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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  Excellence at a price - 2002 Acura NSX
  By RPM217 - June 18 - 2:00 am

  I came out of a 2000 C5 convertible, it was a great car, I wanted something different, this is clearly different. People ask me to compare the two, I tell them that the Vette was brute force, and the NSX is pure finesse. The torque advantage of the Vette is obvious, but the 0-60 times are not that different between the two. The NSX is so much more "tossable" and you dont feel close to the "limit" on the street. Its a blast, and people dont know what it is, even after 12+ years

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  acura-cl type s - 2001 Acura CL
  By dmatch01 - June 17 - 10:00 am

  great car. lots of complements from friends and strangers.

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  thought would share - 1994 Acura Legend
  By Cez Z - June 17 - 2:00 am

  I have 210k miles. Looked up some cars in the past but none would drive and look like this. People still stop me to say how great the car looks or if I want to sell. Always do the scheduled maintenance, now only every 30k miles (this is much much I drive a year now). Except for this I didnt spend more than $1k on problems, and the car had to be towed just once over its 210k miles when the ignition messed up. So what I do? I repainted it, just put new leather on the seats, will replace mats and a few things, and drive another 210k miles I guess. And then give it to my son.

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  Extremely well-balanced supercar - 2003 Acura NSX
  By Brian Connaway - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Most people give their negative opinions on the nsx without really giving full thought to the positives. It is true that the engine is outdated however the overall build of this car is unmatched. Extremely reliable and well-made. Handles like a dream and has the power where needed. Great weight balance, handling, and acceleration. Although the engine might be too "weak" for some, it still is quite capable of embarassing even current sports cars, despite its engine being 12+ yrs old.

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  Best car ever! - 2004 Acura RL
  By Massboy92 - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Driving the car was a delight.This car is the greatest.

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  Fun Ride - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Tanderson - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Fun, fun, fun to drive. Great seating, and handling is razor sharp.

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  Bought the TSX very used - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Sheila Thomas - June 16 - 9:54 pm

  During a recent snowstorm which rendered the roads sheet ice, my 6 speed manual with VSA was the only car making it up the icy hills. For a 10 year old car, it performed like a champ. Ive driven mostly Honda and Acura products and will continue to buy them but am very sad to see that manual transmissions are becoming harder to find in new Acuras. Sadly I may have to get an x drive 3 series BMW for my next car.

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  Acuras Amazing Sports Car! - 1999 Acura Integra
  By G2k - June 15 - 2:00 am

  Owning the car was a delight from the beginning. Everyone seems to love the car the minute they get into it. Ever since the first time i drove the car i knew it was the one for me!

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  Best Sedan - Acura RL - 1998 Acura RL
  By Mikel3 - June 15 - 2:00 am

  Purchased for daily commuting (all highway 110 miles RT). Solid and exceptionally reliable over last 6 years. Only standard scheduled maintenance and no breakdowns experienced. Three different Acura dealerships provided service and loaner cars without question - a welcome service from past experiences with american manufactures. Thanks Acura..

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  Perfection of a Dream - 1999 Acura Integra
  By Rework83 - June 13 - 2:00 am

  Growing up this was my dream car. When I was able to afford it I was so happy. Since the day I drove it off the lot it has been nothing but driving on a cloud from then on. The performance and handling it off the hook. It is still stock and it will still impress. Am I happy with my Integra? HECK YEA!!!