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:

• 

  Great Car! - 2001 Acura Integra
  By steady_boy - August 14 - 2:00 am

  This is truly a fun car to drive. Excellent handling, well laid out interior and elegant exterior. The build quality is excellent. Definitely fantastic value for money.

• 

  If you buy one, get the GS!!! - 1994 Acura Legend
  By nickikingcobra - August 13 - 2:00 am

  This is the finest automobile I have ever owned. I bought an automatic equipted sedan (only because the 6 speed is so hard to come by) and though I miss the smooth shifts that I experience in my Accord coupe, the 230 horsepower type II 3.2L V6 more than makes up for it. I love pulling up to stop lights and leaving unsuspecting sport-compacts in the dust! The car pulls hard and sounds great doing it. I much prefer the Legend to its replacement, the Acura 3.5 RL. The Legend GS feels much sportier.

• 

  Life or Death! - 2000 Acura RL
  By Alive! - August 13 - 2:00 am

  After reading the other reviews, I thought it important to discuss features other than power and cup holders...like safety. I just totaled my 2000 RL. I hit the cement dividing wall of an interstate...head on at 60 mph. I walked away from the accident. If you saw the vehicle, you would not believe what I just told you.

• 

  Reliable luxury car! - 2006 Acura TL
  By John Callan - August 12 - 8:36 am

  My car is 10 years old and I have had relatively few repairs. I would definitely recommend the Acura line of cars!

• 

  Fantastic! - 1993 Acura Legend
  By Monz - August 12 - 2:00 am

  Best car I ever had. Bought used and is very low maintenance... Powerful, fun, luxurious and still love my car even after four years. I will always have an Acura in my driveway!!!

• 

  Solid - 2004 Acura RSX
  By alejonio - August 12 - 2:00 am

  I have had the car for 30k miles. I used to have a civic, and I wnated the reliability of it, but more stylish design. The RSX is what I wanted, love the design, inside and out, and the quality is super. This is by far the best on its price range. Actually, I think a type-s is better, overall, than the Audi-TT or Mercedes-SLK, but 20k cheaper!

• 

  Love, love, love this car! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Enuj - August 12 - 2:00 am

  I have owned 3 Hondas and decided to make the move to the Acura. This car is an attention getter for sure. I purchased it to use for my new sales position and my sales agents and customers love this car.

• 

  Love our TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Just Peachy - August 12 - 2:00 am

  Excellent acceleration and handling. Comfortable and stylish interior. Fun to drive. Handsome exterior body style.

• 

  great little car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By cat - August 11 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my intergra when it was 2 years old in 1996. Since then, the only things I have had to replace are the timing belt, the radiator, and the master cylinder. It has been a very reliable car...great gas milage. However, it is not a very comfortable ride for long trips. I am now ready for something a little more luxurious, but it is still a great little car.

• 

  Acyra RL - 2002 Acura RL
  By strandbl - August 11 - 2:00 am

  Excellent automobile and underrated by people who write auto reviews. They want a rear wheel V8, but a front wheel V6 is quite adequate and the RL is a superb auto all the way around. Quality is unsurpassed. It is easy to spend more on cars in this category and get much less car compared to...than an RL.