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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  Top 10 Cars With the Best Residual Value - 2004 Acura TSX
  By doggi dog - June 19 - 10:00 am

  The TSX is pretty awesome. It handles like a dream, has an 8 speaker sound system to die for and leaps into 1st gear like a stallion. The TSX is the best car Ive owned.

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  I love my tsx - 2004 Acura TSX
  By lanaster23 - June 19 - 10:00 am

  I really like my TSX. It gets pretty good gas mileage and it wasnt too expensive for being an acura.

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  buy it you will like it - 2001 Acura MDX
  By bp - June 19 - 2:00 am

  Best SUV I have ever been in! More I drive it the more that I like it. More I ride in other peoples SUVs the more I like mine. HOMER

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  My Car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By AKClark - June 18 - 2:00 am

  The LS, while not the fastest, is a great car for the money, and is an overall great package. I would have gone for a GS-R instead though, for a little more money.

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  No Comparo - 2002 Acura RL
  By BigMac - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Unbelievable auto! Test drove A6, C320, 5 series, Jag and Lexus. Nothing is like the Acura. Great comfort and unmatched quality... Mercedes and Lexus should be quivering. Best deal on the road especially with the great lease rates. I would like to add a Tl type s to the stable but need to wait for more negotiation opportunities. Will see in 03.

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  Ya Gotta Love It! - 2000 Acura Integra
  By TypistTilly - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Nice comfortable car for anyone, with or without family. Steering is excellent and visibility is really good.Gets you on the highway really great and drives well in traffic due to its great manuveribility.

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  I thought there could be no 10s ! ! ! - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Bill Gray - June 17 - 2:00 am

  This has been as much fun to drive on twisting roads as my 82 Porsche 944!!! I have over 37,000 miles in just over 15 months. I love to drive it everwhere we go.

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  the best car I have owned! - 2006 Acura TL
  By iluvmyTL - June 16 - 8:30 pm

  I had always wanted a TL because of the exterior look of the car, but after test driving one this past weekend I came home with one! It drives so smoothly. What a fun car to drive, I go cruising in it whenever I can. I could not find a better car with the features of the TL at the price I paid!

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  LUXURY, QUALITY, VALUE & FUN! - 1995 Acura Legend
  By chipito - June 15 - 2:00 am

  Traveling sales engineers car, covering the SE USAs varied terrain. It handles the straights, curves, mountain roads and in betweens with no labor. Those 200 horses and independent suspension let me run with cars 2 - 3 times the price. The interior has all the amenities of a luxury car of this vintage - still loving my Acura after three years running...

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  Best Car ever purchased - 2000 Acura RL
  By acb - June 15 - 2:00 am

  Couldnt decide on Lexus Gs, Es or other similar vehicles. Lexus is way over priced for what you get. This is a Lexus Ls400 for the price of a Lexus Gs300 , with a ton more space, better overall ride and a far better investment.