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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  11 Years and going - 1998 Acura CL
  By Seth - April 30 - 10:35 am

  Ive had my CL for almost 12 years and its still a fine piece of machinery ( 206,780 miles thus far). Over the years, I had very few "major" repairs to the car such as exhaust system replacement. It still maintains many original parts. If you have an opportunity to buy this car, you should do it (especially if it has low mileage). It will pay for itself in a short period of time.

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  Best Car I have Owned - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Wilcox - April 29 - 3:10 pm

  This is the 3rd Integra in the Family and they keep getting better. I just bought mine a few months back with only 115,000 km on it. Great Car! Love the styling, Performance, Reliability. Needed a few Ball joints recently but thats wear and tear for a 10 year old car. Parts are cheap enough and are very easy to get.

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  Love it! - 2007 Acura TL
  By gregyTL-S - April 29 - 9:14 am

  I Have a tl-s and my wife tl, we love these cars, best cars in their class, I dont even try to compere them to other because there is nothing to say, people who drove this car know what I I say. Performance is great, powerful, interior, acceleration, handling, features, all we need in one! BMW, Mercedes and others. Take these cars to Europe and drive it junks by yourself. :))

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  Fun TL Type S - 2003 Acura TL
  By Deputydog35 - April 29 - 7:20 am

  This car is one of the best cars I have ever had! It really quick and shames all those expensive German cars! I have owned my Type S for 5 years now and have had only on problem. The TRANSMISSION! It has be replaces 3 times and now is on its way out again with only 40,000 miles on the new tranny! Other then that the car has be PERFECT! I am now buying a 2010 TL. These cars are built to last minus the transmission on the older TLs. I also love the Nav even if its a little slow!

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  Enjoying the MDX Experience - 2010 Acura MDX
  By Brian - April 28 - 2:03 pm

  I have put some miles in the drivers seat and find the MDX is what I was after in comfort, styling, performance and safety. I typically drive distance spending hours at a time on roads in different states. The MDX seems to glide on smooth surfaces with little sound or feel from the road. However on rough roads, I notice wheel noise. I am impressed with little sound from the outside entering in the cab. I forget what other vehicles sound like as they rush by in this car. I enjoy the sound systems as do my boys with thier IPODs. The cornering and handeling of the MDX gives me confidence that I can quickly manuever when needed especially in rain.

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  Great Car - 2003 Acura CL
  By Happy Driver - April 27 - 1:58 pm

  Bought this car new. After 140K I still love it. One repair (about a month ago) other than normal maintenance. Fast (enough), quiet, comfortable, reasonable mileage for this type of car. Build quality is excellant. Styling still looks good. If they still made them Id buy another in a skinny minute. I do NOT like the newest generation TL even though the mechanicals are pretty much the same. If youre looking for a great used car, the CL-S should be on your list. Youll have to get another one though, Im keeping mine!

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  230,000 miles and going strong! - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Kat - April 27 - 10:57 am

  I bought this car brand new 15 years ago. I have loved it. I wish they still made Integras--I would buy another one. These cars rock!

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  CANT WIPE THE SMILE OFF MY FACE!! - 2007 Acura TSX
  By tsxpert - April 26 - 5:09 pm

  I absolutely LOVE this car. Hot Milano red with navigation, spoiler, sunroof, leather, heated seats, premium stereo, ground effects. It looks great. It drives great. It handles great. Its fast, fun, efficient, luxurious, gorgeous, bulletproof, and there arent a ton of them on the street. And Im serious, this thing is simply never in the shop! I wish everything worked as well as my TSX! I smile every time I get behind the wheel. The seats cradle you in soft, bolstered comfort. When you consider everything, this just may be the perfect car. There is nothing about it I dont like. Great job, Acura!!

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  Love this Ride - 2010 Acura TL
  By dnmlaw - April 23 - 4:05 pm

  This is my second TL (my other one is a 2006), and this one is even better, which is saying a lot. The SH-AWD is amazing and I appreciated the added hp. I compared it with Audi, Lexus, BMW, and MB. I have no regrets with my choice and feel that I have gotten great value for my money. While the exterior styling is controversial, I appreciate that it does not look like everything else, and my wife thinks it is great looking.

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  Im in love with my car - 2010 Acura TL
  By Nicole - April 22 - 10:42 am

  I love my 2010 Acura TL. I purchased the 3.5 V6 with technology package in white pearl. The car drives smooth, has quick acceleration and it looks amazing!!! Buy this car, you wont be disappointed.