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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  I love this car! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Truckondo - July 13 - 2:00 am

  I got the car a couple of months ago and Im still never tired of driving it. I almost got the auto because I didnt know how to drive a stick. Im glad I made the effort to learn because once you go manual, you never want to go back. I seem to get a lot of "lookers" around my car too. Freeway on-ramp are so much fun now!

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  Da Best Car There Is - 2003 Acura RSX
  By kekau - July 13 - 2:00 am

  This car offers luxury and comfort right from behind the same company that brought us the Acura Integra. Its sporty look combined with its performance offers more than meets the eye. The Acura RSX is trully one a kind car that should be a part of every adventurers repetoire.

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  Great Affordable Sports Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By mikew - July 12 - 2:00 am

  Bought this car almost a year ago. Fun to drive, great handling and good power for a 4cyl. Can be noisy on highway, but not that bad. Great car for the price we paid.

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  Acura Integra is fun and reliable - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Kathi - July 11 - 2:00 am

  I love my car and am having a hard time accepting that I have to sell it. I bought it brand new in 1997, and I have not had any major problems with it at all, only regular maintenance checkups. The gas mileage is excellent, especially for highway driving. The car is peppy and agile, which makes it fun to drive (I recommend manual transmission for the most fun). Also, you dont need a VTEC engine to get good pickup. Composed of Honda parts, the Integra is also extremely reliable. If I werent moving to Europe, I would choose to drive my car until the wheels fell off. No kidding!

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  Great Ride - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Steve H - July 11 - 2:00 am

  I upgraded from an Integra GSR to this baby in March, and Im amazed at the improvement from the Teg to this car. This car has just about everything I wanted, from a nice interior to an engine that wailed like a banshee. (Gotta love that 8000 rpm redline combined with i-vtec). This car also crushes most of its competition performance wise...Toyota, Mitsu, VW and Hyundais competition for this car is chopped liver as far as Im concerned. And while Subarus WRX is slightly faster, step into the interior or look at it from outside and ask yourself if you really want to be seen in that car.

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  TL is the Bomb - 2005 Acura TL
  By C E Hollier - July 10 - 10:00 pm

  Just bought an 05 TL non-nav. I have owned 3 previous Acuras and 3 Hondas, so my expectations were based on a solid product background. I was impressed with the over all power and low end torque the TL displayed. The ride is firm, yet comfortable and handles curves well. I am 62" and have plenty of drivers head and leg room. The overall package, materials, fit, and trim are excellent for a car in this pricerange. I also looked at the Mercedes C class and bang for the buck the TL was a no brainer. If you are looking for a sporty sedan that is fun, tight, and not too bad on the wallet the TL warrants a hard look.

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  Hands down beats comparable sedans - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Jeff-Ohio - July 10 - 1:23 pm

  When compared against Volvo S40/S60, Passat, A4, BMW, Saab S3, and Pontiac G6, all with comparable $25-$30k price tag, HP and Mileage, the TSX is superior in nearly every category. Excellent interior and exterior fit/finish. Clean/crisp dash layout and display options. Am getting 34-37 mpg highway, and 22-26 in town. Love the way the car handles and I am sure it will last forever, given my track record with hondas over the last 15 years. Typical honda low RPM performance - need to get it up over 3-3.5k rpm before it starts pushing you in your seat. I am very pleased with the car, and would recommend to all my friends! One of the best kept secrets in its class.

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  Very Classy - 2000 Acura RL
  By Eddiearms - July 10 - 2:00 am

  My wife owns a 1994 Legend, so i figured lets stay in the Acura family. I am satisfied not only with what i paid for this vehicle but also its quality, comfort and style. I have no problems with its acceleration.

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  Fun, fun fun - 2003 Acura CL
  By jojay - July 10 - 2:00 am

  Love to drive the car. Had a 1990 Legend Coupe manual tran and loved it. My 2003 auto tran is almost as much fun and when in traffic, I can let it shift itself. Ive had no problems at all since I got the car in Oct 2002. Dealer is a pleasure to work with. I just bought my wife an 03 TL!

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  1994 Acura Vigor - 1994 Acura Vigor
  By shriner - July 9 - 2:00 am

  This is the best car Ive owned. Not a single problem, and I now have over 87,000 miles. Extremely comfortable and very attractive.