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 Sporty Luxury Affordable Car - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Timothy M. Crawford - September 7 - 5:17 pm

  I (like many others!) needed a car w/ better mileage. I traded my 2000 Dakota PU for this. What a great car! It is fun to drive. Its sporty and quick. I love the Sequential shifter. I can play when I want, or just let it ride fully automatic. I took a road trip over a 800 miles and NOT ONCE did I ever feel uncomfortable. The leather seats wrap around you and make you feel very secure. I had just about all accessories put on this car and it was still a bargain! It looks great and is good on mileage. 2 major plusses...It is 1....highly rated by consumers reports, and 2 it is an ACURA. Nuf said...Try to find an 05 now!

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  Garys - 2003 Acura CL
  By Gary Olson - September 7 - 12:26 pm

  This car is finished with all the little details looked after. Getting into and out of it is much easier than American 2 door coupes that I have owned. I am very impressed with the mileage (29 to 30 mpg on freeway @ 80 mph) from the powerful V-6. I cant believe that I waited so long to get into this quality car.

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  Bas efits me fine. - 2002 Acura RSX
  By nilepo - September 7 - 9:56 am

  I wanted a fn commuter, and looked at both the RSX and the WRX. The Acura RSX just bles the doors off of the WRX in the comfort and bang for your buck deptartment for me. The base model does not have th get up and go of the Type-s, but I hae to say it has plenty enough power to get me into trouble. If you want a fun commuter that you can rely on go Acura RSX

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  Great Choice! - 2005 Acura MDX
  By GMSUSIE - September 7 - 7:30 am

  I have had this car for two months -- I have enjoyed every driving experience with it. It is comfortable -- it feels like a true "luxury" car. The navigation system and satellite radio are pluses. The gas mileage isnt great, but I do drive it "around town" a lot of the time which doesnt help much. We tried out "all" of the suvs and are so pleased that this is the one we chose.

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  2005 Acura RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By 2005 Acura RL - September 6 - 10:58 pm

  The RL is extremely smooth riding. I feel very safe with the size and weight of this car. Enjoy driving it. I get better mileage than expected. Very comfortable ride for someone with back problems. I tested multi cars and this was my favorite.

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  Traded 2005 TL in on a 2005 G35 - 2005 Acura TL
  By El Zaphod - September 6 - 9:06 pm

  Three weeks ago I bought a new 2005 Acura TL. It was beautiful inside and out but it drove badly. Torque steer, Brakes pulled, vibration in pedal and steering wheel at speed. I just traded it in on a 2005 G35. I love the G35. It drives properly. (keep in mind I have been driving a Mecedes E Class for the last ten years so my idea of properly is RWD) I find that the G35 drives a lot like my My Mercedes but it has a lot more power and is more noisy. anyway, I love the G35 so far.

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  I love the sports mode of RDX - 2007 Acura RDX
  By harvey agustin - September 6 - 8:50 pm

  Its fun to drive using the sports mode. I never had a car this fast and stable at high speeds. My average mileage after 3000 miles is around 17-18 miles per gallon both city and highway driving combined.

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  EXCELLENT MACHINE - 2003 Acura TL
  By MAD - September 6 - 2:00 am

  IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE WORKMANSHIP ON THIS VEHICLE. VERY RESPONSIVE, STEP ON THE GAS AND YOURE GONE. HANDLES VERY NICE AND SMOOTH. EXCELLENT CAR FOR THE PRICE, EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS STANDARD.

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  EXCELLENT MACHINE - 2003 Acura TL
  By mad - September 6 - 2:00 am

  IMPRESSED WITH THE QUALITY OF THE WORKMANSHIP ON THIS VEHICLE. VERY RESPONSIVE, STEP ON THE GAS AND YOURE GONE. HANDLES VERY NICE AND SMOOTH. EXCELLENT CAR FOR THE PRICE, EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS STANDARD.

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  my car - 1997 Acura CL
  By KINO - September 5 - 9:03 pm

  Love my 3.0 CL. I wish it was a manual tranny though. Fuel consumption is much more efficient than my last car. Always a soft smooth ride, handling is great, the look is slick. Just love this car and now that Im going on 150k miles, it stills performs like it was new.