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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  The Acura - 1992 Acura Legend
  By RBeighle - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I have owned many cars from various manufacturers and this is simply the best. I typically keep a car for 3-5 years before trading, but cannot part with the Acura. It is now my wifes car and will only occasionally let me drive it. Nothing but quality and fun.

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  Love my Acura - 2003 Acura RL
  By mitchellmtmwnm - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I have had 2 Acura RLs and have very good results with both. I would buy another one if the price is right.MTM

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  Great car for the price - 2001 Acura RL
  By FabianBG - October 22 - 2:00 am

  This car is a true comfort to drive in at any speed. You can very easily accelerate onto the freeway and feel like you are floating at 65 MPH over the road. Very reliable and no major problems after 36,000 miles other than a fog-light going out.

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  nice car - 2004 Acura RL
  By C Jones - October 22 - 2:00 am

  Great car

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  Last of the best - 2003 Acura CL
  By flhoss - October 22 - 2:00 am

  Sorry they decided to drop the CL series. The chip resistant paint job is great. Driving on the freeway I was to the left rear of a bus. It hit a pile of broken boards. They flew up and slammed into the right rear side of my 2003 Cl-S shaking the vehicle. I stopped to see how much damage had been done to my car with only 900 miles on it. I was elated. Absolutely no damage, not a scratch or blemish. I still look occasionally to see if I missed something. I am 220 lbs 6 feet and seat is uncomfortable, head close to roof, rear window very difficult to clean inside. Still love my CL-S

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  I Love My Acura - 2003 Acura CL
  By fun - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. It was one of many that i test drove, and i just fell in love with it... It is worth every penny!!!!

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  2nd MDX - My thoughts - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Rolly - October 22 - 2:00 am

  Very nice solid ride. Good visbility, but had to add the sonar back-up warning signals to go with the camera. Camera is kind of useless. They should let you hit a button and activate it while its going forward. Totally carlike until you back up.

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  Smokin - 2003 Acura MDX
  By castle - October 22 - 2:00 am

  The ratings that the website gave this vehicle is a travesty. This vehicle is a 10. It is quick, handles like a sports car, and is extremely reliable. The comfort not only matches the performance but exceeds it. It has a 265hp motor that is very quick and will not let you down when driving through the mountains. The MDX gets 21.5 miles to the gallon in city driving. Though this vehicle is not the most visually stimulating (looks real good with running boards and galvonized panels), I live in Colorado and know how well it does on ice and in the mountains. Word of warning to those that race against MDXs, its quick so watch out.

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  MDX 2003 - 2003 Acura MDX
  By AGBew - October 22 - 2:00 am

  Best thing is the handling and when I first encounter rain the windsheild wipes went on automatically...blew me away. What a comfortable SUV...much better than my previous Durango. My daughter loves the DVD.

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  Best bang for luxury-SUV-buying buck! - 2003 Acura MDX
  By VP - October 22 - 2:00 am

  Compared to Volvo XC90 AWD T6, BMW X5 (3.0), the Acura MDX clearly outshines them. For less than $37K you get a loaded luxury SUV with better performance and reliability. The BMW and Volvo serve the brand image buyers who have more dollars than sense. Acura is for the smart buyers who want the most for their money.