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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  A Super SUV - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Mattyloudness - October 13 - 2:00 am

  A ton of room and flexibility with the seating, and it drives great at 75mph! So smooth and quiet and handles perfect. It also gives you so many options that are standard you do not have to add anything to it! Its our first SUV and glad to have it!

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  Beautiful - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Caper - October 13 - 2:00 am

  Love it!! The blue is a hot color!!

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  2007 Acura MDX - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Gary Luce - October 11 - 11:53 am

  This is my first Acura and it sure is a pleasure to drive. Handling, braking are superb and rival my wifes Audi A6. The tech package has just about every bell and whistle you can imagine.

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  Acura RL - 2004 Acura RL
  By laura25 - October 11 - 2:00 am

  I was waiting to make a left turn in a turn signal lane, when another car to the right of me decided to jump into my lane to also make the left turn. With my Acura, I was able to manuever my car out of his way with just a flick of my steering wheel. The other driver couldnt believe I got out of his way so Quickly. Thank God for my Acura.

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  My Nighthawk Black Pearl RSX - 2003 Acura RSX
  By coldfusion - October 11 - 2:00 am

  Great little sports coupe. Handles well and engine seems to enjoy being pushed. Theres very little low-end torque, however it picks up once you get moving. Exterior design is very well done. Interior materials could be better -- leather feels cheap and seats are uncomfortable over long distances (I commute an hour to work each day). Comes with some excellent features -- power mirrors, cruise, AC, auto-stick that round out a nice package for the price. Fun to drive.

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  Great Vehicle - 2002 Acura MDX
  By jsdtbd - October 11 - 2:00 am

  I have read the most recent reviews (from Aug 2003 to present) and I agree, there is a clunking sound with the brakes when changing gears. Concerned me at first but realized it was normal. However, something should be done about it in future models.I have had no problems with paint-thankfully! We did purchase this vehicle based on Consumer Guide. It has met all of our expectations. It is pricey and you will pay full sticker for one. But very enjoyable to drive.

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  Acura MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By vcnyc - October 11 - 2:00 am

  The MDX is fun to drive and extremely responsive in harsh weather. It breaks on the dime in rain and snow. The interior is extremely comfortable and spacious. My only disappointment is fuel economy. I am averaging 14 mpg in the city and 20 on the highway.

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  excellen toverall - 2003 Acura MDX
  By blue opal - October 11 - 2:00 am

  Beautiful car has third row, lots of power, dependable good in snow , excelleent daily driver. Pound for pound the BEST suv in its class.

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  Harry Potters Broomstick - 2009 Acura TL
  By Harrys Fan - October 10 - 2:13 am

  I was debating between the 2008 Lexus ES350 and this Acura. I am so happy that I have made the perfect choice to bring it home. I love it. The driving is very smooth and powerful. I am driving a lot everyday, the MPG is around 28 on freeway. The seats are very comfortable. I love the design inside out. I did not purchase the tech. package, but came with the car are the bluetooth, iphone connection features.

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  GS-R: A 4-door joy - 1995 Acura Integra
  By Tom T. - October 10 - 2:00 am

  This vehicle has been a workhorse logging 40 miles of commuting daily and weekend ventures into Chicago. When I needed to leave somewhere in a hurry (like, for example, Chicago), it was there. Too low to be a comfort vehicle - my wifes back kept us in her car for longer trips - and not the best in winter snow, it was still a dream car for me.