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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  230,000 Miles - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By JD_from_GA - July 19 - 2:00 am

  I bought it as a lease turn in with 25,000 miles on it, and it ran GREAT for 205,000 more. My sister totaled it at 230,000+ miles and it was running like the day I bought it. I almost cried when the insurance wouldnt fix it. Im going to go right out and buy me another Acura. Only drawback was the small back seats and no cup holders.

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  whata car - 2003 Acura TL
  By TRS - July 18 - 2:16 pm

  The only thing keeping this car from going head to head with BMWs 330 is a six speed manual. This is a great car with clean lines and superb build quality. Im hooked, just give me the 6 speed next time.

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  butt kickin - 1997 Acura Integra
  By stpjabroni - July 18 - 2:00 am

  This car is soo fun to drive and race. For a car that has only 140 horsies its fast. Even at speeds up to 110 the car doesnt shake at all. I have fun whipping other high hp cars. Ive smoke a Civic Si, the mustang gt, eclipse gst, and ive had many victims of greater hp and the handling is also wonderful everything bout this car is great.

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  great care - 1997 Acura TL
  By Frank tha shocker - July 18 - 2:00 am

  Just got a used one, so far so good, really pleased with everything...wish they made this model with the vtech engine, kind of surprised they didnt!

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  Good News for CL Buyers - 2002 Acura CL
  By J Barnes - July 18 - 2:00 am

  After 5 miserable years with a SAAB 900, what a dramatic cahnge for the better. My 2002 Acura CL is a pleasure to drive. It is solid through and through, with none of the annoying rattle and squeaks of my SAAB. It is a very simple car to purchase as it includes almost every feature standard. The car has a very substantial feel to it, and has great acceleration and handling. The automatic is smooth, however the novelty of the sport-shifter has worn off and I rarely user this feature. The sound system is top notch. Its a pity I dont take it on the open road more often as the car is a pleasure to drive and own.

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  Love this Car - 2000 Acura TL
  By CuCowboy - July 18 - 2:00 am

  Two years and only one problem which was with the AC amking a funny noise. It still worked great. Took it in and the dealership fixed it. Runs great good gas milage. FUN TO DRIVE.

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  Initial impressions of 06 TL - 2006 Acura TL
  By Lew - July 17 - 2:40 am

  The 06 TL is my first Acura, and Im impressed after 1 mo. A great car for the money, with good overall performance and lots of goodies to play with. Just took it back to the dealer for some aftermarket additions and to reprogram my 2nd remote (which didnt work)and had a very positive experience. My only complaint is ride quality -- you really feel the bumps. Having driven an Audi A4 for the past 4 years, Im used to a stiffer ride and feeling the road, but the TL seems to telegraph every imperfection in the asphalt. I dont think its built quite as solid as the A4, either, but no rattles, squeaks or anything else and certainly very good quality. Thus far, no regrets. Stay tuned.

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  Great Car - 2001 Acura TL
  By jmccl - July 17 - 2:00 am

  This car is excellent in every way, including fit & finish. It has all of the amenities. I especially like the manual sport-shift for a little extra excitment, once in awhile. You will not find a better car for the money, and it is built in the USA.

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  Luxurious and Practical - 2005 Acura MDX
  By PhoenixSun - July 15 - 6:46 pm

  Researched many comparable SUVs and selected the Acura MDX Touring Edition (Silver w/ Quartz interior). After 2 weeks, Ive been very pleased with the performance, comfort and features. Great on the open highway, as well as on unpaved roads. Still brand new, but averaging about 18-19 miles to the gallon. The MDX does take premium gas, which is a bit more painful these days of high gas prices. Was able to purchase the vehicle for $500.00 over invoice and that was with body-side moldings also added.

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  Best buy in its class - 2016 Acura RDX
  By hechtbj - July 15 - 4:57 am

  I took delivery a few weeks ago and am very happy with this decision. I looked hard at the Audi Q5, Lexus F sport, Infiniti Q50, Mercedes ML, Honda CRV, Range Rover Evoque, BMX X3 and Porsche Macan. When you put them all together and try to evaluate performance, reliability, value, and comfort, the 2016 RDX came out on top. I look forward to many years with this vehicle.