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:

• 

  My Second TL - 2007 Acura TL
  By rsreeni - June 16 - 8:00 pm

  I used to drive a 2000 TL which got totalled recently as a truck hit me and rolled over the car. I walked off with not even a scratch. I went and got an 07 TL. Even though overall I like the car I still think the acceleration is sluggish, especially when I am going thorugh heavy traffic & signals. I can visibly feel very well the shifting of gears & really wish it was smoother. Other than this I like my car, all the faciliies are wonderful especially the Handsfree link and the MP3 player.

• 

  Car for the money - 2006 Acura TL
  By mastergs - June 16 - 10:26 am

  This is an amazing vehicle. The voice recognition takes some getting used to. Ive had the car for two months now and I still have to fight my wife to drive it.

• 

  FALLING IN LOVE !! - 2002 Acura RSX
  By partymom - June 16 - 10:00 am

  THE FIRST TIME I DROVE THE RSX-TYPE S I FELL IN LOVE WITH IT, FROM THE SPORTY EXTERIOR TO THE INTERIOR WITH ALL THE CREATURE COMFORTS. I ACTUALLY ENJOY MY 120 MILE ROUNDTRIP COMMUTE TO WORK!!!! THE HANDLING IS SUPERB EVEN IN SERIOUS RAIN STORMS. I HAVE A 4 YR. OLD CHILD WHO IS ALWAYS WITH ME SO THE SAFETY ISSUE WAS A BIG ONE FOR ME. THE LAYOUT OF THE INTERIOR IS MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT THIS CAR, EVERYTHING IS WITHIN REACH WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD. I RECOMMEND THIS CAR TO EVERYONE BECAUSE IT FULFILLS ALL EXPECTATIONS AND THEN SOME!!! I FALL IN LOVE EACH TIME I GET BEHIND THE WHEEL (MY HUSBAND HAS TO BRIBE ME TO LET HIM DRIVE!!)

• 

  6 Months of RSX-S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By RSX02S - June 14 - 7:30 am

  The RSX Type-S is an ideal car for entry level luxury, sporty performance, usefulness with the hatch, and high levels of reliability, all at a reasonable price.

• 

  A more sporting TL? - 2005 Acura TSX
  By daschtick - June 13 - 1:46 pm

  This car has been my biggest surprise of the year. I needed to replace my wifes 92 Legend, and I was dead set on the TL after having previously driven one. But after discovering that many of the TL features had been added to the TSX for 05, I became curious about it. I had my doubts that the 4 cylinder would be satifying, but after the first mile, I found that it far exceeded my expectations. What surprised me most was the nimble feeling of the chassis which made it much more fun to drive than the more powerful TL. Throw in better mileage, and a $6000 dollar savings, and the answer became perfectly clear - TSX!

• 

  TL The Best - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mark Matlack - June 12 - 10:53 am

  Ive owned Honda Accord Coupes for the past 6 years. Step up to the TL and what a difference. I cant wait to drive the car. The XM Radio is the best and the Bluetooth phone system is fanstatic. No complaints at all. I would buy another one tomorrow and probably would go for manual.

• 

  Perfect Fit - 2004 Acura TSX
  By gt0279a - June 12 - 10:00 am

  Hands down the best car I have owned. The bottom line is I cant wait to drive the TSX everyday. Carbon Grey is a great color matched with the grey leather interior.

• 

  The best car in its class - 2004 Acura TL
  By Vtecne - June 12 - 10:00 am

  I love this car.

• 

  Acura - 2004 Acura TL
  By coach03 - June 12 - 10:00 am

  This is fun to drive. It responds when you accelerate and is very comfortable. There are so many technology features that it does take some time to learn but the time is well spent.

• 

  great car - 2004 Acura TL
  By hmseminole - June 12 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car the 1st week they came out. Car and dealer are unbelievable. Intitial cars had tire problem, but Acura has resolved this with mine and with the new models. Best car I have ever had.