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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  THE CORPORATE INTRGRA - 2002 Acura RSX
  By BRONXBOMBER - March 30 - 2:00 am

  The 2002 replaced an 89 Integra which had 171,000 miles. It is an overall excellent car - but - somewhere, somehow it has lost the little edge that the Intrgra had. It just isnt as fun to drive. I have a Base and use it to commute to work 42 miles a day. The engine is peppy enough. Handling is fine.30.3 MPG. So far no problems.

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  Love My Race Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Rob P - March 30 - 2:00 am

  I have drvien hundreds of cars in my life. . Other than the NSX. . .I have never driven a fun, exciting, envigorating car as the RSX Type S. . I cant say enough about it!!!!

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  Happy Acura Owner - 2000 Acura TL
  By mmarco - March 30 - 2:00 am

  This is a great car with above average performance from a smooth engine, quite operation (quiter than our Lexus), and excellent comfort. Were going to buy the new 2004 3.2.

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  All I can say is WOW! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Dimka.m - March 29 - 2:03 pm

  The car is a blast to drive. With the i-VTEC kicking in it becomes a roaring monster! So you have the power when you want it and the MPG that you need.

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  Superb car - 1995 Acura Integra
  By stvr440 - March 29 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned this terrific little machine going on 9 years. It is a perfect combination of sports and practicality and has been a joy to own. Other than routine maintenance it hasnt been in the shop for anything. All in all the best car Ive ever owned and Im going to keep it for quite a while yet.

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  AMAZING - 1995 Acura Integra
  By DAKPOO - March 29 - 2:00 am

  The Integra is truely a wonderful car. Beautiful,long-lasting, and well worth its price.

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  I love this car!! - 1994 Acura Integra
  By zenozin - March 29 - 2:00 am

  There have only been a few complaints anout this car. Ive had to replace the A-pipe, which apparantly is common. The radiator sprung a leak at about 100,000 miles. Other than that, I have 216,000 miles and its still going strong. The paint is starting to deteriorate off the top and back, but thats from years in the hot Central Valley sun. I love my car!!

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  Still Kickin - 1990 Acura Integra
  By Psycobob - March 29 - 2:00 am

  Awesome car. Its a 90 RS automatic, and it has over 425,000 miles on it. Still kickin. Started smoking a little at startup this winter, but with warmer weather that has gone away. Fun do drive and cheap to maintain. I have had to do very little to keep this car running. If you are looking at getting an integra, you wont be disappointed.

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  3.2TL is a sure thing - 1998 Acura TL
  By wpit - March 29 - 2:00 am

  wonderful car, fast, affordable, and stylish.

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  disappointed - 2003 Acura MDX
  By alias6276 - March 29 - 2:00 am

  After owning the vehicle for 6 months I wished I had purchased something else. Its not worth the money. Although the performance is good, it falls short of my expectation for a luxury SUV. The lousy gas mileage (not getting the rated mileage) combined with the premium gas makes me ill every time I pull up to the pump. They say you shouldnt buy a car you cant afford to drive. I can afford it but I would rather spend my money elsewhere. The main reason I bought it was for the resale value, just didnt think I would have to cash in so soon.