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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  Great Car - 2004 Acura RL
  By FormyDad - May 1 - 2:00 am

  I look at my different full size sedans, and the acura was the one that stood out in style, performance, and most important price. The car is a great value for what it offers.

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  Excellent - 2002 Acura RSX
  By y0sh! - May 1 - 2:00 am

  Nice car overall. Has pretty good power to it for only being a 4 cylinder car. Also, i like the 6 speed. Very Nice!

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  Best Car I Ever Owned - 2004 Acura TL
  By Tonymarsol - May 1 - 2:00 am

  GREAT CAR...wanted this car for awhile, finally got it this Jan. Just took it on a 4 hr road trip at 80 mph very nice ride...and 28 mpg not bad. Was very impressed with the whole package, overall quality, fit, finish, interior materials, smooth and comfortable ride but still sporty. Acura thought of just about eveything when putting this car together. And all for under 35K

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  Impressed - 2004 Acura TL
  By flipper6 - May 1 - 2:00 am

  The car is new (not yet broken in) but so far very impressed. Ride is sporty but comfortable. Stereo is excellent but do not think 5.1 DVD really adds much quality. I am 6 foot 5 inches and I fit into this car.

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  looks like a mid 90s car.the lady killa - 1990 Acura Legend
  By eze - April 30 - 2:00 am

  this car is amazing for being a 1990.the performance is supirior,great handiling and excelleration.the desighn is awsome

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  RSX type S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By kot - April 29 - 11:06 pm

  Love this car, a great blend of performance and style. Smooth shifting 6 speed, great handling. Two thumbs up!

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  this car kicks A$$ - 2003 Acura TL
  By phatratpak - April 29 - 10:00 am

  I love this car. I wa driving old beat up dodge. My parents had 1998v6 accord, friend had 2001civicEx. Both were great cars but I wanted more. It rockets (and Im still in the break-in period)550miles. So smooth, transmission is like butter. Ride is so comfy, climate control and radio controls are fantastic. Great amount of room.

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  2001 Acura cl-s - 2003 Acura CL
  By dragone - April 28 - 2:00 am

  A beautiful car inside and out. Very comfortable for two, back seat not for anyone over 510" or over 50 years old. Its not as difficult as most two door coupes of its size to get into and out of the rear seats because of the automatic drive of the front seats to the full forward position. My 63 year old mother would tell you differently, however. As for performance, its got a very strong pull starting at around 3800 rpm and doesnt let up till the redline. And that exhaust tone is beautiful when pushed. Id like to have a more control of the steptronic tranny in first gear. Interior materials are excellent in my opinion.

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  Overall Good Car, Luxury could be better - 2002 Acura TL
  By raddison - April 28 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my 2002 TL for 1.25 years now. Only regular service appointments so far. Theres a noise from one of the seats that bugs me, but thats only when the stereo isnt playing, so Im not too mad they didnt find the squeak yet. The luxury is entry level, however, Ive seen more luxury on a cavalier moonroof. Having to keep your finger on the button instead of one touch, while small is part of luxury! Other than those small things the TL has been great. I love driving it and enjoy the navigation sytem lots. Its the best car Ive ever owned, but thats only compared to a Dodge Intrepid, Honda Accord and one of those K-cars.

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  WOW - 2004 Acura TL
  By jpro22 - April 27 - 10:00 am

  Fantastic...This car has it all. Horsepower, comfort, accessibility are just a few of the luxuries of this well built automobile. Front wheel drive has its draw backs with this amount of power, but come snow season Ill be passing all the rear wheel drive cars.