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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  High Quality Ride - 2004 Acura TSX
  By brlwest - January 2 - 10:00 am

  The new Acura TSX is a classy well built small sedan. It looks expensive inside and out. The TSX doesnt let you down on the performance side either. The handling and general performance are very good. But not perfect-- it could use more low end torque ( from a small V6, maybe?). More pwerful brakes and a less jittery ride would be a help, too.

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  LS to TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Hd colt - January 2 - 10:00 am

  I sold my Lincoln LS and bought the TL. The Acura TL is more fun to drive and even more comfortable. TL interior appointments are first class, best I have seen. There is a very soothing feeling being in the cockpit, blue lights and best looking of all. Navigation system is best in the industry and extremly user friendly.

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  Acura RULES - 2004 Acura TL
  By Richard Zumbaugh - January 2 - 10:00 am

  Ive researched many cars, this car beat them all, hands down. It is fun to drive and looks awesome inside and out. The features it offers are unbelieveable - the DVD Audio Surround Sound stereo is the bomb as well as the XM radio feature. I cant say enough great things about this car.

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  2.3 CL - 1998 Acura CL
  By docmaller - January 2 - 2:00 am

  Wonderful combination of elegance, enjoyable driving, economy, and quality. Unbelievable for the money.

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  My first new car...and I still have it! - 1993 Acura Vigor
  By Sagehen - January 1 - 2:00 am

  After a 158000 miles as the original owner, I can honestly say I still consider this my "new" car. The driving experience is great whether I am tooling along at 70 down the highway or driving through the local mountains to the in-laws! Sadly, they stopped making them after only a few years, which makes them somewhat unique and collectible (yeah!) but also contributes to making parts a little more difficult to find (sigh). Have friend at work who bought one used and loves his as much as I do mine.

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  The Forgotten Acura - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By Texan_176 - January 1 - 2:00 am

  The vigor is a wonderfully designed BMW style car from Honda. See the lists of cons vs pros in this review for an objective review. If I wrote a text review it would be bias since I own the car and would tend to favor the pros.

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  Dependable - 1997 Acura RL
  By Harriet - January 1 - 2:00 am

  Purchased car with 30K on it. Now have 65K. Only problem was a transmission replaced under warranty and fair brakes. Excellent long distance cruiser with comforable ride, excellent seats amd Bose sound system.

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  Still on top - 1992 Acura NSX
  By swbatte - January 1 - 2:00 am

  If you want a reliable supercar, that will turn more heads than any Porsche, the NSX is for you! Still one of the finest cars on the road.

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  GREAT CAR - 2000 Acura Integra
  By LINDA - January 1 - 2:00 am

  LAST CAR WAS AN OLDS. THIS IS A REAL TREAT..... NO PROBLEMS ITS A QUICK CAR.

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  Solid Car - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Jamesbuffalony - January 1 - 2:00 am

  Purchased the Last remaining 2003 model left on the lot for about $700 less than TMV. Car has been wonderful, great in the snow, great ride, wonderful interior quality, engine smooth, transmission pretty good, suspension excellent for an SUV. interior room great, rear seats ok, last row good for kids. mileage typical for an suv (poor). Accidentally closed the garage door on the roof. Acura service was top notch. Very honest professional and courteous. This car is A STEAL for the $$$. And you dont have to deal with the pretensiousness from the german dealers.