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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  Not a repeat buyer. - 2004 Acura RSX
  By smplyme - June 10 - 2:00 am

  It will not perform without premium fuel. It also lacks in the handling department, having too much weight in the front along with sloppy steering at highway speeds, not allow you to push the car as much as it begs to be pushed. The button disabling the air conditioner is known as the turbo boost button. --It is extremely sluggish when the AC is on.

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  Best Acura Yet - 2005 Acura RL
  By kwaidoi - June 9 - 9:06 am

  This is what the flagship of the brand should be like. Great car to ride or drive. Great traffic information and sound system. An A+++. Cannot say enough.

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  Acura Vigor - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By WendyB - June 9 - 2:00 am

  We drove our Vigor for nearly 10 years, then kept it for another 2 years as our extra car. It was almost never in the shop, and I dont recall it ever leaving me stranded. It was peppy, handled well, and got great gas mileage. It was a great car to drive and was very reliable. I would recommend any Acura based on our experience with this one.

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  Best Car Ive owned - 1994 Acura Legend
  By stritt - June 9 - 2:00 am

  I am the 2nd owner of my 94 LS coupe and bought it with 42,000 miles. Almost no repair cost and very little maintenance. Just put gas in it and change the oil every 3-4k miles. This is the best and most reliable car Ive ever owned. Its my 2nd Acura Legend coupe and Ive put more miles on this car than any other car Ive owned.

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  Great, Fun Car - 2004 Acura RSX
  By RSX Hawk - June 9 - 2:00 am

  I just purchased my RSX Type-S a little over a month ago, and it is just so fun to drive. I live in an area where you can find some old backcountry hilly and windy roads and i just cannot get enough of it. The suspension is a little stiff so the ride can get a bit bumpy, but it feels great in the turns. It is just a great looking, great sounding, great driving car.

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  great for the money - 2005 Acura TL
  By Bill ONeill - June 8 - 11:10 pm

  The TL is a good looking, easy to drive car which provides a lot of amenities for the money. The audio system is particularly impressive and the interior is well laid out and high quality. The ride is a bit stiffer than I was use to having driven a Lexus ES previously.Exterior styling is eye catching. I just really enjoy driving this car!

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  Excellent value - 2012 Acura TL
  By Cowboy911 - June 8 - 5:50 pm

  The Acura TL Sh-AWD rides like it on rails. Cornering at speed is an awe inspiring experience with the SH-AWD driving you through the corners, never experienced anything like it. The seats are excellent, steering a little heavy for me but centers great, brakes are large and bring the car to a stop with no drama. I have the 19" wheels, so the tires a low profile 45s, look great but the ride is very tight - like you would expect with high performance rubber. I personally love the ride and the suspension does a great job with such aggressive tires making the ride just soft enough. I bought the car used with 50k miles on it. Have driven it for 1 year and had the propeller shaft replaced under warranty. No hassles from the Acura dealership who said they have a maintenance bulletin on the issue. Ive owned 5 Acuras in the past and can say w/o reservation they have always been great values. Great ergonomics and quality with a reasonable price, especially when compare to the competition. Interior is perfection. Ive read complaints about the business of the dash, but once you live with the car for a week you appreciate the convenience of having dedicated buttons for all the key functions at your finger tips. No need to navigate through screens to change the heating/AC settings, fan speed, rear defrost, etc - its all right there. The seats are so nice that traffic jams no longer bother me, I just settle into the ridiculously comfortable seats and relax - its done wonders for my blood pressure. I drive mostly highway and have been getting 27 mpg, higher than their advertise highway mpg. The 6 speed transmission has been great, always seems to have the right gear selection, downshifting on que to maximize performance of the 3.7 engine. Shifts have been smooth with regular driving, but stomp the gas pedal and the sifts become more aggressive - LOVE IT! Of all my Acura, this has been the most enjoyable to drive, although the original Integra was a riot for their day.

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  MDX Owner - 2001 Acura MDX
  By ACURALOVER - June 8 - 2:00 am

  I have owned this vehicle for 3 years never had a problem even once. It has always been a reliable trusty vehicle. The interior is very comfortable, and the third row seats are pretty roomy (for third-row seats). Cargo carrying capacity is amazing with both the second and third row seats folded flush into the floor.

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  A higher form of performance - 2005 Acura TL
  By Jones - June 7 - 1:00 pm

  We have had the TL for almost a year by this summer and we havnt had one problem yet. The best part about it is its sporty, looks like its worth 40 grand but your only paying a little over 30. Awesome performace and VTEC (variable valve timing in the engine) gives you excellent gas mileage. This car is just about perfect and the best car we have ever owned, we may never buy another car besides and Acura ever again.

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  Awesome car but a few problems - 1999 Acura Integra
  By Kawaii - June 7 - 2:00 am

  I got the car with ~72k miles on it and It ran fine. Shortly after, I needed to get my B-pipe replaced. I got the 65k maintenence check and it cost $800 mainly because they had to replace a "frozen" brake caliper. After about a year, the hatch and the door started started sticking and I needed a drivers side and hatch door actuator. After that, the passenger window motor started dying so it stops a fraction of an inch before its actually shut. Yes the car is a blast to drive, and maybe I just got a problem child, but I cant say that Ive had a very good GSR experience.