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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  affordably_asskicker - 2000 Acura Integra
  By niterider - November 27 - 2:00 am

  Amazingly dependent car. Like the vroom and the pickup compared to its comprable brothers on the street. Very stylish and impressive looks.

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  Mercedes quality without the pretense - 2001 Acura RL
  By Creek Car Guy - November 26 - 2:00 am

  This is my daily commuter car, for which purpose it is flawless. I have had absolutely no problems with it, except I have had to replace the special tires I put on it (I put wide rims with wide tires for style). My wifes Mercedes 300e is boring, with vague suspension characteristics and a lousy sound system(Bose, but still lousy) by comparison!

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  My LS is the best!!! - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Angel_baby2003 - November 26 - 2:00 am

  I have always loved Integras so when I found the one I have with the great price tag it had and its original warrenty I was thrilled. Drives like a dream, slides around corners with no prob and keeps right up with the new eclipses!! Trust me I know!!

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  Cannot beat features for the Price - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Joey - November 26 - 12:13 am

  This car matches up with the Volvo S40, BMW 325, and Audi A4, and for the price it is hands down the best car out of the bunch. Navigation is a must for this car, spend the extra $$.

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  My first Acura - 2005 Acura TL
  By WdnUlik2no - November 25 - 8:40 pm

  After a year of going between the G35, 330 and TL, I finally decided on the TL 6-speed Navi. BMW is overpriced, and Infinitis only true advantage is that it has better handling. I ordered the Anthracite/Ebony version and got it right off the truck. For me the 6-speed was the only way to go, it is quick, responsive, and buttery smooth. Handling is very good for a FWD car. However, there is some torque steer when accelerating hard from a stop and turning at the same time. The interior is top of the line; I love the interior lighting and also the huge and bright Navi screen. I canÂ’t wait to get my blue tooth phone to try out the TLÂ’s phone feature.

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  2002 MDX Touring Nav - 2002 Acura MDX
  By valandshark - November 25 - 2:00 am

  Its been a wonderful SUV. Good acceleration and car-like handling. Lots of versitility with the third row seating. The only suggestion Id give Acura would be to have a bit more storage space behind the third seats (almost none when the seats are in use). I test drove all of the competition and it blew them all away, and has lived up to my expectations.

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  The ultimate Driving Machine !!! - 2002 Acura NSX
  By Bjorn - November 24 - 2:00 am

  What can I say, it my NSX has treated me very well. It is fun, reliable and stands out in the crowd. Move over BMW, the NSX is the ultimate driving machine !!!

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  Very impressed - 2007 Acura TL
  By GREAT CAR - November 23 - 2:16 am

  My last two cars were 2005 Mazda 6(V6) and a 1997 Nissan Maxima. I love the voice command, navigation voice and bluetooth(cell phone). I wish I would have just purchased this car before any other I would have saved time and energy.

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  SUV To Consider FOR SURE!! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Gret SUV - November 22 - 6:10 pm

  This is a great SUV. I had done my research against Lexus, Audi, Toyota and Honda. This SUV offers a lot in standard features compared to other manufacturers which are all options. This SUV also has the horsepower of V8 competitors all in Acuras new 3.7L V6. This is definitely a light SUV you should consider and put on the list. I love being the only one on the road. The looks I get etc. We got the rare color Steel Blue.

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  Driven into the ground - 1997 Acura RL
  By KHolub - November 22 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 1997 3.5RL w/ 38K in 2000 and three year and 60K miles later I still enjoy the car. The exterior paint and interior fit/finish have held up well-(it gets pampered at the car wash weekly). The only complaint I have with the car is that It seems to eat brakes every 15-19K miles. Houstons traffic may not help. Look forward to owning a 2005,hopefully with a V8&navigation system.