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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  Awesome - 2007 Acura MDX
  By slysy11 - July 4 - 2:13 am

  I picked up the car in Feb and after 1 month of driving I still absolutely love the car. It drives very smooth, I have the dvd player and navi, and both are very user friendly. I am constantly getting compliments on it and I would purchase this car again if i had to do it again! I used to drive a mercedes c240 2005, but this is much much better!

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  3rd Acura and still in love with them - 2003 Acura TL
  By Jim H - July 3 - 10:00 am

  This is my 3rd Acura, I will never buy another car. Integra to a CL and now a TL S-Type. With the TL-s you cant touch the looks, power, features, reliabilty, or fun to drive for anywhere the price. Over 250k miles in Acuras and only "costly" maintenance or repair was fixing the power seat after I jammed up with loose change.

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  A little quirks.. But No car is perfect - 2003 Acura TL
  By LuvinDTL-S - July 3 - 10:00 am

  This car is fun to drive. You feel totally at one with the road, the handling is great For a Front Wheel Drive vehicle. It has Power & Prestige. The interior is truly that of a luxury sedan. With a Long list of Standard Features... It is definately the best value in its class

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  TL is the way to go! - 2005 Acura TL
  By mikerogs - July 3 - 9:56 am

  I have only had my TL a week and I am impressed and happy with my choice. I considered a Lexus GS 330, Infiniti G35 and the TL blows it away. The car comes with a ton of standard features for the price and has a kicking sound system with XM satellite radio. The seats are comfortable and the ride is smooth. The only 2 drawbacks are the CD player is a little difficult to manage and there is no fold down rear seat.. Its a car that you will be happy with for years.

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  Good Value and Ride - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Joey - July 3 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car for about a week and so far its great. Handling and power are great for a 4 cylinder car. My last car was a V6 Honda accord and it performs as well if not better.

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  The Legend Continues - 1994 Acura Legend
  By Nick - July 1 - 3:31 pm

  Great car! Dont know why they stopped making them. Runs smooth. Car feels like it glides on the rode

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  Best import you can get today - 2005 Acura RSX
  By D Lankford - July 1 - 11:57 am

  What can I say that hasnt been said already? Most amazing 4 cylinder engine ever built (105 hp per liter), near indestructible 6 speed, effortless clutch, excellent brakes with pratically zero fade after heavy braking, recaro designed leather seats, extremely compitent suspension that exhibits both incredible stablilty when driving agressive and maintains a civilized ride on long road trips and still manages high 20s mpg on the interstate. Dont gripe about creature comforts. This car was not built for that. If you want fancy interior and power everything, buy a TSX or TL. The K20 engine responds VERY well to mods. An intake, header and ECU tune will have you outrunning domestic V8s.

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  Say no to BMW 3, say yes to TSX - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Hgood - June 30 - 12:23 pm

  To get all that you get with a TSX with navigation, youd have to pay at least 10-12 grand more for the same on the BMW 3 series, which is a less reliable car, with costlier repairs. The TSX has buttery smooth handling, an interior that feels more luxurious than the 3 series, and it has ACURA bulletproof reliability. So if youre willing to overpay, have more repairs just so you can show of your little BMW badge, go waste more than ten grand more and get the 3 series. The navi on the BMW is inferior to that on the TSX to boot. THE TSX IS REALLY FUN TO RIDE, IS REAL ZIPPY, and is a class car with an engine just about the same size as the 3 series. Smart people buy the TSX not the BMW.

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  Amazing, but could be rounded out more - 2003 Acura RSX
  By John - June 29 - 6:28 pm

  I have owned this vehicle for about 23 months now and I drive about 2000 miles per month. My driving is about 1/2 city and 1/2 freeway and Ive taken it on some longer road trips also. It has great gas mileage, great acceleration and tight steering and suspension. The seats definitely get uncomfortable, but they also let you feel the road in a sporty way. After the first few hundred miles, I thought the 6-speed transmission was broken, but it turns out that Acura just makes em "different". Third gear is a little odd (youll probably grind it from time to time, even if youre very experienced). The BOSE sound system is nothing special compared to other luxury sound systems.

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  Best bang for the buck! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By blue_rsx - June 29 - 6:18 pm

  For $22K, this is a great car. It has enough pep to make it a fun car to drive, and it is a great looking car too--inside and out!