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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  Love the stick on the LEGEND! - 1991 Acura Legend
  By RVIA - April 6 - 2:00 am

  I have driven this car for twelve years and just cannot find anything I like as much. Part of the attraction is how good the Acura dealership has been in servicing and repairs: Acura STANDS BEHIND its cars and as far as my experience goes, makes buying almost any other car a very hard move. Classy, roomy, and peppy.

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  Fun to drive and turns heads - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mike_in_Jax - April 6 - 1:50 am

  This is probably the most fun car that I have ever owned. I just wish I had waited to get a 6 speed manual with navigation. I got the automatic, which is fine, but the manual seems so much faster.

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  Great job Acura! - 2007 Acura MDX
  By AcuraReview - April 5 - 12:56 am

  Excellent ride and lots of bells and whistles for the price. Safe vehicle great for our growing family. My wife and I are expecting our first child in a few months. We purchased this car so she could have a safe, reliable vehicle that could also be great for kids and have some class/luxury to it as well! Very happy with our MDX purchase! The class leader in our opinion!!

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  Lovin My MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Tracei C - April 3 - 2:00 am

  An EXCEPTIONAL vehicle! The softest leather Ive ever encountered in a car, the BOSE sound is truly premium, handles like a dream, takes corners like a hot knife through warm butter! Build quality is superior to every other SUV Ive driven by far. Have had my MDX for over 1 year now, and still lovin it as much as I did the very first day. A TRUE DREAM MACHINE.

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  Go Buy One! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By The Doctor - April 2 - 7:43 pm

  The Type-S is flat-out the most fun car I have ever owned/driven. The ride is smooth, and there is plenty of power under the hood. The interior is one of the most impecibly designed in a sub-$30,000 vehicle I have seen. And because Honda makes it, I know it will last a long, long time with few problems.

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  Fun To Drive - 2004 Acura TL
  By Mainline - April 2 - 10:00 am

  Great car and so fun to drive. Glad I stayed away from the BMW. More money for alot less. Love the navi system and the great DVD sound. Satellite radio is also a plus.

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  Great car! - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Judith Sousa - April 2 - 12:50 am

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  Buy the Accord - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Scott S. - April 1 - 11:23 pm

  I was preparing to replace my Honda Accord and wanted to move up. The TSX doesnt feel any smaller, but the backseat is a full 2-inches smaller for legroom. While 2 inches may not seem like much, it matters when you have children. Then theres the matter of power. This car does not zip. The Accord V6 has 40 more HP, and gets the same gas mileage. If youre going to compare - the Accord V6 with Nav is more comparable to the TL, not the TSX. The TSX feels more like a spiffy Civic.

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  Awesome car! - 1998 Acura CL
  By KevinC - March 30 - 2:00 am

  I bought the car in 2002 with 82,000 miles on it. It now has 122,000 miles and is still tight and reliable. Other than brakes, tires, and oil changes this car has been nearly trouble free. I did have to replace the drivers side electric window motor.

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  A SATISFIED CUSTOMER - 2004 Acura RL
  By Dave in Oregon - March 30 - 2:00 am

  Hi everyone - I leased my latest Acura on Feb. 29, 2004. After searching and driving many cars, and considering the fantastic deal Acura was offering, I made the decision to go with the 2004 RL. I drove the Lexus ES300, the BMW 5 series, and looked at Audi. The RL has a wonderful feel, the instruments are well placed, and with the optional chrome wheels, its quite a handsome vehicle. I do wish it was abit more thrifty with the gas, but its getting a solid 18-22 and still has less than 2000 miles. Hopefully, it will get better.