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 Practical Sports Car - 1996 Acura Integra
  By Robert Sheridan - July 22 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 1996 LS when my wife changed careers and needed our 1999 Civic coupe as a daily driver. Plus, we needed a car to haul around our 65- pound Siberian Husky. I never thought Id own a car that was more fun to drive than my old 88 Prelude, but the Integra beats the Prelude hands-down. The Integra hugs the twisties like a Porsche, possesses a zippy high-revving engine (I routinely redline the tach), is virtually maintenance-free, and has tons of cargo room.

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  Hondas Rule - 2003 Acura RSX
  By HondaMxRacer - July 22 - 2:00 am

  Hondas are the best car you can get! The Rsx type-S is a very good car. Its much Luxury for me,I would trade the Luxury for a Turbo..... Im young though so count in that,Honda is to Conservative. I say forget a ulev and build a car that smokes everything,Honda has more technology then any other car period. OK Im being mean but Neon Srt4s will beat you.

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  Overall Good - 2001 Acura CL
  By johnlemvp - July 22 - 2:00 am

  Picked up the car used. 2001 CL-S w/ Navigation. Its pretty luxurious, some well though out features. Suspension is pretty stiff, but it is a Type-S after all. The only major thing I hate about it are the rattles. I was able to fix the rear rattling, but I still get rattles from the side. The Navigation is really nice, I just need to buy a never version of the software on DVD.

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  mdx ride - 2004 Acura MDX
  By carl555 - July 21 - 10:00 am

  Recently, I woke up late for my flight. It entailed a fast ride to the airport.At speeds of 80-90 mph I really experienced the true handling of this vehicle.It was pure peformance. The engine purred and the ride was tight and really tracked to the road. For an SUV it was unbelievable. This really is a great vehicle.

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  Where is the display - 2009 Acura TSX
  By J.R. - July 20 - 3:40 pm

  I gave my 2000 VW New Beetle to my granddaughter It was a great car, fun to drive and with a turbo, more than enough power. My new TSX w/o nav, is not as much fun. But, my main gripe is that when it is sunny, I cannot see the center display. Acura need to brighten the display or produce it in a color.

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  Excellent car! Could not be happier! - 2005 Acura TSX
  By Chris - July 20 - 5:43 am

  This car comes loaded with features already, moonroof, heated seats, dual climate control, xenon lights, 6-disc in dash, great audio, no need to upgrade unless you want navigation. The price is great. The power is surprising for a 4 cylinder. It has plenty of kick when you hit the pedal. The car is solid, handles just fine, is great in the snow, and has great safety features. The optional navigation system is easy to use, has a lot of features, including voice activation. The fuel economy is great. Premium Fuel. Navigation system has a trip computer to give you information on fuel usage, mileage left, and averages. Overall great car, very fun to drive, well built, and good resale value.

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  Legend an excellent car - 1993 Acura Legend
  By Bob T - July 20 - 2:00 am

  bought used in 1997 with 53K miles. Now have 125K miles. Have had no mechanical or electrical problems. Starting to show a little rust. Very happy with car and dealer service

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  rl 3.5 - 2004 Acura RL
  By gary Lippman - July 20 - 2:00 am

  this automobile handles exceptionally well. Styling hasnt changed in 4 years, it is due for one. The interior should have a 6 cd changer inside the the car, on the dash, not in the trunk. Very roomy and comfortable for the long trip.

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  Best Car Ive Ever Owned - 2003 Acura CL
  By JohnRascal - July 20 - 2:00 am

  The Acura CL-S, inside and out, has been carefully thought out in style, comfort, and luxury. Not an overly-built vehicle with unneeded or unnecessary knobs and "doo-dads" in the way to spoil the simplicity of design and use. This car has all the bare necessities and all the extra items built to fit the drivers and passengers needs for a comfortable ride. Owned mine without problem for 9 months -- without even a rattle or squeak. Marvelous vehicle!

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  for Funnnnnn - 2003 Acura RSX
  By ccce - July 20 - 2:00 am

  To me there is hardly any difference between the handling of the 3-series BMW and this car. Ive driven everything from a BMW to a porsche 911 but if you cant afford these luxury cars the acura is the next best thing. Acura is the Asian version of the German made BMW. It is exactly what it says it is a sports car...with a 4 cylinder v-tech engine you cant really go wrong. The car is so light weight (aluminum) with its 200 horsepower you feel like your flying. All in all its a fun car to drive when you dont want to put too many miles on your luxury car, or you need something within your budget.