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 Awesome - 1999 Acura CL
  By Dobee - March 11 - 2:02 pm

  Its cool!

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  My Acura TL - 2000 Acura TL
  By tonybell_57 - March 11 - 12:29 pm

  This car has no cons. It is a very comfortable car to drive. I have driven from Atlanta, GA to Hartford, CT in this car and had a blast. The only caveat is that it rides so smoothly you may want to use cruise control to keep from getting a ticket (like I did in NC). This car WANTS to do 90!

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  99 Acura RL - 1999 Acura RL
  By kims - March 10 - 12:26 am

  This car is very reliable, handles well and is has a well designed interior. The stereo system is excellent - handling is too.

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  Just Awesome - 1993 Acura Integra
  By Malafama - March 7 - 6:22 pm

  I bought this car with 130,000 miles, and i can tell that i have not spent a dime in anything that is not basic like tune up, tires or gas, wonderful pick up speed, and really easy to hook up!! one i can no drive it anymore, i will run and buy another one but always a third generation 90-93. i recommend it fearless.

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  2003 Acura MDX Touring - 2003 Acura MDX
  By kwgossman - March 7 - 10:00 am

  The only option that is missing to make this a PERFECT car is the telescopic steering wheel and XENON lights. Not sure why they skimped here???

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  Drives Like a Car - 2003 Acura MDX
  By mdx-er - March 7 - 10:00 am

  750 miles into our Touring MDX and loving it. Cant wait to drive anywhere and anyone. It is comfy. The 3rd row seating is super and such a great alternative to the minivan. My kids love this crossover auto. Cant wait to take this up to the snow this winter.

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  Great car for the money - 2003 Acura TL
  By rhb - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I have had this vehicle for about four months now and drive it on a daily basis. Finding a location by the number search is scattered because many businesses are not in the directory. Cant find the closest Wendys because it wants to make you go to the headquarters. I would recommend the car to the buyer who wants luxury with economy but watch out for the PREMIUM gas prices as well. I get about 23 to 24 miles per gallon pretty consistently with highway driving.

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  Its the best - 2003 Acura TL
  By LoveTL - March 7 - 10:00 am

  It took 2 weeks after we made the final decision to go for the TL. Test drive the new Accord and the TL and, the TL is much better than the Accord in terms of acceleration and handling. The ride is very comfortable and the cabine is so quiet. The power is so great. Weve been driving this car for almost 2 weeks. We love it. It rox.

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  Best value for your money - 1999 Acura TL
  By NudeDude - March 7 - 1:54 am

  This is really a great car! Ive owned mine for 3 years and Ive never had any trouble. I really liked the fact that all of the upgrades are standard. The TL is a great value compared to its competition.

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  2005 Anthracite Manual - 2005 Acura TL
  By dschryver - March 6 - 8:06 am

  Have only 3,000 miles or less on this car so far. Great car to drive. Manual transmission is a dream. Acceleration is great. Only problem found so far is that the seat heaters apparently draw power even when the car is switched off. Would seem to be a design flaw if thats the case. Recently came back from a 10-day vacation to find the battery deader than a doornail. Apparently left one of the seat heaters on while out of town. Gave us a chance to try out Acuras roadside assistance program. It was an OK experience. Had a slight problem getting the radio to accept the security code but OK now. Navigation system is great even if it does suggest an unneeded U-turn occasionally.