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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  FASTEST SEDAN AROUND - 2004 Acura TL
  By BILLYS CAR - April 20 - 10:00 am

  THIS CAR HANDLES GREAT, VERY LITTLE PUSH IN HARD CORNERS. THE ACCELERATION IS OUT THERE FOR A 3.2 V-6. THE CAR IS SOLID WITH NO RATTLES, IF YOU DID HAVE ONE YOU COULDNT HEAR IT OVER THE SOUND SYSTEM.

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  Extremely reliable car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By dil - April 19 - 2:00 am

  This car is extremely reliable. In 3 yrs., I have only changed one headlight and 2 sparkplugs, thats it. Thats amazing, esp. with the driving that I do. This car is also fun to drive (handling and smooth engine). I would definitely recommend this car to the reader.

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  Acura - 1996 Acura TL
  By Smith - April 18 - 2:00 am

  Excellent Vehicle. Would buy another if they handnt changed the exterior. Very, very smooth ride and steering. Very responsive. Plenty of power.

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  A Pleasure to Own - 1990 Acura Legend
  By nolaming - April 17 - 2:00 am

  This car was purchased from someone who had obviously maintained it well, so it was in great condition. I have put 40,000 miles on it so far and have had the normal issues with a 10-13 year old car(radiator,a/c,c/v boots,etc.) However, this is fundamentally a solid car with good power that is fun to drive. I highly recommend it!

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  Best Car For The Price - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Mike P. - April 17 - 2:00 am

  I recently purchased a 2003 Acura RSX. The tenth one made in the country. It is all that i expected of the car and more. The performance is incredible, 0-60 in 6 sec flat. the interior is beautiful and very ergonomic. I get a lot of looks from kids who want to race, and its great to know that i can beat most cars on the road anyways. I would strongly recommend buying this car over the celica, mini, or any other car in its class

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  I love this car! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By MyRsX - April 17 - 2:00 am

  This car is by far the best car in its class. It is the perfect mix of style, comfort, and performace. It is worth every penny that u pay for it.

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  2003 Acura MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By mellowbo - April 17 - 2:00 am

  Ordered the 2003 6 months ago and it was worth the wait. Quiet, smooth and fun. Just plain makes allot of sense!

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  Solid - 2005 Acura RL
  By osc - April 15 - 11:10 am

  Car feels very solid. Power is adequate. Would like to see a hybrid version. This is my third Acura and this one is definitely the best.

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  Acura TSX - So Far A Great Car - 2006 Acura TSX
  By J Stone - April 15 - 7:06 am

  I purchased the Acura TSX after owning similar, higher end American cars and test driving a host of similar cars (e.g., Volvo $40 was the closest runner up). I first considered the TSX based on the reviews, but also because it was both fun to drive and had most of the features that I wanted. In particular, it handles much more like an European car than a Honda, which is not surprising since it is marketed extensively in Europe. Moreover, as at least one professional review says, it straddles the luxury, sporty and family car categories well. After a few weeks of ownership, I must say I am very pleased. The car handles well, even in bad weather. I even get compliments on the looks.

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  Great~!!!!Integra Power - 1996 Acura Integra
  By JensenChin - April 15 - 2:00 am

  Great~!!!! Integra Power. Easy to control and very nice to modify~!! My Integra give me the opportunity to experince for driving in a powerful sporty car~!!!