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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  Great driving experience so far - 2005 Acura RL
  By Prakash - May 21 - 10:23 am

  After a lot of deliberations decided to go for RL instead of LS430(couldnt justify shelling out extra 15k for loaded LS). No regrets so far. Ride is superb as is the audio and SH-AWD. It has several high tech electronic gadgets and almost all of them are very easy to use. The interior is very luxurious.

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  Shop Till You Drop - 2005 Acura TL
  By Reinhard - May 21 - 3:10 am

  As with most on this site, I compared the TL with everything else in its class and price range. The Acura TL offers more features for the price than any other vehicle in its class. Audi 2.0 was a close second, but Acura/Honda Lease and discount, mileage penalties and simplicity in packaging, better warranty won the day for the TL. Dealers were all over the place with their pricing. Went through a broker who found the best Fleet Manager in the area. Got $1500.00 more off their best promotion.

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  A Timeless Masterpiece - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Bert Cullen - May 21 - 2:00 am

  The Integra has been around for awhile, but there are some classics that cant be seriously improved upon without completely going back to the drawing board. That in itself is fraught with dangers and the 2000 Integra is a wonderful example of a well executed, well designed automotibile.

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  im very impressed... - 1999 Acura TL
  By 1crazyTLdriver - May 21 - 2:00 am

  i had a 92 lexus es300 which i smashed up pretty bad in march of 2002. after the accident i was dead set on another later model es. i was so pro-lexus it was unbelievable. then i took out a 99tl, and i was immediately sold. i got a certified 99tl with 19k... w/5yr100k bumper to bumper warranty. dollar for dollar, the tl cant be touched by any other car in its class. i went from pro-lexus to acura-infatuated. the performance, styling, featuers, everything is almost perfect. great car for NYC (just watch out for the bastards that steal the headlights-very common in NYC). ive had the car for a month and i cant wait to trade it in for the type S w/navigation

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  Great partner - 2001 Acura MDX
  By HowardB - May 21 - 2:00 am

  Collected my (wifes) MDX from Houston - Nav. system was perfect for my return to Manhattan. Average speed something north of legal, fuel better than 23MPG. Next, we (wife, mother-in-law, baby, 2 cats, 12 fish and loads of luggage) drove to our new home in Houston. Again - high speed, great mileage. Since then - to Raleigh NC. No problems, no dramas, great ride...

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  the best ever - 1991 Acura Integra
  By blue - May 20 - 2:00 am

  i love this car. i never want to get rid of it. i have a 2000 accord and i like driving the acura better...it is so much fun to drive and ive never had any problems with it. the only thing ive ever done ofr it is regular maintenance.

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  Fastest Coupe On The Road - 1991 Acura Legend
  By bdawg - May 20 - 2:00 am

  I bought an Acura Legend LS Coupe about a month ago. This is the best car I have ever ridden in. The seats are pimpin and sit low. The engine in this car can not be stopped. I timed it 0-60 in a little under 6 seconds. It will hit 130 in 4th gear(wonder what 5th will do), so if you want something that is fast and reliable, then buy an Acura Legend b/c it will go and last.

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  sweet rid - 2011 Acura TSX
  By steve - May 19 - 3:23 pm

  great car; drive it all the time; no issues

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  Plymouth Acura experience in Michigan - 1996 Acura TL
  By haydn kramer - May 19 - 2:00 am

  Just a fantastic car from every perspective...

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  Honda can do it! - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Josh Medford - May 19 - 2:00 am

  I love this car!!!! No problems just timing belt replaced at 150,000!!! never broke down and never any problems what-so-ever. I love the style of the second gen. legends