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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  My RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By Tom - June 3 - 12:36 pm

  I like this car so much that I feel like I should write to Acura and thank them for selling it to me!!!!!It is technologically "loaded" but still simple to operate. The Nav system, voice recognition, and xm radio are great. It also handles almost as well as a sports car without the bone jarring bumps.

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  My 2nd TL - 2007 Acura TL
  By bbj - June 2 - 6:23 pm

  This is my 2nd Acura TL Nav. I just traded my 05 Anthracite for a new 07. Many people thought I was crazy, but it was well worth it. This car is much better than 2005. The ride is better, the features ext/int. the sound is awesome. This car is a keeper. I took white w/taupe this time, since its more of a luxury color. There is nothing not to like in the new TL. Everything you need, you get.

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  Pride and Joy: My 2003 Acura TL Type-S - 2003 Acura TL
  By T. Godfrey - June 1 - 10:00 am

  From the moment I took delivery of my 2003 Acura TL Type-S, I knew it was going to be a match made in heaven. From its smooth acceleration, superb cornering ability, roomy interior, dependability, and the blissful aesthetics - I am still convinced I made the correct choice in purchasing an Acura. While driving to/from work, I still get the occasional stair from curious on- lookers. I love my TL!

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  awesome - 2004 Acura TSX
  By honda power - May 26 - 10:00 am

  power, looks and feel. this car is a treat to drive, everything fucntions properly.fit and finish are excellent. tight quiet. my only complaint would be american models get far more options.

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  acura TSX - 2004 Acura TSX
  By cheryl dambacher - May 26 - 10:00 am

  ive driven 7 acura TLs 2.5TL to 3.2TL. always a very reliable car, great to drive, and holds value. i trade between 43K and 48K. ive just purchase the tsx and only have 800 miles on it. it is a sport feel to drive. havent noticed the difference in the 4 cylindar from the V6. Dont know about the gas mileage yet... There is the same amount of room in both TL and TSX. I traded down because the TL took a jump of approx $4000. didnt want to pay over $30,000 for a car that i use in real estate.

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  Great Car Test Drive It and see why - 2004 Acura TSX
  By pinkfloyd - May 20 - 10:00 am

  This Is My first new car and I am Happy with my TSX, Its fast and The quality is unmatched for the price. Love the car. So will you.. Test drive it but also take alook at the TL..(Nice). Took my time and looked at lots of rewiews and acura and toyota had the best reviews of all. but toyota is bland and has no style.

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  Fantastic car, just wish it was RWD - 2004 Acura TL
  By xmen94 - May 20 - 10:00 am

  I have had this car for about ten months now and really have enjoyed it quite a bit. I used to have an old (1986) Porsche 911, and while this car is competely different in almost every way, its a lot of fun to drive and anyhing but utilitarian. I have only had to bring the car in for scheduled maintenance so far and I have nearly 14K miles on the car. Total maintenance bill so far...~$130. Not bad considering that was less than a months maintenance on the Porsche. Overall this is an excellent car and an excellent value. BMW and Audi simply cannot compete with the value this car offers. They may be slightly nicer cars...but not $8K-$10K nicer.

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  So far so good - 2006 Acura TL
  By animalsrush - May 19 - 3:36 am

  Good looking car with healthy dose of comfort and performance. I love the ride quality and performace is quite good. However i am still getting used to jerky pick ups

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  Best 4 on market - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Henshaw - May 14 - 7:23 am

  The TSX handles well and has a great 4 engine which does best at high RPMs. This makes it fun to drive particularly in the manual shift mode. The interior is well laid out with everything you would want standard.

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  Love It! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By robbiefresno - May 12 - 10:00 am

  Love the car. Looks great. Drives Great. Nice and tight ride with a very responsive engine. Friends are impressed. I take Mulholland Drive home from work now just so I can drive the curves. The stereo does need to be played loud to get the bass but hey, this car is for sporty people with sporty tastes.