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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  2000 RL thoughts - 2000 Acura RL
  By Drew Foster - May 25 - 4:02 pm

  I cant help myself from talking very positive about this car. It is by far the best car I have ever owned, and I think it is the best car ever built! As a driver for 43 years, I have owned everything. This car is better than any Mercedes ever built. What a great decision when I bought it with 81k on the clock. This is my dependable friend, and I care for it like it is my child. Mine is perfect with 133k now on it

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  Love this Vehicle - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Bob - May 25 - 2:30 am

  We just bought this vehicle. I got a very good price on this vehicle ($47,500 out the door). I also got some great accessories included in this price. My wife is the primary driver and she loves it. We took a trip to Oregon (from Washington) and the ride was exceptionally smooth and handles great. Ive owned several SUVs before, but never like this. The cool gadgets is what I love about the MDX. NAV Voice recognition, automatic tailgate, keyless remote starting system, DVD entertainment system to name a few. I told myself "one day I will get a luxury vehicle" and now I finally got one! If you are shopping for a luxury SUV, I recommend the MDX. You will be very pleasantly surprised.

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  Who said this is a bad look? - 2010 Acura TL
  By Ray - May 21 - 8:35 am

  I bought my TL, and 2 weeks later my wife wanted one, so now we have 2, same everything, just 2 different colors. I looked at the Infiniti and Lexus and this car by far was a better buy. this car is a pleasure to drive..

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  Best car owned so far! - 2005 Acura TL
  By tone - May 20 - 10:38 am

  Only one thing bad is the turning! And original tires are bad too.

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  Best car I have ever owned - 2008 Acura TSX
  By otp1971 - May 19 - 10:36 pm

  Bought this for my wife in late 2007, this car has been a great car, exactly what we were hoping for. The reviews kept pointing toward this car and I am very happy we purchased. The lease ends in a couple months and we are torn between keeping this car and leasing the 2010 RDX. It cant be beat for the price, if you consider quality, features and Luxury Brand. Not the quickest car on the road, but still a lot of fun to drive and feels quicker than numbers indicate. We have the black with parchment and wood interior, a great combo. The MPG are decent if you drive normal, last tank was 26 MPG with 60/40 HWY/CITY. I would highly recommend this car and the Honda products.

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  Glad to Be Back in an Acura - 2010 Acura TL
  By louisvillefounder - May 19 - 10:10 pm

  In 1986, I jumped on board and bought the first ever Acura Integra. Three years later and 110,000 miles, I replaced it for a "family car" Honda Accord. The last 15 years I have owned three Toyota Camrys - all six cylinder. All performed flawlessly, but were vanilla and boring. I couldnt be happier to be back in an Acura TL. My 2010 handles incredibly. The paddle shifters operate in two different modes and add fun to the driving experience. When the 2009 body style was introduced, I hated. Now, I could not love it more. It truly has an aggressive dont mess with me look, which fits its driving personality. It is a unique design that I hope Acura continues to build on. I love this car!

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  Worth every dime! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By Benopp - May 19 - 3:04 pm

  Smoothest ride I have ever driven. I drove a rental car for a week and when i got back in my TSX I quickly felt the difference. Audio system is amazing, IPOD interface lacks a bit but works all in all. I have driven over 23,000 miles in my TSX and have enjoyed it every mile. Fuel mileage is good for this class car. I reviewed and test drove many others in this class and others offered far less for equal or more money. Reliability after 20,000+ miles - Vehicle shows no noticeable wear. Brakes ok, Interior ok, Exterior solid.

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  Great car for the money - 2010 Acura TL
  By Karl - May 18 - 11:55 pm

  Acura has done its homework on the new Acura TL SH-AWD! This car is very solid and a blast to drive. It hugs the road and curves like a great fitting glove. Its 3.7 engine is very fast and really easy on gas. I am already getting 26 on the highway at 75 mpg! The tech package is a must if you travel a lot. The sound system sounds very nice and I can store all of my CDs on the hard drive so I no longer have to keep my CDs in my car! It is just plain fun to drive!

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  WOW! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By George - May 18 - 3:31 pm

  One word, Wow! This vehicle does everything right. It is fun to drive, can haul 7 people, and can even tow my 3600 lb boat with absolutely no trouble. I replaced an Explorer with this vehicle and so far have been extremely pleased with how this vehicle performs daily as well as SUV duties. If youre looking for a CUV that performs like an SUV, look at the MDX.

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  Good car - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Archie - May 17 - 11:42 pm

  This is my first MDX although I was buying Honda\Acura for the last 15 years. SUV drives like sedan, quiet in comparison with average Honda..Nice interior.