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:

• 

  amazing - 2005 Acura TL
  By moe7 - May 23 - 1:50 pm

  Amazing Car for the Price!

• 

  2007 TL Type S Alabaster Silver Metallic - 2007 Acura TL
  By KBee - May 23 - 2:20 am

  1,500 miles and only one problem. Rear deck was vibrating from the subwoofer. They took out the back seat and sprayed some foam back there. Problem solved! I researched for seven months prior to purchasing. The Acura TL-S blows the doors off anything out there in its class: BMW, Audi, Infiniti, etc. The technology in it is amazing and not a la carte like all the other MFGs out there. Gas mileage is a bit disappointing - I am avg around 20 MPG. But blazing acceleration! 286 HP baby! Car is a real headturner! Quad exhaust really sets it apart with the deep exhaust tone. People stop me all the time to check it out. Not many on the road which is a plus!

• 

  4 dr gsr 94 - 1994 Acura Integra
  By jdt - May 23 - 2:00 am

  one of the best cars Ive owned, excellent design , great performance, top build quality,true sports car handling!

• 

  Very much a Legend - 1994 Acura Legend
  By ESP - May 22 - 2:00 am

  A great car all-around. Powerful, smooth, elegant-looking, luxuriant (even foe 2003, let alone for 1994), reliable, very well-made. A very satisying car to drive. The gas mileage (15-18 mpg in my experience of mixed driving) can be viewed as a necessary levy for the beautiful and pleasing ride offered.

• 

  Fantastic Car - 2005 Acura TL
  By Dennis - May 21 - 10:03 pm

  Without a doubt, the best car I have ever owned. Handling is fabulous and all I want to do is find a reason to drive this car. Ive owned many cars from Audis to VWs and there is no comparison...just a joy to drive. I love it.

• 

  Exceptional Value and Best Performance - 2006 Acura TL
  By Very Satisfied - May 21 - 10:43 am

  No other vehicle I tried compares to the overall satisfaction the TL delivers. From the drive out price to the fuel economy and the sheer joy behind the wheel I would reccommend a TL to anyone (several friends are in one now too). It has the handling of a BMW for about a third less the cost!

• 

  Great car to drive - 2005 Acura TL
  By mxfrank - May 21 - 9:53 am

  I purchased my 05 TL in Oct and have enjoyed every minute Ive driven it. The acceleration will pull your head back! its that good and very smooth. Ride is a little stiffer than Im used to but all the sporty new cars are like that, Ive driven several. The interior is very well crafted with no visible defects anywhere. Handling is very predictable and the car handles very well at high speed and curves. Gas mileage is so so but I guess if you want power on demand you have to give up something. Seating is great even back seat has plenty of leg and head room. Dealer was great to work with. I would definitely recommend this car.

• 

  Best Buy - 1991 Acura NSX
  By JohnJohn - May 21 - 2:00 am

  This is a car for the muscle lover with out the muscle money... Great Ride, Great Fun, Great Buy.

• 

  I love this car - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Greg_W - May 20 - 10:00 am

  I recently was a owner of the new nissan 350z but sold it due to the high insurance on it and gas, so I wanted a car that was resonable on gas and insurance but yet sporty. I looked at many cars but now I found as intresting as the rsx. The biggest reason was it was a really fun car to drive and it felt really fast. Ever since I purchased it I loved everything about even the 7,900 rpm red line.

• 

  It Pays to Shop Around - 2003 Acura MDX
  By MDX Owner in VA - May 20 - 10:00 am

  I spent almost a year shopping around for a new SUV. The MDX rises above the other SUVs in quality and features. Dealers were only dropping the price from MSRP by $500. I began looking at cars.com and found a 2003 fully loaded for thousands less. Im normally not one to shop for used vehicles but, if it has low milage (only 3800 miles) and perfect condition, go for it and save $$.