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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  The best!! - 2004 Acura MDX
  By twilliama - April 11 - 2:00 am

  Beautiful SUV....I cant believe more people dont own an MDX. They are hands down the sharpest on the road. Drives like a sedan. Will keep this one!

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  significant improvement - 2004 Acura TL
  By duckslice - April 11 - 2:00 am

  My 99 TL was a reliable, comfortable, quiet car with great legs for traveling. I ordered the 04 after two short test drives, as that was all it took to convince me the ride quality, comfort and quiet was still there. Somehow they managed to tighten up the handling at the same time. The interior layout and quality of materials is several steps above the 99TL and places the G35 a distant second in this class.

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  My 99 NSX - 1999 Acura NSX
  By Gavazza - April 10 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car after about 2 years research. I had looked at Porsches and Corvettes. The build quailty and the reliability and just how fun it is to drive this car sold me. Great performance, great handling and it is even very comfortable on those long drives. Plus I think the lines of the car look wonderful, people are always coming up to me and asking about the car or making a positive comment about it. Great car

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  Cant believe we get to drive an RL - 2002 Acura RL
  By follow_jesus - April 10 - 2:00 am

  Its the ride quality, folks! Doesnt the brochure say something about the seat springs being tuned to filter out vibrations. Our RL is so smooth it shames my 98 Accord (which has "vault-like quietness" according to Automobile magazine!). Also, less is more. The controls are few in number and easily accessible (non-Navi). Ridiculous to have a "Fun to Drive" rating in this class of car -- like minivan buyers looking at slalom figures! Its a true limousine -- no surprises, perfect manners and looks beautiful. I still am in awe that we get to drive it around.

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  Matts TL Review - 2000 Acura TL
  By mlison - April 10 - 2:00 am

  By far the best car I have ever owned. Only the second car Ive owned that Id buy another identical car if it were totaled tomorrow.

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  One reliably good car! - 1995 Acura Integra
  By 143RAIN - April 9 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my 1995 acura integra rs for almost 4 years and I have loved every moment of it. Its reliable, great for fuel efficiency and its a great looking car too (ive gotten lots of compliments). Acuras generally have great resalable value too (I traded in my on-its-last-leg 1990 acura integra rs in 1999 for $4000). The best deal out there in its class!

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  FANTASTIC - 2000 Acura Integra
  By ChrisB - April 9 - 2:00 am

  I love this car, it beats all cars mwahah.

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  GS-R (Great Sport-Ride) - 1992 Acura Integra
  By Angell Reyna - April 8 - 2:00 am

  This vechile is great. Im the original owner and all this car has given me is fun. There are not many Gs- Rs around anymore, but those who own one will surely love it. With the B17A1 1.7 block, this puppy pushes around 160-170 stock! No major changes have occured, basic maintence and the car still runs really great, and it looks really good too. I can redline with no breeze and the car still feels like its pushing.

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  fun car! - 1990 Acura Integra
  By val - April 8 - 2:00 am

  Wow! I got my Integra for my first car, and it has been a reliable, fun car! I got FAR better gas mileage then noted.. about 28 city mpg and 35 hiway mpg. I havent done any work on it, and am sad to have to give it up because of a knee injury! I highly recommend it for a first car!

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  No regrets - 2008 Acura TL
  By Frank - April 7 - 12:23 pm

  Performance, comfort and reliability exceeded expectations. Most satisfied with this vehicle than others owned. A daily driver pleasure.