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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  7 Years old and Still Sharp - 1997 Acura TL
  By parker002 - November 9 - 2:00 am

  I have owned my Ac. for a year or so, and it has 82,000 miles on it. Besides the normal tune-up and some oil changes the car runs perfect. When I drive through town people still look at it. Even though the style has changed over the past few years it still looks sharp. It also drives like a gem

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  very awesome car - 2001 Acura Integra
  By spaz - November 9 - 2:00 am

  this is a great car.......the best

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  Great Car - 1999 Acura TL
  By Fred Rusk - November 9 - 2:00 am

  Great driving car, smooth, super quiet, good power. 33 mpg on highway. Only thing Id change is the instrumentation displays on the dashboard, cant read them when sun is shinning which can be dangerous when doors are ajar. etc.

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  Great SUV - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Mct - November 9 - 2:00 am

  Great Ride, Suprisingly good gas mileage, solid build quality.

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  Best car Ive owned - 1996 Acura TL
  By CarNut - November 8 - 2:00 am

  This car is extremely reliable, very comfortable, nice engine sound, great looks.

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  Best SUV Ive owned - 2001 Acura MDX
  By srs - November 8 - 2:00 am

  Couldnt be happier. This vehicle has been a joy to own and drive. Its flexibilty is wonderful. I have not had single problem with this SUV. I had a Land Rover previously and had numerous issues with that vehicle.

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  excellent - 1999 Acura Integra
  By shyne - November 7 - 2:00 am

  I have a 99 Gsr, and i suggest everyone should have one. From reading articles to personally driving the car myself, compared to the preludes gsrs are 10x better. My own personal experience and the things i do to improve my ride as a car enthusiast. This car is worth keeping for years to come

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  Best Car ever owned - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mark - November 6 - 10:43 am

  This car is by far the best car I have ever owned. I love the Navigation and the cellphone bluetooth wireless feature. The car drives beautifully. When your foot hits the gas the response is excellent. I recommend this car to anyone who is looking for an upscale sedan that can beat the new BMW 3 series,any Infiniti, or a Lexus.

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  Still Getting Asked How I Like It - 2001 Acura MDX
  By 2MINPINS - November 5 - 2:00 am

  I have owned many Honda cars and am so glad I returned to the Honda family. The solid build quality of the MDX makes it a comfortable pleasure to drive whether to and from work or on long trips. The vehicles performance many times lets me forget I am driving an SUV and not a sportscar.

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  im a big fan! - 2004 Acura TL
  By goodkarma - November 5 - 2:00 am

  Went looking for a FWD car with a blend of luxury and sport and found it in the TL. Closest comparison for me was the G35x, but the interior (and features) of the TL was far superior and cost about $3k less. All the standard features (sunroof, leather, high end sound system, heated seats, hands free voice activated dialing, etc.) make buying this car a breeze.