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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  Its sweet - 2003 Acura RSX
  By pteman - July 26 - 2:00 am

  I have had my RSX-type S for a year and a half. I bought it initially because I wanted a reliable, but fun car and I havent been disappointed yet. The only problem I have found is leaving it alone...Im scared someone might breath on it wrong. I love my car.

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  2004 Acura MDX - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Bob Lazarus - July 26 - 2:00 am

  Overall this is an excellent vehicle that can haul an amazing amount of people or cargo when necessary.

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  The Best SUV ever ! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By rhes - July 26 - 2:00 am

  The Acura MDX is the best SUV ever! I recommend this to everyone. Withalmost every feature you can get it for 36,000.. CHEAP !!!! Go buy yuo new Acura MDX !

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  Horsepower is Lagging. - 2004 Acura NSX
  By Peter Pantazopoulos - July 24 - 2:00 am

  In all it is a fun car and it turns heads. I dont like the fact I need to but a new set of tires every 7000 miles and also that the horsepower is not up to speed with the rest of the exotics in the class. Maintenance wise it is an incredible purchase and a very rugged vehicle.

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  great suv - 2004 Acura MDX
  By RyanW - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Most comfortable SUV weve ever driven with superior quality and safety.

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  poor car - 2003 Acura TL
  By username - July 24 - 2:00 am

  the car broke down as i bought at 45000miles

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  my rsx - 2004 Acura RSX
  By jdpogi - July 23 - 2:00 am

  my wife and i bought a tl type-s last year,i told her that the second car im gonna buy will be another acura,so i bought an rsx.this car is so much fun to drive.the acceleration is fast and the engine is responsive.the only negative issue about my rsx is the sound system,acura should have put bose on all of their models.other than that,i love my rsx!!!!and my tl type-s too....

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  Made my neighbors jealous.... - 2004 Acura MDX
  By deva - July 22 - 2:00 am

  38,500 + tax After researching a lot on SUVs that have a 3rd row option, we settled with the 4Runner (V8) and the MDX. After test driving MDX, my wife didnt like the rough handling of the 4Runner. Style and safety were our main concerns. MDX, being Acuras only SUV, they have really expended significant research into it. The twin exhaust and the VSC in the 2004 model embellishes the 265-hp engine. We got the silver with ebony interior. I recommend getting the all-purpose mats ($120.00), original mats seemed to stick everything that falls on it. A good-size SUV that is stylish, powerful, and yet quite smooth to handle, but not for unpaved adventu

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  great car - 2003 Acura TL
  By magisri - July 22 - 2:00 am

  best car I have ever driven, love everything about it but nerdy style, should have waited for the 2004 but price was right. Getting 30 miles per gallon locally.

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  Technology that Really Works!!! - 2006 Acura TL
  By Michael S. McDonald - July 21 - 11:56 pm

  Awesome car, all the bells and whistles. I you live for gadgets this is your car! If you like style and chrisma-the A-Spec package is the way to go. The dealer is a little vague on "What the A-Spec" package consist of and it is a ala carte package. You build at dealership level to your unique driving pleasure. I went all out from sway bars, strut tower braces, dampening springs, performance shocks, to full dress ground effects to the wing on the trunk. This car feels and out handles my 2002 Trans Am show car. It feels like you are part of the road and when you come into that turn it feels like you are on rails-tight, secure and sure footed. I really recommend this car! Enjoy-one I am!