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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  Brother to purchaser - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Jerry Randolph - December 30 - 2:00 am

  Having driven with my sister in her newly purchased 2002 MDX, the solidness, the control of the steering mechanism, the voluntary movement of the inner controls of the car taking turns, curves, up and dowwnhill movements were excellent.

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  Great Car! - 2003 Acura TL
  By KGrabe - December 30 - 2:00 am

  Just got it and I am overall very happy with it. The Nav system is a little lacking. ItÂ’s great if you are in a Major metro area, but if you are traveling and want to find a place to eat in a small town, forget it!! It also needs to be smarter about finding alternate routes to the same place. CD player jammed, and Acura is going to replace it this weekend. Other than that, this is a great car. If you are looking for a car that all the bells and whistles, and really performs, this is the car for you. Handles like a dream on the curves, runs like a cheetah with its butt on fire in the straights.

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  Getting a new RDX - 2016 Acura RDX
  By Linda Jones - December 29 - 11:35 pm

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  Best Sedan, Next to the TL, Hands Down - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Yaz - December 28 - 12:53 pm

  Comfortable, Speedy, Stylish, Worth your every penny.

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  great car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By M@ - December 28 - 2:00 am

  Excellent car. Ive owned my gsr for about a year and a quarter and I love it its nearly perfect. The only thing ive replaced was the brake booster solenoid, and the front brakes

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  Greatest car Ive ever owned - 1991 Acura NSX
  By CanadaCraig - December 28 - 2:00 am

  The funny thing about owning an NSX is that you feel like youre in on a wonderful secret that not too many people know about. The NSX truly is a wonderful car. Its been over 8 years now - since I bought my 91 - and I STILL get excited whenever I even THINK of going for a drive. That said - both power window regulators were replaced [to include the stronger plastic clip that holds the windows in place] and the little a/c auto-temperature fan [the little fan behind that small grill on the dashboard] was replaced twice. I also replaced the clutch - once - and the clutch master cylinder.

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  Nice car for ages 26-32 with kids - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Chad - December 27 - 8:30 am

  After a long search for a new car that would give me what I wanted for the right price. I choose TSX in Feb, at $26,200 out of 29,600 thanks to Edmunds. The only problems I have had so far is the transmission. Other then that the car has been great. The people at Lynnwood Wash treated me and my family with respect and GREAT service. Something you dont see anymore. Ohh I bought the car out right which made it easier to find a great rate.

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  Acura Rating 2003 - 2003 Acura RL
  By Scott Shannon - December 27 - 2:00 am

  I looked at Mercedes E Class, Lexus, Infinti and found this car which was the best in power and handling. It has been the best value car for the money I paid. You need to drive it to see for yourself.

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  Underrated - 2000 Acura RL
  By gcmorse - December 27 - 2:00 am

  The RL has been exceptionally reliable and the support from the dealership has been excellent.

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  ccool - 2003 Acura MDX
  By okidoki4 - December 27 - 2:00 am

  Very well built, solid vehicle, lots of cargo room