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:

• 

  Lots of car for the money! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Jeff - July 27 - 3:43 am

  Ive had the car for just over 2 months and love it. ( Pearl White , Ebony) Great color and people stop me in parking lots to ask about the car! Got rid of a 2005.5 A4. Love the fit and finish, got 35 mpg on the highway - WOW ! Great style, interior, xenons , loaded -- a lot of car for the $$. Do not miss Audi or the higher payments!!

• 

  Excellent Head Turner - 1998 Acura RL
  By Matma01 - July 27 - 2:00 am

  I am very pleased with my RL. Although, I bought it Certified, so far its in excellent condition. I really enjoy driving this car and watching and hearing everyone gloat about it.

• 

  Total package - 2003 Acura RSX
  By LuckyGuyDC - July 27 - 2:00 am

  Fit and finish - great. Quiet inside, great sound system. Powerfull and fast - fun to drive.

• 

  rsx rocks - 2003 Acura RSX
  By carmelo toledo jr - July 27 - 2:00 am

  if your looking for a fun car this is the car that your looking for. it has it all style , class, fast. i love and wouldnt trade it in for nothing!!!!

• 

  Just got mine! - 2007 Acura TL
  By 66Woody - July 26 - 2:46 pm

  Im not a fan of the wheels, but, like the color, they are nicer in person than pictures show. Torque steer is not an issue - I think Acura is limiting the torque on take-off. This could cut into 0-60 times though. Speaking of which, here are my guesses... 0-60 in 5.6. 1/4 mile in 14.3. The car pulls more once it gets moving. A later test with my g-timer will confirm these numbers. One thing of note is the sound system. It is AWESOME. Listen to the sample DVD that comes with the car and you will be sold. Fit and finish is nice. Handling is good but they put these junk Michelins tires on stock.

• 

  Great Value! - 1999 Acura RL
  By DEALINDAN - July 26 - 2:00 am

  Not a car on the market has more value for the money. Buy one about 2-3 years old. You will pay about $25,000-30,000 and you will think you stole it. Great ride and comfort. Adequate power and handling.

• 

  Great Car! - 1991 Acura Legend
  By Legendary91 - July 26 - 2:00 am

  My friends had an Acura Legend, and I just had to see and ride in the vehicle to know that I liked it. I myself sell cars, and I preferred driving my 91Legend over the several different cars that I sell. I have had no problems at all, and I have 256,000 miles on it. Can a Ford beat that??(NO) Performance on this car is outstanding! Sometimes I like to gun it here and there, especially when Mustangs are around. I have raced 2 Rustang GTs and Beat them both and did I mention that my family car has 256,000 miles on it with the automatic transmission? An 02 and a 98. Its an all around Great car.

• 

  An Excellent Value - 2002 Acura TL
  By RMcMasters - July 26 - 2:00 am

  I test drove the Audi 1.8T and Audi S4, BMW 3 series, Nissan Maxima, Infinity, Lexus ES and IS 400, and a few other models. Not until I test drove the Acura 3.2TL did I realize it was such a terrific car. It was superior in handling, ride comfort, power (only the 5-speed Audi S4 model felt quicker and more powerful- -even the higher horsepower Nissan did have the sense of modest power of the Acura) and all-around quality. Of note, the stock Bose stereo is of superior quality and the cabin of excellent acoutics, relative to the above mentioned models. I recommend this vehicle without reservation.

• 

  Problems with paint - 2004 Acura TL
  By nefarious - July 26 - 2:00 am

  This is a very well designed vehicle with excellent handling and power. However, my vehicle has paint shrinkage in numerous areas of the vehicle. Be aware that this could be limited to my vehicle as I was informed from the dealer that Acura could have repaired damage on my vehicle.

• 

  Love this car!!! - 2004 Acura TL
  By mrobrien - July 26 - 2:00 am

  I was a happy owner of a 2000 Audi A4 until I learned about this car. How quick our loyalties can change... I love gadgets and I call this car the Batmobile (my wife frowns on the idea of me installing two polls from our bedroom to the garage). Short of having modules for carbon dating and urinalysis, this car rivals that of David Hasselhoffs Kit. Seriously, the features, quality and craftsmanship, and the raw power make this the perfect car. If I were Audi or BMW, I would sweating bullets about now.