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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  Not too shabby - 2005 Acura RSX
  By ElecDave - February 19 - 5:21 pm

  I just bought my 2005 Acura RSX two weeks ago, and this is by far my favorite car I have owned. I went with the Type-S and all I can say is WOW! It has amazing power for looking like such a small car, and only having the 2.0 liter.

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  Honda of Japan did it again! - 1995 Acura Integra
  By revaniki - February 18 - 12:56 pm

  This is an excellent quality made Japanese vehicle. Three set ownership car 1) Feed with 93 grade gas 1) 2) Lubricate with oil ever 3,000 3)Check/Replace timinig belt ever 80,000. Bulletproof engine, stunning handling, luxurious build quality, super reliable. Bought mine with 165,000, have driven it to 190,000 with no problems. Even took it to the track once and ran a 15.5 1/4 mile with only the addition of OEM intake and Magnaflow exhaust. Keep in mind that a new one back in 95 ran a 15.3, 190,000 havent done much to hurt performance! Always starts on first crank, never ever ever gives any problems. Was designed for hard driving.

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  Overall a Good Deal - 2003 Acura TL
  By David - February 18 - 2:07 am

  Ill be returning this car in a few days after 70,000+ miles. I enjoyed it very much. A few problems which were unexpected for a Honda product. Rearview mirror fell off in the first week. Had a wheel bearing go out within the 1st yr. And just got a new transmission due to the recall. All problems were taken care of by the dealer. Given that, I really liked the way the car drove and how comfortable it was. I needed something with a little room, especially in the rear seat and this was better than all comparable vehicles. All in all a good value. Now I have a 2005.

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  great car - 2003 Acura TL
  By malibu matt - February 18 - 2:00 am

  I havde only had the car for about a month but I am very satisfied. I was shocked to hear about people complaining about the rattles and braking problems. I found just the opposite, this car is rock solid with no rattles (so far). Ive heard alot of discussion comparing this car with german made vehicles but lets get serious, you cant even touch one of those "other cars" for the same price. This is alot of car for the money.

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  Excellent Design and Fun To Drive - 2004 Acura TL
  By bwise - February 18 - 2:00 am

  This is my 4th Acura, and it certainly lives up to my expectations from Acura. I love my new TL, and recommend others looking for a well made, well designed car that is both sporty, and luxurious to check it out.... I dont think youll be disappointed.

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  A "Sport" Sedan - 2004 Acura TL
  By Pat Smith - February 18 - 2:00 am

  Looked hard at the G35, lexus 330, Maxima. Lexus too creamy dreamy ride but best fit and finish, Maxima not much less $ and too many on the road, G35 rear wheel drive all wheel more $, live in MN. cant have rear dr. Defaulted to the Acura. If you want a Sport Sedan this is it for this class of car at this price point.

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  Great car - 2005 Acura RSX
  By ATB - February 17 - 2:37 pm

  I bought my RSX at the end of October. I traded in a 98 accord coupe and wanted to stick with a car made by Honda. Ive always been impressed by their reliability and I continue to be with my RSX. The handling of this car is great. It takes corners beautifully and has a decent amount of acceleration. The leather interior is luxurious, with everything in easy access for the driver. The seats are very comfortable and offer great support. Some bi-xenon headlights would be nice! Overall I am extremely happy with the choice I made.

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  Reliable car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By adrianna - February 17 - 2:20 am

  I had my Acura Integra for 9 years now and have 98,000 miles on it. The car is still excellent, could still drive 80 miles/ hr. I love the acceleration and it is a very efficient car.

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  Luxury and performance - 2003 Acura CL
  By Peter Wilson - February 16 - 1:54 pm

  Purchased new April 2004, with incentives was virtually same price as Accord V6 6-speed. Although I slightly prefer the Accord exterior, in my opinion the Acura interior has better fit and finish and much better layout. Very happy with my black on black CL-S 6-speed, look forward to every time I drive it. Also get great service from local Acura dealer even though I did not buy from them. Manual transmission has beautiful feel and when engine hits about 4000 rpm hold on. Winter driving here in Ontario has been no problem with the change over to quality snows.

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  TSX Best 4 banger around - 2004 Acura TSX
  By TSX Speed Demon - February 15 - 6:41 pm

  We have now owned our TSX for a year. "ITS THE BOMB!!!" Great pickup and wonderful to drive. The only thing I would change is the placement of the moon roof control to the center console so the passenger can control it too! Our schnauzer loves it too he can even control the windows himself. The navigation is a godsend for my wife, who I might add now has no excuse for being lost or late for an appt. We have the wood feature on ours and who ever said it looks fake doesnt know what their talking about. Its just because they have put alot of clear over the wood to protect it for years to come. We will definitely be keeping this vehicle till it falls apart!! Ha Ha!!