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 Cool Car! - 2010 Acura TL
  By RSPS - March 9 - 4:56 pm

  2010 Acura TL/Tech, best car value for the drive and luxury ever. Very well built. My long distance drive feels too short now! It looks gorgeous with its sharp ready to pounce exterior. Wo said it was ugly, controversial Yes, Ugly no, Futuristic Yes, bland blending into sea of cars, No!

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  My Mechanic told me to buy a Honda. - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Honda Gooooood - March 9 - 2:54 pm

  My Mechanic told me to "Just go buy a Honda", when I told him that I wanted to Dump more money into my Ford again. I didnt like the exterior design of the Integra originally, but I decided to buy this car, after weeks of just reading reviews on all the cars that I was interested in. This one had the best reviews. Cheap & Reliable. This is by far the best decision I couldve made. This vehicle is definitely SOLID. Its @ 217,000 miles and feels like I bought a newer car! So if you find one in decent shape & a decent price, get it. I got this car for $700 bucks, privately owned. Finally! After 2 Fords, 2 Dodges, a Jeep, a VW an Olds and a Chevy, in less than 15 years. Finally, Reliability!

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  Awesome - 2010 Acura RDX
  By Bill - March 9 - 9:24 am

  This is the second Acura I have owned, the MDX being the first. All things considered it is the best small SUV on the market period. I looked at them all- BMW, VW, Audi, etc. As long as you are not looking for a troop transport it has plenty of space.

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  Update afetr 6500 miles - 2009 Acura MDX
  By JSC3605 - March 6 - 2:40 pm

  Love the SUV. Just got back from a trip to Pittsburgh. Got over 24 MPG on the highway. This machine is very quite, fast and has lots of room. Great SUV for the money...:)

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Mr Gone - March 5 - 10:18 pm

  Honda (and Acura) vehicles have always felt like home to me. I had been away for awhile but when I decided to get a new car last summer, I chose the TSX. I dont think you can buy a better looking, driving, or better equipped car for the money. The car has nearly everything I could want in features, the handling is very nimble, it is supremely comfortable on long or short trips, I really like the interior and exterior styling. The torque off the line is a little low but when you get the engine in the zone it pulls hard. The navi system is great, the best part is that its a Honda at heart and should run forever. My car as 53K miles on it and it still looks, feels, and even smells new.

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  Fantastic value for the $$$ - 2010 Acura TSX
  By nyccarguy - March 5 - 7:59 pm

  I purchased our 2010 Acura TSX TECH as part of the cash for clunkers program over the summer. It will eventually replace my wifes 2007 BMW X3 when the lease is up at the end of July. I really like the sharp, exterior styling. The interior is gorgeous and well put together. I love the ride & handling. The ride is comfortable without being plush. Put your foot down and the TSX zings all the way up to its 7000 RPM redline. The TSX is a terrific value. It gets great gas mileage. Id recommend it to anybody.

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  Awesome - 2010 Acura TSX
  By AIH - March 4 - 5:53 pm

  I just got rid of my 2006 BMW 325i for this and dont regret it at all. The interior blows away any 1-5 Series BMW. Ride quality is amazing and the price right now for one is great! Look at spending around 26,900 for one!

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  Total Satisfaction - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Terry - March 4 - 3:01 pm

  I had narrowed my choice down to the BMW 328i or the TSX and after driving both cars the choice was fairly easy, with my wife in agreement. First, let me say that unless you are into racing or hot rodding, you dont need the 6 cyl. and you will get the bonus of much better gas mileage. So far I have averaged 27.6 mpg. The car is loaded with features, so you dont really need to buy any options and the price is great for the luxury level. My only complaint is the trunk is access with any bag larger than a "carry-on", but is deep once you get past the opening.

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  best vehicle ever made - 1994 Acura Integra
  By vito352 - March 3 - 8:11 pm

  I bought my first integra last christmas. It was such an amazing car. Unfortunately, it caught fire and burned to the ground 2 weeks after i got it. it was caused by an after- market electrical setup. (not my work) I recently got another one. I have to say, they are the best cars you can buy. amazing performance, very reliable, EASY to work on. i love my integra more than anything and wouldnt trade it for a lambo.

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  RDX Review - 2010 Acura RDX
  By Sandra - March 3 - 6:43 pm

  Im a first time Acura purchaser in her 50s. I reviewed several SUVs of this size and type (including BMW X3) but the RDX kept coming to the top of my final list. And Im really happy with my choice, it was the right one for me. I really liked both the test drive and the time the dealership spent on answering my questions. Its a very comfortable ride, and I ride high up, which I like. I feel very safe in my car and it gets me where I need to go. Ive only had it a month and have more to learn about its many features (the tech features are amazing), but it will come in time.