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 Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Sonictbd - July 20 - 2:00 am

  This car has been everything it was hyped to be. I would not trade it for any car in the price range under 40000. Compare this car to others in its class and you will see their is no comparison.

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  My Last Acura - 2002 Acura TL
  By Jeff C. - July 20 - 2:00 am

  I have now owned two TLs - 1999 and 2002. 1999 had share of problems. This 2002 has been a constant problem. If I didnt know better, I would think I have a 1980 jaguar. The rotors constantly warp - replace 3 times and turned twice. Transmission replaced once. CDRs with labels will get stuck in CD-player. Navigation screen replaced once. And the best part of this horrible car - The dealerships take at least 3 to 5 times to get anything fixed. I will be in a German car for 2004.

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  Waking Up - 2002 Acura RSX
  By German Boy - July 19 - 10:00 am

  Impulse buy. Loved the looks in and out. Now Im waking up. Engine is good - for a motorcycle. Ride is good - for a hay wagon (brutal if pavement is not perfect). Im a 65" driver who has no head room and no legroom... I thought Acura was a luxury brand. I want my Passat back!

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  Acura Type S - 2003 Acura TL
  By TypeSacura - July 19 - 10:00 am

  The Acura is the best bang for the buck. I traded my BMW 330 for my Acura and I am so happy with this car. The type S model is faster and attracts more attention than any other car in its class. The car only has a navigation option. WOW what a car

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  Honest review from an Acura owner - 2002 Acura RSX
  By bepear01 - July 19 - 2:00 am

  Purchased the car 1 year used with 22,000 miles. Fun to drive, great handling, engine feels solid. Build quality appears to have gone down slightly, but could be due to 1st prod. year. 1st-2nd gear shift is notchy and grinds occasionally (known problem - no fix). Leather is wearing on drivers side. Should have used leather with a higher coefficient of friction (sliding around during cornering is annoying). Replaced factory audio with aftermarket... Bose system was pathetic. As others have stated, there is much road noise.

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  miguelito - 2005 Acura TSX
  By miguelito - July 17 - 9:43 am

  Driving the tsx is very nice, real quiet, great sound system and it handles corners like a sports car or better.

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  Love it - 1998 Acura TL
  By Roadrunner - July 17 - 2:00 am

  I live in Canada. Bought this vehicle, last year from a dealer with 67000 km (41000 miles). The car was in mint condition. Its mostly used by my wife and after 11 months its has a little over 80000 km (50000 miles). I love every aspect of the car. Its drives like an expensive luxry sedan and has a vert smooth drive with effortless power.

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  CAs Acura - 1990 Acura Legend
  By CA - July 17 - 2:00 am

  Wonderful, reliable car. Good looking, head turner. Maintenance requirements minimal. Good fuel economy for luxury sedan.

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  pleased - 2003 Acura RL
  By kato - July 17 - 2:00 am

  Brought this car after thinking about cars for a few months. Was really interested in buying the Lexus ES300. Have small children so I knew I would need a car that was roomy. When I arrived at the dealership I just looked for a while before asking for help. There where no ES or Volvos S80s on the lot. (The Volvo was another choice I was thinking about) Saw the RL in a distance and immediately loved the look of it. Even forgetting the look, (though Im a stickler for a luxury style car) the ride was a dream. Of course I listened to the sales pitch about its resale value and great reliablility. You wont be disappointed in this baby.

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  This thing is sick - 1997 Acura CL
  By Johnny Dukes - July 17 - 2:00 am

  This car is unreal. It combines the technological masterpiece of Variable Valve Timing (VTEC) with a sleek look and Honda- esque reliability. I got mine with 73,000 miles for around 8,000. A Honda Accord wouldve been a cheaper investment with similar results, but I went for the head-turner instead and am very pleased with the results I got.