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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  Black Bullet - 1996 Acura Integra
  By unreal0690 - March 18 - 2:00 am

  This car has been an excellent replacement for my first car, a Honda Prelude. The ride isnt quite as firm as the Prelude, but its much more firm than my friends cars. It has been run really hard for 6 1/2 years now, and its still going strong. The only abnormal maintenance has been replacing the radiator. This car is the best. I wouldnt trade it for the world!!!

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  Great SUV!!! - 1998 Acura SLX
  By Jewell - March 17 - 2:00 am

  Great truck, everyone who rides with me is amazed by the comfortable ride, the interior amenities. #1 comment is "Its like riding in a limousine!" Good looking truck, if you ask me.

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  Very good car - 1991 Acura Integra
  By xs6dfg01 - March 17 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Integra in the Spring of 1997 and sold it in the Spring of 2002. This was the best car I ever owned. I would have kept it but I needed a 4-door vehicle. I purchased it with 60K miles on it and sold it with 150K miles on it and it still ran so quiet you didnt even know the car was turned on unless you looked at the tach! Honda makes the best 4 cylinder motors on the planet, period.

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  Legend Coupe - 1995 Acura Legend
  By rmoch - March 17 - 2:00 am

  This was my dream car - have put over 100,000 miles on it and still love it. There has been no other car made that has turned my head. I get more comments about this car wherever I go.

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  Best Vehicle Ever Owned - 2001 Acura MDX
  By dsippin - March 17 - 2:00 am

  We are complaetely satified with our MDX. A perfect mix between luxury car and useful SUV. Handles great, extremely comfortable, and quiet. I think the milage is great for a vehicle of this size- it gets over 22 mpg highway. Also, we do use the Nav system all the time- a great system! The only thing I miss is that low-end punch you get from a V-8. Definitely not the last one we will buy.

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  Honda/Acura has another winner - 2000 Acura TL
  By brucen1953 - March 16 - 2:00 am

  After 3 Honda Accords, I moved up to an Acura TL. I loved my Hondas (I gave my last one - a 1997 - to my daughter, who still drives it, and has no visits to the repair shop), but the Acura is even better. Smoother ride, great performance, great handling (though the Honda was superb as well). I also like the understated styling, and the fact that everything comes standard. Im sure I will get another one when the lease ends this summer. If I had any item that was less than perfect, it is the brakes, which seem to sag a little on occasion.

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  still a great car after 9 years - 1994 Acura Vigor
  By jecjr - March 15 - 2:00 am

  Great car and both two a month apart-only problem was ac repair on evaporator element for both cars.

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  RSX REview - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Guy - March 13 - 11:56 am

  This is a cool ride

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  I love this car... - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Jiggs - March 13 - 2:00 am

  This car really impresses me everytime I drive it. It has required several expenses due to repairs but you have to expect that from a old car. Wish they still made Legends instead of those RLs.

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  Good Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By rsx02 - March 13 - 12:16 am

  Love the interior