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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  Nice performance sedan - 2001 Acura TL
  By AcuraT - September 9 - 2:00 am

  For a front drive automobile, the 2001 Acura TL is hard to beat. With the optional mapping system, impossible to get lost. Wife does not want another car without it as it makes getting to unknown destinations that much easier. Although others have reported transmission problems, at 53,000 miles after 30 months this car is holding up well. No repairs except for one rattle which has been resolved. The car is as troublefree as we had hoped. Highly recommended.

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  Best car for the money - 2004 Acura TL
  By ECB - September 8 - 12:56 pm

  Got a certified used 2004 NAVI TL (9000 miles on it) and I agree with most of the reviews. Performance is amazing. Navigation, handsfree and bluetooth systems work perfectly. Handlng and power and great. Interior/Exterior finish is very good as well. Only complaint is there is a fair amount of rattling (mainly in the front console) but Ill get that taken care of when I take the car to the dealer for its 15K maintence. Also, the ride can be a litte rough (but I attribue that to its sport car type features) and the aluminum trim along the sides of front console scratch very easily

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  Best sports coupe for under $30k - 2002 Acura RSX
  By MattsTypeS - September 8 - 2:00 am

  For under $25k you cant beat the features, looks and performance. The Acura name just sweetens the deal. Putting these features and performance in a BMW or Benz and it will cost $10k more.

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  Fix the Clicking - 2002 Acura MDX
  By shortyjw - September 8 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car after driving many and doing our research. Love the car, but hate the clicking noise the brakes make every time you switch gears. Weve had it in for service and called Acuras customer help line. Everyone says this noise is normal. It doesnt sound normal- especially for a car made by Acura that sells for almost $40,000. Dissappointed that Acura doesnt seem to think this is a problem, nor are they trying to fix it.

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  Thanks to Honda! - 1996 Acura NSX
  By ss5153 - September 7 - 2:00 am

  The Acura NSX-T is without a doubt the most reliable exotic sports car you can buy. It is one thing to have the money to buy an exotic sports car, and another to fund the extraordinarily expensive maintenance and repairs to the vehicle. I just bought a low mileage 1996 Acura NSX T in Formula Red. I cant believe that it still looks brand new! The previous owner took really good care of it! I can still tell people that its a 2002 model! 2003 changed to new headlights and bumpers.

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  My RL 3.5 (V6) Great Value for Price - 2004 Acura RL
  By vfccel - September 6 - 2:00 am

  I paid $36,000 for my RL 3.5 (V6) and it is well worth it. Really great ride, with no issues at all. In fact I actually enjoy driving it and I am someone who really doesnt like to drive a car. My previous cars have been a 2002 4 door, Honda Accord (V6) and 1993 4 door, Honda Accord. Great cars in the Honda family. The Acura RL 3.5 is a big step up in terms of comfort when compared to the Honda Accord V6. I cant wait for the 2005 RL.

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  RSX TYPE-S - 2003 Acura RSX
  By dan nguyen - September 6 - 2:00 am

  FACTORY TIRE WALL IS TOO THIN, WHEN YOU DECELARATE AT THE SPEED OF 100 MPH PLUS THE REAR SEEM TO BE SWAYING AT BIT.

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  Acura rsx rating - 2003 Acura RSX
  By rsx e kc - September 6 - 2:00 am

  fun to drive beautiful to look at,... i love it because its not so popular yet and i feel like im special

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  Acura RSX-S: Great All Around Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By check.mate - September 6 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my car for almost 2 years and have appx. 29000mi on the odometer. The car has had no problems and the quality has been top notch. It is very fun to drive because the engine loves to rev and you wont have any guilt driving the car fast because the gas mileage is excellent. I receive about 32mi/gal on the highway. After almost two years of owning this car, if I had to pick a new car tomorrow, I would pick the same car! Great gas mileage, more than enough handling and horsepower, great looks and Honda reliability. This is the best car Ive ever owned.

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  acura tl s - 2003 Acura TL
  By jaymaya - September 6 - 2:00 am

  I like the vehicle very much. It handles better than expected. comfortable, exceptional automatic shifting. not too bad on gas.