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 COUPE - 1990 Acura Integra
  By FOTITO - July 24 - 2:00 am

  IT IS BY FAR THE BEST COUPE IN TODAYS MARKET

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  Acura/Honda are always reliable. - 1997 Acura TL
  By Sheng Sheen - July 24 - 2:00 am

  This is my 4th car on the Honda line. Ive had Civics and Accords prior to owning this 3.2 TL. I will probably keep this car until it dies. I love it, and I put so much into it. The handle is great, and its fast. The acceleration is far better than any car Ive driven, except for a car I had with Turbo on it. Theres no reason why people are driving the speed limit in this car. You can cruise 90 easily without feeling anything.

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  perfect car - 2003 Acura RSX
  By superman30281 - July 24 - 2:00 am

  yes its only a 4cyl but the things you can do to it, and the fun youll have with it is well worth it!!!

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  Nice - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Sugeicee - July 23 - 2:00 am

  Best car ever. I love it, and I would buy another after another if they still made it. I wish Acura never replaced it with the RSX, but that is awesome too. The Integra is the best import car ever for your money.

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  Best Car Ever - 2003 Acura RSX
  By RSXS Girl - July 23 - 2:00 am

  I absolutely love this car, I have wanted it for 2 years and I finally got it. I love it more everyday

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  What a great Car - 2001 Acura CL
  By Durks - July 23 - 2:00 am

  I just love it. Great vehicle. Lots of power, Makes the 30 min commute a brezze. I cant wait to put some more power under the hood. Recommend everyone try it.

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  Honda quality - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Klinie Kent - July 23 - 2:00 am

  You just cant beat Honda/Acura quality. We researched several SUVs before we purchased the MDX and it won hands down. The only other SUV we considered was the BMW X5. The MDX third row seat, not to mention about 10 grand less, made the choice very easy. One other thing to look at is standard features. Acura has basically no options, it is all standard. That is where the big price difference was with the MDX vs. X5!! Good luck, you wont go wrong with anything from Honda.

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  The TL is a NICE Ride. - 2005 Acura TL
  By MrFDJr - July 22 - 7:13 pm

  Great Car. The ride is smooth and powerful. The look is bold, sexy and mean. The inside of the car gives you the bang for your buck.

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  A Practical Sports Car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By Robert Sheridan - July 22 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 1996 LS when my wife changed careers and needed our 1999 Civic coupe as a daily driver. Plus, we needed a car to haul around our 65- pound Siberian Husky. I never thought Id own a car that was more fun to drive than my old 88 Prelude, but the Integra beats the Prelude hands-down. The Integra hugs the twisties like a Porsche, possesses a zippy high-revving engine (I routinely redline the tach), is virtually maintenance-free, and has tons of cargo room.

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  Hondas Rule - 2003 Acura RSX
  By HondaMxRacer - July 22 - 2:00 am

  Hondas are the best car you can get! The Rsx type-S is a very good car. Its much Luxury for me,I would trade the Luxury for a Turbo..... Im young though so count in that,Honda is to Conservative. I say forget a ulev and build a car that smokes everything,Honda has more technology then any other car period. OK Im being mean but Neon Srt4s will beat you.