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 7th honda product - 2002 Acura RSX
  By sam - February 21 - 8:50 pm

  the most fun car since my 93 prelude

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  lost its value - 2002 Acura TL
  By gary kennedy - February 21 - 2:00 am

  I have had the car for 2 1/2 years and it has 102,000 miles. No problems, not even brake replacement. Mileage is 30 mpg, better than rated. Very quiet,no wind noise, squeaks, or rattles. I was shocked when the dealer offerred me less than $10,000 dollars for trade on a new $35,000 TL.

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  3.7L SH AWD - 2012 Acura TL
  By Nick - February 20 - 5:49 am

  Bought this car from a nj dealership in aug.2015. Traded in my truck and just needed something to get me from point A to B. Quite frankly, this car rocks!!! I took this car on the highway-- I-80 North..it took my breath away when it hits the corners. The AWD drive is just unbelievably impressive, even at high speeds. The seats hugs every inch of your body, keeping you sucked in as the car hits high speeds in twist and turns. Not muscle car status, BUT it delivers a wallop of a ride. Good job Acura. The voice recognition and Bluetooth are very responsive, in fact the entire tech setup is ergonomically satisfying. Only objection: TOO COMFORTABLE.

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  Its Got It All - 1996 Acura Integra
  By CEEDUB - February 20 - 2:00 am

  This car had everything I was looking for: low maintenance, reliable, sporty, nice handling, fast yet good on gas, nice-looking. Lots of upgrades available through aftermarket channels. My car has over 155,000 miles on it and it still rides almost like new. The only repair Ive had was the clutch pressure plate cracked and chipped at 120k, so I needed a new clutch (replaced original). The rear wing could be repainted, too. The sun, rain and wind have worn down the paint on the corners. Other than that, I love the car. Only drawback is its high theft appeal.

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  Getting The Looks - 1996 Acura TL
  By SCB81 - February 20 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with 71,000 miles. It now has 87,000. this car has been good to me so far. The only problem Ive had thus far is a ball joint is starting to fail and cause a loud squeeking noise from under the drivers side fender. I replaced the stock wheels with the 02 3.2 TL Type S wheels and the car looks almost brand new, despite the fact that its 8 years old. This car always turns heads. I love it!

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  pretty good car - 1990 Acura Legend
  By D.D. - February 20 - 2:00 am

  This car was great cinsidering it is my first car, but it has also cost a bit, for example, 500 bucks for a/c fixing and another 700 in a/c repairs still needed, power steering leak (a couple hundred) new battery ($100), a new paintjob and a few other repairs, nothing too huge, but right now, i think my transmission is slipping and it makes a funny noise when i turn

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  Bullet Proof CL 3.0 - 1998 Acura CL
  By undertoad - February 20 - 2:00 am

  Never once has this car let me down. The only failure Ive had was the thermostat ($22.). At 112,000 miles the original exhaust system and battery are still fine. Outside of recommended maintenance, only tires and brake pads have been replaced.

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  Great Car!!!! I love it!!!! Buy One!!! - 1999 Acura TL
  By john32 - February 20 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. I have one with 109,000 miles on it and it has never had any problems. You should buy one if you want a reliable, fun to drive, best exprerience of you life kind of car.

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  great car - 2004 Acura TL
  By frank477 - February 19 - 10:00 am

  Great car at good price. My wife likes my TL better than her car. That means I sometimes emd up with her BMW 325

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  Overall very good - 2004 Acura TL
  By mestocker - February 19 - 10:00 am

  As many have said before, this is the best car out there for the money right now, and most of the negatives are relatively minor.