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 Acura 3.5RL is an excellent car - 2004 Acura RL
  By J. Paul - July 8 - 2:00 am

  The RL is an excellent car so many ways, number 1 its riliable, problem free, excellent ride.

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  Hot little number - 2004 Acura RSX
  By MemphisCanada - July 8 - 2:00 am

  Coming from driving an SUV, this unit moves and weaves through traffic like a slot car. I love this thing. Great colour (Pearl White), awsome sound! (you may disagree), 200hp and still fuel efficient. Im relatively new to the manual transmission, but from what ive experienced from test drives; this 6 speed transmission is slick, definitive (*cough* WRX *cough*), crisp, and most importantly...good fun.

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  Acuras Real Luxury - 2005 Acura RL
  By Jim Blazer - July 7 - 2:46 pm

  The RL (Real Luxury) is just that. A great auto to drive and beats all the competition in its price range. The Ulitmate Driving Machine isnt a Beemer. Its an RL!

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  Tranmission Grinds - 2004 Acura RSX
  By plocht - July 7 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car that is fun to drive, but the transmission sucks! The six speed transmission has major design flaws that Acura refuses to acknowledge. The transmission starting griding the day I took it from the dealer. Two months later they totally rebuild then transmission then two months after that they replaced the transmission. Nothing seems to help, except the warm weather this time of year. I am just waiting for the return of winter and the continuing problem with grinding.

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  mdx - 2002 Acura MDX
  By pota - July 6 - 10:00 am

  good, no no, great car

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  Good car but a bit bumpy than other SUV - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Simon Wu - July 6 - 10:00 am

  A great value for money SUV

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  Buy Nothing Else - This Is The Best Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By Chirdis - July 6 - 10:00 am

  I had a 2000 Audi A4 that was a nightmare. I had my Acura for a year now, with no probelms. Great passing speed. Autostick is a fun toy, great for passing slow drivers. The leather interior is the best. I love this car. Way to go Acura. I cant wait until the 2004 Acura TL comes out. You can get any better that this. This car speaks: Value & Reliability. The two things that this car excels at.

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  My Acura RSX Rocks! - 2004 Acura RSX
  By VLGaffEsq - July 6 - 2:00 am

  I love my new Acura RSX...great little sports car. Ony complaint it doesnt handle bumps well at all. Overall, however, very satisfied.

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  fun to drive - 2004 Acura RSX
  By BETA - July 6 - 2:00 am

  Great little car could have a little less road noise. ALSO Acura what about a soft top model Honda has the 2000.

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  Type S - 2002 Acura TL
  By markvi - July 6 - 2:00 am

  Great performing vehichle. Quick, handles beautifully. Only bad point was replacing the transmission at 25k. Flaw in the design of tranny, fortunately under warranty.