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:

• 

  Well worth it - 2003 Acura RSX
  By KKN74 - July 16 - 2:00 am

  Purchased a couple months ago a Type- S. Fun to Drive, great interior (though center armrest area could be better), hatchback is convienient, and handles very well.

• 

  Best in Class - 2004 Acura TL
  By RDG1983 - July 15 - 10:00 am

  I test drove BMW 3 and 5 series, the Audi A4 and A6, and the Lexus ES 300. My "favorite" care handling wise was the BMW 530. But, after driving the TL, and reviewing all of its items that come standard, there was absolutely no comparison. By the time I added everything I wanted on the 530i, the total came to $53,000. The TL was already loaded for $32,500. Unbelieveable!! The is NO car on the road for that compares with the TL when it comes to its price relative to its speed, safety, looks, and reliability.

• 

  Great car so far - 2004 Acura TL
  By Scorpion - July 15 - 10:00 am

  I love the styling and performance of this car. Upgraded from the 2002 TL type "S" with no regrets. Acura seems to have fixed nearly all the weaknesses with the older car. The DVD Audio system is fantastic, the best Ive ever heard in any car and the brakes are dramatically improved. The six speed manual transmission was not available on the older car and is wonderfully smooth. There is some torque steer when accelerating hard out of corners or on bumpy roads and Acura should think about making this an all wheel drive vehicle like their upcoming RL model. Overall an incredible car for the money.

• 

  Great Car, but small changes required - 2004 Acura TL
  By rp77 - July 15 - 10:00 am

  Great Car Fun to Drive and audio System is Unbelievable...Get a lot of folks who ask what it is, and think it must have been much more expensive. Only problems are: The 2 Door opening notches/stops are in wrong places--one too short,one too far. The Tilt Steering Wheel Bar needs to be moved from directly under the wheel to more on the side... Everyone hits their knees...

• 

  Awesome car, love it cant stop driving - 2004 Acura TL
  By Thomas Cheung - July 15 - 10:00 am

  It took me a while to finally decided to buy this car, but once I got it there is no regret. Everything is so perfect and I would love to keep this car for years. The dealership experience is awesome at Lindsay Acura, OH. I bought it at least 2000 cheaper than anywhere I asked. It is a head turner everywhere, try it and you will love it! The best car I have ever drive yet. I am only 23, but this car is a perfect fit for me! I will make the same choice no matter what.

• 

  Where are the 2003s??? - 2000 Acura Integra
  By chiq - July 15 - 2:00 am

  It is a great car. After 3 years, Ive had no problems whatsoever. Its attractive, has good acceleration and has been very reliable. It is much better than my Civic I had previously. The quality is much better and it feels heavier and safer on the road. I highly recommend these cars. I am very disappointed that Acura has discontinued them.

• 

  RL - 2004 Acura RL
  By Welker - July 15 - 2:00 am

  Love to drive this car. I would not change a thing.

• 

  Pocket-rockets beware! - 1995 Acura Legend
  By 6 Speed Manual - July 14 - 2:00 am

  To sum this up in one sentance: these cars rule. Once owned a 92 L coupe (which I loved), and after the accident, I went and picked up the 95 LS 6-speed. Even for a heavy Japanese car, it flies with the manual (which makes up for the low end torque). 0- 60mph in 6.3 seconds means youll have so much fun smoking ricers and giving 5.0s a run for their money. On top of that, styling is immortal, fuel economy in 6th gear is great and tranny stable (even 30mhp cruising!), and reliability is better than the that of brand new cars. They are Legends ....enough said.

• 

  I love it - 2001 Acura CL
  By Kevin Durkin - July 14 - 2:00 am

  So much fun, A great value

• 

  Excellent car - 1994 Acura Vigor
  By xxxfirefighter - July 13 - 2:00 am

  This car is awesome! I had to find a vehicle to drive back and forth to work, my Xterra gets terrible gas milage! The only improvement I would suggest is cup holders. This car has none.