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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  I love my car - 2004 Acura TL
  By aishashouse - December 19 - 2:00 am

  If you are looking for a mid size luxury car this really is the one, it comes standard with all the amenities there is no need for optional packages

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  Great car - 1991 Acura Integra
  By Sean Devlin - December 18 - 2:00 am

  I got it as my first car last month, ive put quite a few miles on it, and its great. The clutch seems to last forever, and its really forgiving. The original owner learned how to drive stick on the same clutch, as i did, only 100,000 miles ago...great car.

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  Nothing But Fun!!! - 1992 Acura NSX
  By Kish - December 16 - 2:00 am

  The Car has incredible handling not to mention the sleekl aerodynamic design makes it an incredibly hot design and an awesome car to drive.

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  fast and fun - 2000 Acura TL
  By Sensei Yondan - December 14 - 2:00 am

  I love driving it and it has a lot of pickup at any speed.

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  Great interior features, all standard - 2006 Acura TL
  By Cassie - December 14 - 1:10 am

  After test driving the BMW 3-series, MB C-class, and Infiniti G35, I bought this one because of the cost, power, and reliability in comparison to the other 3. While I like to accelerate and take curvy roads, I cannot tell the difference between front wheel and rear wheel drive; what I did notice was how much more power the TL had, and how all the great features were standard. I also liked the value of the TSX, but chose the TL not because of the larger engine, but because it was quiter than the TSX and more refined. I look forward to enjoying this car for at least 9 years, the same amount of time I enjoyed my Integra before I decided to upgrade to a larger car.

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  WOW ! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By 1Robert1 - December 13 - 10:00 am

  Well, what can I say about TSX. I bought mine a week ago and I cannot believe how well this car drives. I am impressed with the quality and the amount of standard options Acura offers. Navigation is great. It will take some time to work out all the possibilities but it will be worth your time. One word: Buy it. Fast for a four- cylinder engine, great quality of all the components, loaded with options that other brands would have you pay a lot of money.

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  King of the Road - 2003 Acura TL
  By Marso - December 13 - 10:00 am

  After 2yrs (albeit only 13K miles), the car is as awesome now as it was when I bought it. Drivers seat squeak and lack of punch in the stereo are my only complaints. The car encourages you to go faster as you feel the power trying to take over. The look is sharp in Black/Black, Navi system lots of fun and useful. Have heard of tranny issue on some early 03s, which mine is, but got notice from Acura of extension of warranty to 7 yrs/100K, so theyre standing behind it. Would buy again in a second.

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  Good car, value for money - 2004 Acura TL
  By Ajay Ojha - December 13 - 10:00 am

  Rattling noise from engine - not sure if it is common. The sheet metal is prone to dents. Inside of the car also resonates at different frequencies. Outside noise is not reduced that much. Seems have a good power; fuel effeciency is about 20 to 21 miles per gallon on city driving.

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  Luv this car - 1999 Acura CL
  By Rose - December 13 - 2:00 am

  Going from a 87 Volvo this car is a breath of fresh air. Great gas mileage400+/tank). All I have to do is change the oil. I think its saved my life a few times by being able to swerve out of the way. Would recommend this to anyone! PS Ilike having only one of six in my city. It makes me stand out! :)

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  Mine has been great. - 1999 Acura Integra
  By Doak - December 12 - 2:00 am

  My experience with my GSR Sedan has been great, I love everything about this car. I never thought Id want to sell it, but the draw of the M series of BMWs is strong. I should be selling my car soon, and Im pretty sad to see it go. But, Im seeking something with around 250hp. Reliability has been great, I havent had any problems with it. The visibility is great, and the engine has plenty of power.