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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  Best 4 dr sport car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By johns - August 11 - 12:35 am

  Bought this car 2 years ago and it is the most fun 4dr car around. I have a 5 speed and it has never given me any problems. I would highly recommend it.

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  Great, but needs improvements - 2005 Acura RL
  By taitando - August 10 - 9:44 pm

  The Good: The RL is a technological marvel that offers a superb value in its segment. Most of the options that you would pay extra for in other makes are standard in this car. Keyless Access, Navigation, Surround Sound, Hands Free Link, Xenon Adaptive Front lights, Rear Sunshade, Onstar, XM Satellite Radio & Real Time Traffic, etc... The list goes on and is quite extensive. The ride is quiet and smooth. Complemented with the superb SH-AWD system with 290HP, the RL is fun to drive. This is not a sports car, but it has plenty of go to help you pass other people in the left lane. The Bad: The paint is thin and chips easily. Others have posted problems with the battery.

• 

  225,000 & Still Kicking - 1991 Acura Integra
  By salb222 - August 10 - 3:30 pm

  This car is awesome. Ive been the only owner for 13-plus years and I still get 27 MPG!! From fit and finish to exterior design to overall quality, this car lives up to its name-- Integrity. Best car Ive ever owned. ABS lines were the only things outside of normal maintenance (e.g., clutch, timing belt, reg oil changes) that had to be replaced. Worth every penny and still runs like the day I bought it. Would have loved more power and a delayed-switch rear wiper, but other than that, cant complain.

• 

  You Gotta Get One - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Wendy - August 10 - 8:20 am

  You must buy the Acura MDX. I really enjoy mine. I researched it for about two months before I purchased it. This was the best SUV purchased Ive ever made. I have all the toys, which is standard. You will not go wrong with this purchase. I also have the Bose system and it sound GREAT! Especially with my iPod. Smooth and quiet ride.

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  Love it, recommend it - 2005 Acura RL
  By Petemc - August 10 - 2:54 am

  Nice luxury vehicle. Tested against most competition (BMW, Audi, Infinity) and was best overall. Technically advanced...do not purchase if you are technically challenged. Interior is outstanding, 5.1 surround sound is excellent. Exterior paint quality is best out there. Drives like a smaller car, SH-AWD does work and enables advanced performance around corners. I would definitely buy it again. Pete

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  New Acura Owner - 2005 Acura TSX
  By AS - August 9 - 6:12 pm

  I just bought my Acura TSX and I love it! It is the most attractive sports sedan on the road in my opinion and people actually turn to look at it.

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  Superb! - 2005 Acura RL
  By ziggy - August 9 - 1:34 pm

  I had a 2000 TL for 5 years and 134000 miles. I hated to part with it but now that I have, OH BOY ! Love this car ! Powerful, excelent handling, loads of toys that for the most part are intuitive. The hard part of driving this car will be avoiding tickets.

• 

  no more Fords - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Don Fuller - August 9 - 1:53 am

  Great handling and power, faster than my "SHO", 23 mpg in town driving and 33 on the road. Global navigation is great for my real estate business. The suspension is stiffer than my Lexus but that is expected.

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  The effects of an RSX! - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Ivey Walker - August 9 - 1:11 am

  This is a "tight" car, handles and performs very well. It has a lot of get up and dependency for getting out of the way!

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  Impressive - 2005 Acura RSX
  By ddgreen33 - August 8 - 5:14 pm

  My wife and I traded in our 2003 S2000 for this car and were glad we did. With the power that comes with the RSX I guessed the MPG would more than likely be around mid- 20s... but it stayed in the 30s. Best coupe out there... that I test drove.