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:

• 

  Buy one - 2005 Acura TL
  By ZCT - January 16 - 6:40 pm

  Well Ive owned my new TL now for around two months now. Ive had the chance to take it for a long journey and some regular commutes. I am still happy each time I get into it. The car is truely excellent and I honestly cant think of another vehicle in this price range that would have been a better choice. The controls are great, the xeon headlight are wonderful at night, the stereo is amazing, the performance is fantastic as is the handling. The only negatives are the poor gas mileage around town and the seats are a little firm on a very long journey (over four hours). I was pleased to note that I managed 33mpg on a recent long business trip. I still highly recommend this car.

• 

  Amazing - 2006 Acura TSX
  By DanishJ - January 16 - 4:26 pm

  Its a good car, maybe the best car in its class. V4 but 205 hp. Thats almost as powerful as the camry v6 210 hp. Navigation is awesome and voice recognition seals the deal.

• 

  Fun to Drive - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Quest Fan - January 15 - 7:03 am

  After going through some more expensive SUVs, I settled for the MDX. Has more seating capacity than the RX330 or ML320 at a much lower price. Love the way they package the vehicle so you dont have to mix and match like other vehicles.

• 

  Best in Class - 2006 Acura TL
  By Jbarker - January 14 - 6:26 am

  We only have 1,172 miles on it, but it is an awesome car to drive. We had the custom wheels, tires and ground effects installed. Its a head turner. We just love it so far. In our opinion you cant go wrong buying this car.

• 

  A few things you can pick on, all in all great car - 2010 Acura TL
  By Steven Perlman - January 14 - 5:53 am

  Superior performance, great craftsmanship, very good value. The engine uses 1 quart of oil (synthetic) approximately every 3,500 miles, my understanding this is normal for a large number of this car model / engine. The engine is extremely strong and superior in performance as are the brakes and transmission. Trunk is slightly on the smaller side. Back seat ( at least with my AWD model) has a center hard hump that makes it impossible for anyone but a small child to sink on.

• 

  Car Mans Best Car - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Mr. Research - January 14 - 2:30 am

  2007 MDX may be best car Ive ever had. My previous cars were no slouches: BMW 540i (6-speed), M5, X5, and Infiniti FX-45. I loved all of them! This is very similar to X5 only leaves $20,000 in your pocket. This car has fantastic ride in comfort for most roads, and sports car handling on windy mountain byways. We love the voice controls for Nav, climate and stereo. Stereo is best short of Audi A8 which runs $8,000. If you can find one, buy it loaded! Taupe interior is gorgeous! Seats are sensational! Power is adequate. Incredibly quiet too.

• 

  Excellent Entry Luxury Car - 2005 Acura TL
  By HunterKillerNYC - January 12 - 4:50 pm

  As my first automobile purchase, and a longtime Acura fan, I absolutely fell in love with this car. The interior features are extremely sexy with the all leather trim and the blue effect lights, I get fairly decent mileage from this car, and the exterior looks very sleek. I still gawk at every TL I see on the street.

• 

  Nothing Else Compares in the Price Range - 2004 Acura TSX
  By jdb92626 - January 12 - 10:00 am

  Fun to drive even with the automatic! The car is built to last and gives you countless features which you cannot even get in most other cars priced 10-15K more. The sound system and navigation system make this car more technologically advanced and add to the "fun" factor. Surprising power from a 4- cylinder.

• 

  Best Bang For Your Buck! - 2004 Acura TSX
  By punchy13 - January 12 - 10:00 am

  Exceptional car and value. Hands down the funnest car Ive had the pleasure of driving. I still cant believe they got 200hp in a 4cyl car. It really has some zip and the tranny is as smooth as Barry White! Great styling and well constructed. I was also considering the Altima, Accord and Mazda3. I test drove them and the Altima felt cheap, the Accords styling was boring, and the Mazda3 was just too small. Besides there just too many Altimas and Accords on the road. The TSX is loaded with features youd expect from a car thats about $10k more. I got mine for $25,581 before tax and license (auto w/o nav). The TSX is as close to perfect as you can get.

• 

  A WINNER - 2004 Acura TL
  By BUNES - January 12 - 10:00 am

  ITS A WINNER--STLYE, PERFORMANCE, COMFORT, FUN, AND A GOOD SOLID VALUE. THE THINGS THAT ARE MISSING ARE OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE IN DAY TO DAY USE-- FOLD DOWN REAR SEAT, LIGHT IN THE SMALL GLOVE BOX, DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS. YOUR MISSING OUT IF YOU DONT AT LEAST GIVE A TEST DRIVE.