and the automatic tilting side view during reverse. The trans definitely seems to be showing some issues but not worried, the warrantee will cover

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  Adrenaline Rush - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Nauman - September 21 - 6:38 am

  as far as performance is concerned, its got more then enough for any stupid ticket your trying to get. after 3k revs this car jumps to life like nothing else. stock/ it will hang with v8s. i have just under 8k on mine, no mods except the subs, and no real racing experience. this car managed to pull me out of a deadly situation on the highway at over 120mph. it also destroyed countless red light revvers. has gotten an otherwise ordinary man tons of attention. and has people wondering what my hurry is. if you wanna know what a cheap thrill really is, go out and get one of these bad boys...

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  2005 RSX S is a Best Buy - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Greg - September 20 - 11:49 pm

  I used to have a 1999 Honda Prelude and I know how reliability is one for my biggest issues. Honda has proven to be one of the best reliable cars for the money. I drove the Prelude like I stole it on the regular. Now that I have the RSX S, WOW! This car is amazingly more fun to drive and revvs strong to redline. Most of my friends who own European cars love the high revvs to redline. This car handles like a champ for daily driving and is light enough to toss around for some fun times. The power to weight ratio is very close to the S2000 so it pulls very hard for a 4banger. Ive read many posts about just adding an intake and race header and youre on your way to high 13s soon........

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  bye bye VW - 2006 Acura RSX
  By Alex - September 20 - 2:08 pm

  I bought this car after a 3 year lease on a VW Jetta 1.8T. I had so many problems with that car so I decided to turn my back on VW. This car offers a fun ride which will make you smile almost everytime you drive. It first really buttoned down in the corners and has loads of grip. Even though the torque output is modest all you need to do is take this car up to redline once and you will be sold. I mean this car (6.1) is quicker than a base porsche boxter(6.5)and for $20,000 less. The engine is smooth and refined and the shifter is crisp and accurate. I have not driven a car with a shifter that is as smooth at this price. This car also gets great gas mileage.

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  Sophisticated and fun all in one - 2005 Acura TSX
  By K.J. - September 20 - 8:37 am

  My husband and I wanted a sophisticated, reliable, and yet fun to drive car, and that is why we chose the TSX. We spent months researching and comparing different vehicles, such as Audi A4, BMW 3 series, and other Honda products. This car came up the winner for so may different reasons. First of all, the safety features are supurb. The comfort is incredible and the list of standard features are seemingly endless. This car feels like luxury inside and out. The price just can not be beat when compared to others in its class. This car looks sporty and refined all in one. Honda did a great job with this vehicle.

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  review on RSX - 2004 Acura RSX
  By fmtwister10 - September 20 - 2:00 am

  I love the car!