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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  Does what it is designed to. - 2002 Acura TL
  By Solman42 - August 4 - 2:00 am

  I have owned this vehicle twenty six months and have had no problems with it. As an entry level luxury sedan I believe it is without question the best value on the market. It has more speed and better handling than most people will ever use. Very comfortable on a 3500 mile drive. Gas mileage is 22-23 general driving and up to 31 on interstate. Highly recommend it.

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  Excellent auto - 2003 Acura RL
  By Boozer - August 3 - 2:00 am

  This care drives like a dream. Everything is beautifully layed out and the navigation system is fun and almost always accurate. The fuel economy, however, is nothing to write home about. Low to mid 20s per gallon for a combination of driving.

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  go 2,2cl!!!!! - 1997 Acura CL
  By mark1 - August 3 - 2:00 am

  This is my second Acura - liked my original Integra very much, but the 2.2cl is sportier and more fun to drive. It is thoroughly reliable and quick to respond and easy to handle. I have only had the usual repairs, brake pads + replacing the timing belt at 90,000 miles.

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  Its Not A Legend - 2003 Acura CL
  By Matthew James Black - August 3 - 2:00 am

  The 2003 Acura 3.2CL Type S is much quicker than was my 1995 Legend it has a higher level of technology and it has greater convenience but its not a Legend. It doesnt have the big luxury car feel and road presence of the Legend. My wife complains that the Type S makes too much "boy noise" - - a fault my ears fail to detect -- but every morning its the car she takes to work, leaving the Lexus in the garage. Ive driven the car on two vacation trips this year and find that the power and handling are as good as one will find in a front-wheel drive sport coupe.

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  Lovin it! - 2005 Acura TL
  By Joshua - August 2 - 10:46 pm

  I go for looks and the Acura TL just kept making my head turn. I love the shape and its sporty-luxury look. I visited a showroom just to check it out and then just had to have one when I saw the interior. I recommend the one w/ the Navigation system. My ten year old son and I are just having a ball with the car. The wife and daughter are totally into it too. I love that I got so much for the money. :)

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  06 TSX Rocks! - 2006 Acura TSX
  By madtown acura - August 2 - 5:30 pm

  I love my new TSX... just picked my new Carbon Grey Pearl w/ ebony leather. I opted for the 6sp transmission with the GPS. I was a little leary spending the extra $2k for the GPS but its well worth it! It works so well and is very helpful. After driving the 05, I can say that the 06 is a better car. Fit and finish seems better and the little bump in horsepower is well received. In short - I love my new car and highly recommend aquiring one should you have the means.

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  Buying this car was not an accident - 1997 Acura CL
  By Diva13 - August 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car in 2000 it had 7000 miles on it I think it was a demo. It has been the best card Ive owned No mantiance problem since ive had it. I resently has an really bad accident, an the police officer said that having this car saved my life. I walked away with out a scatch. They dont build them like this anymore. My next car will most likely be an Acura.

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  A good choice..... - 2000 Acura TL
  By New to Acura - August 1 - 2:00 am

  I have always wanted to break into the near luxury market and the Acura seemed like the best bang for my buck......but now having driven the car for 2 years, I cant see myself in any other vehicle. Aside from the value, the design, performance and brand recognition make this the only luxury car I would ever consider driving......

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  Fast pass - 2002 Acura TL
  By Greenmachine - August 1 - 2:00 am

  Acura TL S is the best buy for the money out there. It combines speed, comfort, quality and reliability at a very reasonable price. You do not pay for the car twice as you might with German or American cars. It could shed some weight to sharpen the handling even more and please add another hook for clothes Acura. Lose the wood trim inside for a titanium look or charge a few more dollars and make it real wood. This is a car that is ready when you are and nothing seems to ever go wrong with it.

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  Reliable car - 1995 Acura Integra
  By jay_friendly - July 31 - 2:00 am

  One of the best cars that I owned so far. Except a few aging problems and regular maintenance such as brakes, belts/water pump, radiator, I havent had any major issues (except ABS controller unit light showing up - although it always worked) The paint is still in decent condition with hardly any rust. It still gives me the same gas milage at a little over 100K miles. Even though I also own a new Infiniti G35, I still love driving my lil Integra :) I have really driven this car everywhere and abused it even.