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:

• 

  wonderful - 2003 Acura MDX
  By eric is cool - June 18 - 10:00 am

  its a great car for the price!!

• 

  Buy it Now! No comparison for its comps - 2005 Acura TL
  By Jaison - June 18 - 7:03 am

  Nothing bad to say really about this vehicle. I have several kinds of cars/trucks and this one is definitely up there for its price, look, relability, etc. It handles awesome, accessible features are at your finger tips. All the way around.... It is a well made car. PLUS it has great longevity and Great resale!

• 

  Great car!! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By gotong - June 18 - 6:40 am

  The car does seem to use a lot of gas for its size; good acceleration from stop; fun to drive you dont even notice the engine straining at high speeds (this is how I got my first speeding ticket); I got one foggy headlight (inside) that I had to have the dealer fixed but its no big deal; the radio control on the steering wheel is kind of squeaky; spacious trunk compartment. Overall this is a great car!

• 

  Great Car! - 2005 Acura TL
  By syslog - June 15 - 7:56 pm

  I used to own a 99 TL and it was a good car. Decent performance, lots of amenities, excellent navi. Interior quality was sub-par, styling was bland. I then moved to a 00 328i. Great performance, good looks, almost no amenities, tiny cabin. This new TL combines the best qualities of both cars and adds a panache all its own. Great performance, gorgeous to look at, both inside & out. Interior quality is excellent. The voice control has been integrated extermely well with the navi (you can say find nearest ATM, and the car takes you there). The only problem is lack of torque at low speed.

• 

  RSXELLENCE - 2004 Acura RSX
  By RSXELLENCE - June 12 - 2:00 am

  I am 17 years old and I am very thankful for having and choosing the RSX as my first car. I feel this car should have a much higher review rate, especially coming from fellow owners. This car has everything for its price and one of the most dominant in the sport compact genere. I love it, everything besides the sub-par Bose sound system.

• 

  what a car for the car nerd! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Tyle Davis - June 12 - 2:00 am

  this is a must see!

• 

  BMW Killer - 2004 Acura TL
  By ricopuno - June 12 - 2:00 am

  Excellent car, best value for the luxury you get, beats bmw 5, g35, and lexus hands down

• 

  Very Safe and Drives Great - 2007 Acura TL
  By unfsig - June 10 - 8:33 pm

  Ive had mine for about three weeks now and had an accident on the passenger side. The airbags worked perfectly. Only the ones that should have deployed actually did. The other car hit me fairly hard and the doors protected the passenger side appropriately. VERY FUN TO DRIVE. Reminds me very much of the older BMW 540, lots of torque and tons of horsepower. The only real difference I can see is that its made better, has more features, and costs an awful lot less. Its also a lot better looking than the new Bangle bimmers. The technology in this car is unsurpassed. Maybe a $90+K Mercedes has it beat, but I didnt pay $90k did I. :)

• 

  Car of the Year 2007 - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Fast Freddy - June 9 - 6:20 pm

  I have had my RDX for 3 weeks. It drives excellently. Acura is #1 in technology and luxury. Drive this SUV and fall in love with it.

• 

  Nice Car - 2006 Acura TL
  By Michelle F. - June 9 - 7:56 am

  I love it already and Ive only had it two days! The handling is great and I am having fun driving this car.