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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  Excellent value - 2004 Acura TL
  By Rexorg - February 12 - 2:00 am

  Wanted navi, but none on lot at time of purchase. Dealer did give $1,500 off MSRP for buying non-navi. The 3.9% financing only sweetened the pot. This is the best car I have ever owned, and I have owned 31 others. I swore I would never buy a "foreign" car, but was won over immediately during the test drive. Did have a couple of defects that were adjusted promptly, but was was expecting none given Honda/Acura reputation for build quality. All in all, it seems Honda/Acura will be my vehicle of choice in the future.

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  4 Transmissions in 4 years? - 2001 Acura TL
  By Brendan - February 11 - 8:12 pm

  We bough the TL used from the dealer - other than the tranmissions we havent had a lick of trouble, but 4 trannys now in a 4 year old car with 67k miles? Acura had done the right thing by us each time - no complaints there - the warrenty has been extended on the transmission to 7 years, 100k miles, but I do not feel like I can trust this car. The service advisor tells me there are spot problem with TL transmissions that were taken care of starting in 2004. I love the car other than this and woudl buy Acura again, but just not a TL built before 2004.

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  Great choice! Cant regret at all. - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Fai - February 11 - 5:41 pm

  So far so good. I drove all kinds of car including Japanese, Europeans and Americans. This one impresses me a lot. Great feeling to drive this car along with luxury feel. All thumbs up. A little rattling problem, but who cares when you can enjoy all the other fun gave you by this vehicle.

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  A Very Tricked-Out Ride - 2005 Acura RSX
  By robert_s - February 11 - 11:28 am

  Ive been driving this car for about a week now and I love it. It feels very solid and well constructed. It is definitely a street racer, although I did not buy it for that reason. The suspension is very firm and the car handles very well in general as it is built low to the ground. But as much as I like it, everyone else around me seems to love it even more--neighbors, co-workers, etc., have all profusely complemented me on it. I had already placed an order for a Chevy Cobalt SS but it wasnt ready in time. This was about the same price and I think I did better with this--and it isnt a Toyota like everyone else has. Overall, I think its a lot of car for the money.

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  Great car, but not German - 2005 Acura RSX
  By xxaarraa - February 9 - 3:20 pm

  My first Japanese car. I have had German cars all along and really wanted a Bimmer. But being just out of college, only Acura was willing to finance me so went and bought the Type-S. The single biggest selling point about this car is how it easily satisfies the dual role of daily driver and sports car. Most of the days, I just shift at 3000 around town, but on weekends when I take it on the freeways, I go all the way up to 7000 and still dont hit redline. It gives a very decent 22 mpg in the city and an astounding 30+ on the freeway. Dont expect a Mustang will give you that much and be as reliable as a Honda! Oh, the resale was another big draw. No other sports car, including Toyotas are good

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  Sold on RLs - 2002 Acura RL
  By ajaye - February 8 - 6:58 pm

  This is my second RL after 25 years of BMWs (still own one, convertible). After seven years of the RL model I have replaced one (thats 1) brake light. Nothing else except regular maintenance. I still like the body style, but will test drive a 2005 later this week. The difference in dollars with the BMW is simply not worth it., in fact, I would take the RL over the 5 series at the same price.

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  Acura MDX - Best Choice for under $45K - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Monish - February 8 - 10:00 am

  I test drove the BMW X5, Volvo, RX 330 and Infiniti Fx 45. For the price, safety features and options that I wanted (esp. 3rd seat option), the Acura MDX 2004 was the Only choice. The Acura offers the best performance, comfort & convenience for the value and total cost of ownership in mind.

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  Great little sports car for little money - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Chris - February 5 - 9:34 pm

  I just bought my brand new 05 RSX, and I love it. I traded a 01 VW Jetta and I love the RSX so much more in its handling and styling. This little car handles great, has good build quality, and loves to be pushed with little fuss

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  exhilarating - 2008 Acura MDX
  By jb - February 5 - 4:20 pm

  fun to drive! great looks! high tech features! ample horsepower compared to its direct competitors with the same engine displacement! better fuel consumption for its horsepower!

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  Maybe its just me - UNRELIABLE! - 1998 Acura CL
  By dxd15 - February 4 - 5:10 pm

  Purchased this car when it had 35,000 miles on it and the first few years were great. Then the problems... wheel bearings, alternator, battery, ABS sensor, passenger side power window, muffler, and CONSTANTLY having to change the lights (head/brake/aux). I now also have a light knocking sound occasionally. Tires lose pressure regularly - what a pain in the rear! My new alternator is also causing my panel and headlights to flicker while I am idling. All this happened before 100,000 miles. What a shame, I thought this was supposed to be a reliable car. I think Ill try a Toyota or Lexus next and hope I will fare better. I do change my oil and do maintain my car. Maybe I was just unlucky :-(