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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  01 MDX Touring Navi - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Promed - March 10 - 2:00 am

  Vehicle was good until the tranny began failing at 63,000 mi. Acura offered to pay half of the $5,510.00 to replace tranny. I paid $2,755.00. Appealed to Acura and dealer for something more, since I am a 15-year customer of this dealer. They said, "No thanks." I questioned trying a first year model, in 2001. Know that replacement tranny was not immeidiately available when my repair was done Dec.02. Seems that Acura is having more wide spread trouble with the MDX than they will admit. Acura extended warrany from 50,000 mi. to 100,000 mi. on the tranny of another model. Not for 01 MDX. Buyer be ware.

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  Great Car - 1996 Acura TL
  By CGKansas - March 9 - 2:00 am

  Extremely reliable and great ride. I bought it as a certified used car and Im planning to buy a new 2004 TL replacement.

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  Stupendous - 1991 Acura Legend
  By RBeighle - March 9 - 2:00 am

  Bought this car new and enjoy it as much today as the day I drove it off the lot. Power, comfort, styling, and economy. Driving it puts a positive spin on your day. Gas mileage consistently runs in the high 20s on regular unleaded, which is only a small sacrific in performance. I have been shopping for a new car only because of its high mileage, but so far nothing compares.

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  Solid, Competent Luxury Sedan - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Craig528 - March 9 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car from its original owners about 1.5 years ago--since driven it 44,000 miles (total of 194,000). Rides well, very fast--hard to cruise at less than 80 mph. Acceleration is authoritative. The car handles passably at a modest pace, but front wheel drive discourages enthusiastic driving. Quality of interior materials is excellent. Control layout and gauges are superb, simple to operate. The seats are comfortable and supportive. DO NOT expect parts to be cheap for these cars--many parts are now special- order. On the other hand, this car has never left me stranded.

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  Great car - 2001 Acura CL
  By Jgrupp - March 9 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. It is fun to drive, is responsive, has a great passing gear, wish it had been available in six speed when I got the car... Great buy.

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  hmmm - 1994 Acura Integra
  By LS_TEG - March 8 - 2:00 am

  Amongst the most fun cars Ive ever owned, the torque is just right, handles like a charm. Im having issues with the coil springs breaking presently and the ABS arming prematurely, but for a 10 year old car whats to be expected right?

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  Not completely luxury - 2002 Acura TL
  By AJ Ditzler - March 8 - 2:00 am

  I cannot find a perfect seat position, neither can my wife. When my legs are the right distance from pedals, Im too close to the steering wheel. Seats are slighly uncomfortable for long trips. Love the interior, thought I loved the exterior, but now seems a little bland. It is a very fun car to drive, but the OEM tires dont come close to matching the cars performance. As for holding its value, am very disappointed in what I see for trade in. New transmission at about 24000 miles, but dealer was excellent. Transmission always has and still feels very weird shifting into drive, very long delay. For the money, should have bought the Honda Accord.

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  Better buy than a BMW - 2003 Acura TL
  By My first Acura - March 8 - 2:00 am

  This Acura TL has the horsepower and acceleration of the BMW 530. I am always the first away from the traffic lights. The best part is that it costs $20,000 less than the BMW 530 and the normal service is so much less than what BMW charges. No more BMWs for me!

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  GREAT CAR GREAT VALUE - 2004 Acura TL
  By CURTIS JONES - March 8 - 2:00 am

  THE 2004 TL IS A GREAT CAR, YOU GET MORE THAN YOUR MONEYS WORTH....EVERY OTHER CAR ON THE MARKET YOU HAVE TO PAY EXTRA FOR THINGS THAT SHOULD BE STANDARD...

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  Simply amazing vehicle - 1991 Acura Legend
  By professorbryce - March 7 - 2:00 am

  This car is great! The engine is very powerful and it is very luxurious. Hard to find any car this good without a 3 pointed star on the hood! 3 of my motor mounts went bad and it cost $700 to replace them, but the car is now running like new with 166000 miles. Also beware of cooling issues. The engine cooling system can act very weird sometimes. Parts are expensive but this car is worth every penny you put into it. Even with the problems ive had, its never left my stranded.