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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  Works for me! - 2001 Acura CL
  By uhh - January 18 - 6:33 pm

  This was my first "real" car, so perhaps Im biased, but I am still in love with my 2001 CL 19 months later. It handles wonderfully, the amenities are very nice, and the power blows away everything in its price range. (except the Maxima, which cant touch the amentities/value) Personally, I can forgive Acura for the cheesy fake-wood; its not a big deal to me. But I am a little disappointed with the steering wheel controls for the radio, and the fact that my brakes and tires are already shot.

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  I Love this car! - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Sasha - January 18 - 2:00 am

  This is the best car I have ever owned! I bought it brand new and now have 190k miles on it and still runs like a charm. At 100k miles I replaced the radiator (it was leaking). So I replaced the timing belt & water pump at that time even though they werent broken. The clutch is still original! I have had no problems with this car. Everytime I get into it I still love it like the day I bought it. I would recommend this car to anyone.

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  MDX - 2005 Acura MDX
  By jhmdds - January 17 - 4:10 pm

  This is my second MDX and third Acura. When its time for service, my salesman picks up my MDX at work and leaves me his car for the day. Ive never had a minutes problem. These are great vehicles.

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  Its a GS-R Man - 1992 Acura Integra
  By Kavan - January 17 - 2:00 am

  So far, Ive enjoyed driving and having my GS-R. Its got minor problems from the previous owner but Im working on getting it cleaned up and in perfect running order. I like the way the car feels when I down shift and the RPM jumps up to 5gs or 6gs. And I can feel the torque of the engine when its being pushed a bit. I pretty much use it like a daily drive but I take it to the track every so often to race. The handling could use a bit of improvement but Im working on doing that myself.

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  It just keeps going, and going....... - 1993 Acura Integra
  By bmarcolini - January 16 - 2:00 am

  I bought my 93 RS Coupe new in 1993 and still own it today. I have never had a major problem with this car. I drive it everyday to commute to work. At 197000 miles I had to finally replace the original clutch, and rear brakes. Only routine maint. over the years (oil change, tires, timing belt..etc) Great car, and very reliable.

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  Great Car - 1990 Acura Legend
  By maggie, jr - January 16 - 2:00 am

  An outstanding design and even better performance. For the 13 years I owned this car, avarage maintenance cost was about $1500 per year. This car has 176000 miles and expected to make another 50000, at least.

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  The X rocks - 2003 Acura MDX
  By steve_seattle - January 16 - 2:00 am

  I have been very pleased with the MDX. I traded in my M3, because of the kids and skiing. I thought I would really miss it, but the MDX is great. A great car in the snow and, for such a large car, it is very fun to drive. I would recomend it to anyone in the SUV market. Plus the 6 hr drive to the mountains is realatively painless with the DVD system!

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  excellent vehicle - 2003 Acura MDX
  By vinnie - January 16 - 2:00 am

  SLAM DUNK FOR ACURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  Another great car!! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By charlesKC0319 - January 15 - 7:06 pm

  Our ownership of Honda products started back in 1988. After three Accords later, I must say this is one of the best from Honda. Interior, fit and finish, handling, the exterior design is all there plus some more. Cant wait to drive it in the morning everyday to work.

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  First Acura purchase - 2005 Acura MDX
  By dan - January 15 - 1:36 pm

  Traded a 2003 LS 430 for this vehicle in order to secure the third row of seating. Ride not up to Lexus standards; however, all other features measure up and the value in relation to the SUVs from Lexus provided the decision to go with this vehicle.