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 great price - 2017 Acura TLX
  By David Chao - April 4 - 7:52 pm

  Cant believe how fast and how fast they kept improving

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  2004 TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By Dave Befu - April 4 - 7:40 am

  No problems at this point. Fit and finish are excellent. Engine and drive train have had no issues but its still a 4 mo old vehicle.

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  Love it!!! - 1996 Acura RL
  By bpddaddy - April 3 - 2:00 am

  Hesitantly purchased the car with 99K on it. Its been great ever since. The ABS hum is questionable, however, the ride is unreal at the age. The wife and I fight over whos going to drive it. Repair parts are very high. Spark plugs ($11), Coils ($75), but I can tell the parts last forever.

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  Almost the perfect car. - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Nergal - April 3 - 2:00 am

  Im a new driver, my legend is my first car, got it at 100k miles for $4k, it was a little under book value at the time but for what you get i wudve paid more. When i first got it I was amazed by the acceleration, but i quickly got used to it and now wish it was faster :). I love the status display, especially the miles remaining, quite useful for a jobless teen always low on gas :P. There is hardly anything i can find wrong with the car other than the back seats dont fold down. Handles great, youd never guess my tires passed inspection marginally. Low and wide, this is how cars should still be made.

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  What more could you want!!! - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Paul Anthony - April 2 - 2:56 pm

  This car does everything right. My previous car was a Prelude SH and although it is also a good car, it lacks 2 things, doors. The TSX added more power and a few more standard features that would cost alot more with its competitors. My other choice was a 6MT Accord V6 Sedan, and its a great car, but the TSX is a bit more appealing. I am very satisfied with this purchase and will continue to buy Honda/Acura products.

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  Great Car!!! - 1999 Acura TL
  By OU student - April 2 - 2:00 am

  I got this car durring the break, it is amazing!!! The car is a dream, every feature is perfect. The heated seats and mirrors, navigation system, and the engine are all amazing! The power is great and the car is also sporty looking. All my friends are super jealous! This car is great!!!

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  Perfect sports coupe - 2002 Acura RSX
  By JCo872 - April 2 - 2:00 am

  The RSX Type-S is one of those cars you cant drive enough. I have had the car for one year, and still get a kick every time I fire it up. The 200hp engine rocks, and the car shifts like a dream. The biggest surprise with the RSX is the beautiful interior. The leather seats, the cool stereo that faces the driver. The awesome red lighting at night on the gauges. This car is real classy AND real sporty.

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  great value - 2003 Acura MDX
  By very happy - April 1 - 10:00 am

  I looked at many midsize luxury SUVs and this offered the best quality/cost of ownership/luxury for the price. I have really enjoyed owning this vehicle

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  Excellent vehicle - 2003 Acura MDX
  By OverTime1 - April 1 - 10:00 am

  After looking closely at the Volvo XC90 my wife and I ended up with the MDX. We now have over 7500 miles on it and it has been TREMENDOUS vehicle. Outstanding ride quality, power, comfort and utility.

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  GS-Rs Forever - 1995 Acura Integra
  By BrentSzabad - April 1 - 2:00 am

  I just bought my GS-R a half year ago. As time goes by everything just gets better and better. Im in the process of putting in a Stage III Clutch from Ram clutches. The car is just amazing. Its got a bit of body roll, but it still hugs and thats nothing some new springs and shocks cant fix. Hell I raced a 71 Vette Stingray and won. No complaints here!