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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  Great SUV - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Jeff - September 14 - 11:43 pm

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  Great car - lousy subwoofer - 2002 Acura RSX
  By eric_n_dfw - September 14 - 10:00 am

  Ive only had the car for a week, but it is already tied for the most fun car Ive ever driven. (Tied with a 90 CRX-si I used to own) Everything is very well put together and the 6 speed is the best shifter Ive ever used. I drove a base model with the automatic as a loaner yesterday and am very glad I opted for the Type S. The automatic, combined with the lower horsepower, was noticably slower and the step-tronic shifter seemed silly. Gear shifting without a clutch just lacks the feel needed on a sports coupe. My only real beef with the Type S is the inexplicably weak subwoofer. From some searching on the internet, it seems that a lot of other owners agree.

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  Why buy a high endAccord,Avalon,orLexus - 2003 Acura TL
  By F Meyers - September 14 - 10:00 am

  TL is a cream puff- Keyes Van Nuys- great price and no stress).-Internet shopped. Wife "wanted"Avalon but now only wants to drive the TL. Regrets-look more closely at the TL S. What discouraged me were the larger turning radius (40 vs 37 ft) and the 17" tires (less treadlife and possibly not as comfortable).

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  Love this vehicle - 2008 Acura MDX
  By leennp - September 13 - 6:03 pm

  Purchased this vehicle to replace Suburban and its string of problems and have been nothing but pleased with the MDX. Even like the nav system which I only got so I could get the DVD and rear lift gate. Highly recommend this vehicle, gas mileage has been better than stated.

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  smooth ride - 2004 Acura TL
  By jamminlos - September 12 - 10:00 am

  a smooth ride with great kick when you need it.

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  My first car. . . . . - 2002 Acura RSX
  By RadSuperXtreme - September 10 - 10:00 am

  Oh my god this car is freakin AWESOME ! Its fast and I love the sportshift.Looks great on the outside and its kind a all right on the inside.The leather seats is very comfortable.And the red lights in the controls are awesome at night.I wish they would have made the back seat more head room cause my passengers keep bumping their head on the sides.Overall this car is awesome way better than the celica and oh yeah the new CELICAS look like freakin RSX how cheap very cheap.Thats all.

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  Awsome >two thumbs up> - 2002 Acura RSX
  By ant0258 - September 10 - 10:00 am

  Perfect for all types of people. I drive mine to school and i got all the ladies. And i added lots of attachments to it.

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  Outstanding SUV - 2005 Acura MDX
  By HappyRealtor - September 9 - 3:06 pm

  Have owned this vehicle since Nov. 04 and never ONCE regretted my choice. Shopped for 6 months before deciding on the Acura MDX. As a Realtor, I drive many hours a day with clients and they absolutely rave about the ride. Wouldnt be without the NAV system -- its awesome and gets me out of traffic jams easily. Comfortable, easy and fun to drive. Holds tons of cargo and the third row for seating is actually roomy enough for adults! Only wish the gas mileage were a little better but that is typical of all SUVs. I will keep this vehicle for as long as I can.

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  Does the Acura Link really work? - 2005 Acura RL
  By Gerry - September 8 - 4:10 pm

  The car is great! I enjoy the voice commands, the power and stability. The navigation and futuristic dash make driving fun. It really holds the turns.

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  Best SUV In Price Class - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Bill - September 6 - 12:03 pm

  SUV handling is exceptional, lives up to marketing hype. Technology is easy to use, however expect a learning curve to master all aspects of manual and voice commands. Third row seating area is of margional use (small children). Excellent power at mid and upper ranges. No early build or mechanical problems noted.