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:

• 

  Best sport sedan for the money - 2003 Acura TL
  By chipp1 - May 19 - 10:00 am

  I shopped around for this type of vehicle for over three months bouncing back and forth between BMW 325i and the G35 and the Acura type S. It came down to overall performance, ergonomics, standard features, and known reliability. Dollar for dollar the Acura beats the others hands down. I got the black pearl with chrome wheels with parchment interior, a beautiful combination. Nothing but compliments so far.

• 

  Acura Integra GSR - 2001 Acura Integra
  By hobbs4002 - May 19 - 2:00 am

  This car has been a great buy. Its an enthusists vehicle. It handles great and has enough power to silence the critics. It brings fun back to everyday driving with its simple but comfortable interior. Its exterior is on of thoes designs that never dies due to age. I love this car and would recomend it to any one looking for more fun in the everyday commute but also looking to drive thoes country roads with the windows and sunroof open on saterday mornings. ~Rob~

• 

  BEST CAR EVER!!!! - 2004 Acura RSX
  By lillemons - May 19 - 2:00 am

  I absolutely love this car, not only is it speedy but it is quite cute too!! Nice sound system, and great after market options.

• 

  Very Dissapointing for $40K! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By RedMDX - May 19 - 2:00 am

  For $40K this has been a dissapointment to say the least...even if it cost $30K wed be dissapointed....its spent way too much time in the shop and there are still many things that the dealership says are normal, but they sure are annoying. Weve had to have the entire VTM (4 wheel drive system) replaced..now the tranny is being recalled! 2 other minor recalls as well. Tires are shot at 30K! gas mileage at 16/18 vs. window of 18/23...and we are easy drivers. Used to get 16/18 out of full sized V-8 Chevy Tahoe and on regular gas!!

• 

  4th transmission before 4th year anniver - 2000 Acura TL
  By javawater - May 19 - 2:00 am

  Love the car except for a major problem - transmission. Acura had just placed a 4th transmission in my car. I am trading it in for something else because my 100k warranty is about to expire and at the rate its been, I expect to have a 5th transmission in one year.

• 

  great vehicle - 2002 Acura TL
  By keithr - May 19 - 2:00 am

  I have had the TL for about a year now. Ive owned a Legend and Accord in the past, however, the Tl is the best yet. Smooth horse power, great ride, and complete package:-)

• 

  So close, but still great - 2005 Acura RL
  By spclst - May 17 - 5:13 pm

  A great overall car. Trunk is a bit small and I wish the rear seat folded down since space is already limited, but it is what it is. I cant understand why the radio cant display the CD (especially a DVD-A) info with song names, etc. And the FM RDS which is pretty standard nowadays is also missing....hmmmm? Oh, and why the heck did Acura change the lug and hub pattern of this car so that I cant get any aftermarket rims until the wheel manufacturers catch up to the new layout.... But, overall, I love the car. I guess nothing is perfect.

• 

  MDX is excellent so far! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Cliff Kang - May 17 - 10:00 am

  Excellent vehicle. Took it on a cross country trip from CA to NY with absolutely no problems. With highway driving, I get close to 23 mpg, but when driving around town, I usually get about 15 (I drive pretty aggressively I guess). Build quality and design is superb, and the options you get for the price compared to cars in its class is considerable. Only thing that Id really like to see are flat 2nd row seats, for better cargo storage. But otherwise, excellent :D! I love my car. Ive gotten about 5500 miles on it so far in 2 months.

• 

  It has been almost 4 years - 2000 Acura Integra
  By JLongo527 - May 17 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car new after months of research and online hunting. It was the car I wanted and the first car I have ever purchased. Although suggesting any improvements wont really effect anything since they have done away with this model I do have only a few suggestions(see below). Overall this car is great. If you are buying it used and the person has really taken care of the care I wouldnt expect too many problems. Mine loves synthetic oil (Mobil 1) and a good thorough inspection every 6 months. A blast to drive and great on gas.

• 

  TSX... One Year Later - 2004 Acura TSX
  By hip - May 15 - 10:00 am

  After one year with my TSX 6-speed, Navi any regrets of waiting for the TL have long evaporated. Typical of all our Hondas, experience has been positive overall, this leaves only nitpicking. The seats in the TSX are truly outstanding even after long 7-8 hour drives. As most reviews state, driving comfort, handling, quality, ergonomics are first rate. Biggest complaint concerns outward visability due to stringent side impact protection. Higher belt line than previous generation Hondas, make it difficult to judge proximity to curbs on passenger side)especially when parking. Otherwise no real issues.