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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  Perfection - 1996 Acura Integra
  By brujc - July 4 - 2:00 am

  I have owned my Integra for 7 years and I have had no, I repeat, no mechanical problems. The only things that I needed were a new power radio antenna and tires. Not bad for seven years. Ive had more fun driving this car than any I have owned and Ive owned Zs and RX7s.

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  More Bang 4 The $ - 2003 Acura RSX
  By geofkent - July 3 - 2:00 am

  My last performance car was a BMW Z3. It proved to be too impracticle for most purposes so it had to go. I wanted to find a car with the same performance but usable interior and trunk space. Well, I found it! The engine, transmission (6speed) and brakes/suspension are all world-class. Plus, you can actually haul stuff with it. Lots of stuff. Oh, buy the way did I mention? It runs like it looks...FANTASTIC!

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  Fun, reliable, convenient all in one! - 2002 Acura TL
  By Franzi - July 3 - 2:00 am

  I love my car! I had a 1999 CL and loved it but wanted more room and 4 doors. So, I ugraded to the TL. Its been fun to drive. I especially enjoy the sport-shift and the power in traffic or for fun. Of course the reliability and quality of Acura overall is the reason I bought the TL and I have not been disappointed. I would recommend Acura and the TL to anyone wanting a practical but fun vehicle with excellent service personel and locations for regular maintenance.

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  All-Around Awesome Vehicle - 2005 Acura RL
  By Matt Carmody - July 2 - 5:33 pm

  This car really has the best of everything. Luxurious and roomy, yet responsive and fast. Quiet, yet possessing an unbelievable sound system. Simple to operate, yet loaded with features such as handsfree Bluetooth telephone, real-time satellite traffic and XM radio. And best of all - its all standard. There is no other car in this class - not BMW, not Mercedes, not Lexus, not Audi - where you get what the RL offers for $50K. When you get done with all the upgrades needed on other models to even come close to matching the RL, youve already moved into a whole different price range. You just simply cannot go wrong with this car, and its a pleasure to drive.

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  Simply an awesome, awesome, awesome car! - 1994 Acura Integra
  By Spoiled in SF - July 2 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned my 94 Integra LS 2-door for almost 10 years, and it has been amazing and extremely reliable. Only now am I starting to make larger maintenance investments, but those are mostly the result of my hard-driving road style... but dang, its been a lot of fun getting it to this point! Great performance, great price, just a sweet car if youre on a budget.

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  Integra GS - 2000 Acura Integra
  By Byron King - July 2 - 2:00 am

  My family and I have owned the 2000 Integra GS up till now and my dad still thinks that this cars drives brand new. If you believed that the Hondas were reliable and efficient... think again. Since the day we bought it this car has been such a pleasure to drive. It is extremely reliable and very fuel efficient. Downfall is probably the back seat space because it is quite condensed. Overall though it is a great car to keep, I know my dad has no intention of selling this car.

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  Class and magnificent workmanship - 2003 Acura CL
  By resedaruss - July 2 - 2:00 am

  Ive got over 7000 miles on it and it has been pure pleasure the entire time. In my neighborhood there are quite a few fancy cars yet when I bump into neighbors at gatherings they identify me as the guy with the Acura in the driveway. Everywhere I go--work, parking lots, store, etc.--Im constantly paid complements by strangers on how "beautiful" my red CL is. (I was afraid the police would attack a red car, but theyve left me alone.) Its a rare car that can outrun me (corvettes, V8 Mustangs, etc.) but I hang embarrassingly close to even those cars (for them). There are no rattles, no problems, handles like its on rails--I love it.

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  The best car Ive owned - 2003 Acura RSX
  By MattsRSX - July 2 - 2:00 am

  I was in the market for a new car because my 98 Audi A4 1.8T was dying at 86,000 miles. Another A4 was tempting but too expensive and unreliable. I wanted something fast, fun and somewhat practical. I was flipping through a magazine when I came accross the RSX Type S. 200 hp 2.0 liter engine, 6 speed tranny, Car and Driver 10Best. Wait a sec...this car is only $23k! I picked up my Artic Blue Pearl RSX Type S on Friday, June 27th and I am in love. I can get 30 mpg and still smoke a V8 Mustang.

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  my RSX - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Jon687 - July 2 - 2:00 am

  This is a fun car to drive, but i have had it in the shop a few times. The glove box door was loose, window came off track, dead headlight and the leather seats are cracking an wearing out, car is a bit noisy on the road.

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  FAST AND FUN - 2001 Acura CL
  By FLYER0029 - July 2 - 2:00 am

  THIS CAR IS JUST PLAIN AMAZING. THE SOLID BUILD AND EXCELLENT ENGINEERING MAKE THIS A JOY TO DRIVE!!