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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  97 CL 3.0 - 1997 Acura CL
  By d00g - September 12 - 2:00 am

  never had any problems, I love My CL

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  RL Review - 2004 Acura RL
  By NFB - September 11 - 2:00 am

  Need following for such a pricy car: compass and milage computer in standard model much larger HP engine luxery fetures inside like others in its class. Car does flow nice on open highway

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  Almost perfect - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Super E - September 11 - 2:00 am

  Fun to drive, great on gas, and able to hold my luggage too. This is a great car to travel in. We love the interior layout of the car. Although the torque could be better the over all driving is great. This price is right.

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  look out for the brakes - 2004 Acura MDX
  By nema - September 11 - 2:00 am

  The brakes in this car have been a constant problem, thay all make grinding noise after a rain they build up rust if the car is not used in 12 hours (they say this is normal)I have a friend in PA with the same car and the same problem. Brakes have been worked on 3 times, after 2 years the car shows its age in other areas as well. This is my 2nd Acura and will be the last.

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  Best bang for you buck - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Scrappy125 - September 10 - 4:20 am

  Not only is this car the most fun car to drive, but it is a great value. For just about $20K you get every option available. The automatic has a sportshift standard that gives you the option of driving in regular mode, or switching to auto-stick. Overall a great car.

• 

  Outstanding - 1991 Acura Integra
  By MoMoney - September 8 - 2:00 am

  This is the best car we have, or ever owned. Our Other cars are 98 Volvo S70 GLT (Junk), and 00 ML 320 (Ok). At 140M miles, this car is on the original clutch, suspension and just about everything else. Only major replacement was, timimng belt & H2O pump (@80M) and timing mechanism. Inexpensive to maintain. Drives and handles great. Styling still respectable, inspite of age.

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  My MDX rocks - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Quinnmedicine - September 8 - 2:00 am

  I just bought my second Acura vehicle (MDX) and still enjoy every minute i am on the road. The SUV handles very well and the road noise appears insignificant. The Bose speakers are fun to listen to. No problem thus far...

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  Value up the yingyang - 2003 Acura TL
  By BokQui - September 7 - 10:00 am

  Replaced a 98 BMW 528 with a new TL- Type S and looked at Lexus, and Infiniti. Couldnt find anything comparable that offered similar performance, value and reliability. German cars have the edge with suspension, braking and A/C, but didnt receive the benefits associated with the maintenance costs.

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  Not worth the money - 2004 Acura RL
  By Al Greco - September 7 - 2:00 am

  Actually my lease is a 2002. This car simply is not worth the dollars for the lease. The ride is just OK, the handling is poor compared to the Toyota Avalon which was my previous auto. The performance again, not as good. The interior back seat is too small for the average size man. No leg room. The reliability I have no complaints about.

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  My Type S - 2004 Acura RSX
  By hivpozbud - September 7 - 2:00 am

  I just recently purchased this car and though disappointed with the sound the exhaust makes as well as the Bose sound system (sub in spare doesnt sound like a sub at all), I have to say this car is fantastic! Pulls hard in every gear, shift action is better then Porsche, pedals are spaced perfectly apart, 0-60 faster then any car in its class. Also had good dealership experience.