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 car I have ever owned - 2005 Acura TL
  By Adam - July 31 - 12:16 am

  After doing close to a years worth of research and test drives I finally settled on the Acura TL. I could not be happier with my decision. The interior of the car is as close to perfect as you can come as far as styling. The exterior is sharp looking and aggressive. 270 hp performance combined with 21/29 mpg gas mileage is amazing. The seats are very comfortable, even for a big guy like myself (62", 250 lbs) - no headroom issues even with the sunroof. The navigation system is out of this world. I still cant get over SAYING something like "Go Home" and the car will plot a map for me, or "Find Nearest Chinese Restaurant" and the route is just plotted, along with a phone number for the place.

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  Love my new TSX - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Lesley - July 30 - 3:34 pm

  Between the stick shift, the Nav system, and the XM Satellite radio, this car satisfies everything I wanted in a new car. Did my research and it paid off!

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  A Real Disappointment - 2003 Acura TL
  By DCBrake - July 30 - 2:24 pm

  Transmission is poor - Had wheels lock up while traveling on interstate at 60 mph. Acura did replace my tranny, but it has not been right since - shifts awkwardly, and I have taken it back to them 2 times since - they tell me the tranny is working properly - But I continue to experience a shudder between 3rd and 4th gears on acceleration as well as uneasy shifting. This is definitely the worst car decision I have ever made - If you want reliability - shop for something else.

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  HODTSX - 2005 Acura TSX
  By HarryD - July 30 - 2:23 pm

  Incredible features for the price. Aggressive styling. Roomy in front. Negative feature is location of Drivers power door lock button - should be by door handle.

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  wow, what a great SUV! - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Ric - July 30 - 11:39 am

  Ive owned an SUV since way before they weere called SUVs and this Acura MDX is a thing of beauty, style and performance. The Jeep Cherokee leaked oiil after 3 years and quit running whenever it felt like it, the S-10 Blazer was ok, but was under powered and nearly roled me over when I got T- boned from someone doing about 15 MPH. The Rodeo was about to trash its transmission after only 55,000 miles of pampered use, blah, blah. This MDX is peppy, stylish and rides like a dream.

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  Theres none greater.. - 2005 Acura MDX
  By John - July 30 - 10:50 am

  This is my first suv, and third honda made auto (still have Honda my Accord ex 03). And I couldnt think of owning two cars without at leaset one of them being a Honda made vehicle. My MDX is fully loaded and rides like a dream I tell you. I from Queens NY, so who cares about going off road...? And In the city we dont use our suvs for tow. So with that said, my MDX has never let me down, in any shape form or fashion. It is more comfortable than many more expensive sport utes in its class. And need I mention all of the standard equipment that comes with it...? I know that when Im ready to trade-in this badboy, Im getting another-maybe the new RDX.. Hmmm.. Well see.

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  not reliable - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Victor - July 30 - 2:56 am

  Ive owned this car for less then two years and have a bunch of headaches. The fifth spark broke when i drove on a highway, 200 ml away from home. These days I am having a problem with starting the car - unbelievable. Something wrong with electronics and the dealer is not able to figure out. After having this problem happening to me on a parking lot for several times, I switched to my old Pathfinder truck - 105K miles, but never failed me.

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  A "great" Deal - 2004 Acura RL
  By willie - July 29 - 12:22 pm

  I was fed up with high maintenance $$$ of my BMW. Refused to pay high price $$$ for Lexus. A friend, car salesman, suggested Acura RL which has everything but is not flashy! Got it for a steal "brand new" on ebay! I admit it doesnt handle like the BMW, BUT its a better value for the cost. I actually like the more classy, conservative look of the 04 vs the "all- look-the-same" look of the 05!

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  Read this if considering buying one - 2003 Acura TL
  By Long Islander - July 28 - 4:46 pm

  Nice large-size car. I am over 6 and am comfortable in rear seat on trips, so is mother-in-law. Very reliable, powerful engine and handles great in all weather, thanks to traction control. Have 30,000 miles, and had front discs replaced due to warping. Had to argue with dealer to get them replaced for no charge. Uneven heating for front passenger - several people complain of burning left foot. Center vents have no shut off feature, unlike the side vents. This has been a constant annoyance for anyone not wishing to get hit directly with cold air. Dual climate control would solve this problem. Very large trunk. Have been on many trips with very large stroller and luggage. Mediocre MPG.

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  Most Bang For Buck Period! - 2008 Acura TL
  By Rizzo - July 28 - 12:56 pm

  You simply cannot get more for the money! You basically have 3 options: Type S or the regular TL with or without nav. To be able to get a sporty, yet luxurious fully loaded sedan with the nav. system for under $36,000 is unheard of. Dont get me wrong, I love the Lexus IS, Infiniti G35 and yes the BMW 3 series, but paying up to an extra $10,000 for some of these other models is just not worth it. It handles well and is just simply fun to drive with a ton of amenities that even make rush hour traffic seem trivial. Seriously, if youre looking for a new ride in this class, you owe it to yourself to check this car out. There has to be a reason for all the great reviews + TLs on the road