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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  great to date - 2003 Acura MDX
  By goodsofar - January 24 - 2:00 am

  Have had my MDX for two weeks and so far its great. Drove 4Runner, M350, MDX and was headed to BMW but never got there. Had a Tahoe previously and the MDX handles better, has a more carlike ride, better standard features, and was less to purchase. Gave a 9 on exterior design only because side door moldings are an add on. Alittle concerned with possible door dings in parking lots. This SUV has delivered style, ride, efficiency, safety, and comfort at a very affordable price. The 5 star safety rating is a plus. I drive a car for a long time and Im hopeful this vehicle will deliver many years of maintenance free miles.

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  This is one fine sporty car. - 2003 Acura TL
  By alinki - January 24 - 2:00 am

  I Love this car. This is my first of many Acuras yet to come for me.

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  Bang 4 the Buck!!!!!!!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By TonyS - January 24 - 2:00 am

  Tried the rest in this price range....THIS CAR BLOWS THEM AWAY!!!!

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  Would like a "Twin" - 2002 Acura TL
  By Rozman - January 21 - 7:47 pm

  Bought the car after being turned away by a snooty Mercedes Dealer. No transmission problems yet, did the recall on it. The tires are expensive, and can only get them at the dealer.Bose system is excellent added the X-M Radio to it. Get 30 mpg in normal driving. Love it....

• 

  97 TL 3.2 - 1997 Acura TL
  By mrlifts - January 21 - 3:32 am

  This car has a excellent ride quality and handling performance. The engine provides smooth acceleration with good fuel economy. All of the driver controls are very well designed and durable. This is a very comfortable and reliable car. It is an excellent value.

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  Blast to drive - 1995 Acura Integra
  By Gregg - January 20 - 11:56 am

  I put a turbo on mine so it was slightly modified. However, in stock form it was still a very fun car to drive! Reliability is top notch. Styling is fantastic inside and out. 122,000 miles and still tight as new! If you want an import to modify this is THE ONLY choice. GSR makes more power but the LS is great!

• 

  Excelent Vehicle to own/drive - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Drew - January 20 - 9:56 am

  Get both sides of luxary and performance with the RSX Type S at a price under 25K. beautiful leather trim and 6 disk bose in dash changer and sleek styling with a 200HP 6 speed manual transmission makes it fun to drive.

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  Best used car for price on market - 2000 Acura RL
  By Ron - January 19 - 9:38 pm

  The Acura RL is an outstanding used car. Youll usually find these it top shape as the owners take care of them and the car is really built well. I had no problems ever. And, most of the Acura dealers are really professional.I had to sell due to too many vehicles but it was a very hard decision to let it go.

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  The Best Bang For Your Buck - 2004 Acura TSX
  By 13 year Acura Driver - January 19 - 3:44 pm

  I have been driving Acura automobiles since 1992 and they have never let me down. I loved the fact that my TSX came fully loaded. It is a pleasure to drive and to look at. People are constantly checking out the car and asking me about it. Unfortunately, I parallel park quite a bit and have had the car dinged in the back. Ive noticed that the paint peels off like nail polish even with a minor tap. This never happened on my other car.

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  What a car - How much fun!! - 2005 Acura RL
  By JMC - January 19 - 10:06 am

  First car I decided to buy brand new, got it with 11 miles. Im very fortunate to have gotten such a great car for my first buy. Its just a fun car to drive and I feel proud to own one. Dont miss out on this car - you wont regret it for a second!!!