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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  Sporty Sedan - 2007 Acura TL
  By Ed - January 3 - 4:24 pm

  After test driving a number of sedans, I chose the TL over the Infiniti G35X. The TL is roomier and has a sporty ride with tight handling. (I loved the growling exhaust of the G35X but my wife thought it was too noisy. Oh well.) So far I havent experienced any rattling and cabin noise which is a common complaint. Im 63" and have trouble positioning the seat and steering wheel for optimal comfort. My hands and arms get sore on long trips. Im clearly biased toward the Acura. This is the third Acura Ive owned. I traded in a 1990 Legend. I hope to keep the 07 TL for many years as well.

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  Nice - 2004 Acura RSX
  By Reed - January 2 - 11:18 am

  I have owned my 04 Acura RSX as original owner. I have not had any problems mechanically. Brakes and tires and maintenace is very reliable. I have 66,000 miles to date and wouldnt get rid of it, except its kinda small in the back and a little bored with it. If you like coupes its great. Dependable. Moderately quick and pretty fun to own.

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  Perfect car at the perfect price - 2007 Acura TSX
  By Mikey - January 1 - 5:48 pm

  Plenty fast enough for daily driving, gives me an average of 33 mpg at 75 mph cruise control on long drives. Its not necessarily "sporty" compared to actual sports cars. It has stone hard economy tires and a soft luxury suspension. So take it for what its worth or upgrade your tires and suspension. Looks are subjective but I still think it looks nicer than most cars even after the 4 years its been in production.

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  A drivers SUV - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Al - January 1 - 11:30 am

  About 3 weeks into my ownership, and I love the MDX so far. It is probably the most comfortable drive of any vehicle I have owned, including luxury sedans. I narrowed my choices to the MDX, Q7 and XC90 and the MDX won without too much thought. And the value is outstanding for what you are getting.

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  Love It !! - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Tami - January 1 - 12:33 am

  Love the RDX/ Tech Package. Ive had the car for a month now and love driving it!! BUT Im getting really bad gas mileage 12.5 mpg in the city really bad at average speed of 14 mph. Other than the poor gas mileage I love everything else about the SUV.

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  This car ROCKS!!!!!! - 2006 Acura TL
  By GREAT CAR FOR THE PR - December 30 - 2:30 pm

  For the money, this car is outstanding, both in preformance and comfort. I am an outside salesman, and drive many miles. If I take a client out to lunch, they are amazed with all of the features this car has. As a kick, I usually let them drive it, telling them to push it to the limit. Some of these customers drive cars that cost MUCH MORE then what I paid, and they are VERY impressed. I think that I have swayed at least two of my customers into buying a TL. I have always owned Honda automobiles, my last one is still parked in my garage, a 1997 Honda Accord with over 300,000 miles on it. I still drive it, but it is not as fun as my new TL!!!!

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  OK, but two major problems - 2004 Acura TL
  By conan - December 30 - 12:37 pm

  I have had this car for 60K miles. It has been OK in general, but these cars are supposed to be really reliable. It isnt. I have the manual six speed transmission. At around 32K miles the car would not go into reverse. I brought it in and they ultimately ended up replacing the entire transmission (under warranty). Now at 61K miles, the power steering pump has failed and needs to be replaced. This seems to be low mileage for this to be failing. I have had no other problems, but these two problems are major. I will not be buying another Acura.

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  Love My TL-S - 2007 Acura TL
  By nomominivan - December 27 - 2:05 pm

  I got my TL Type S July 07. It has 3500 miles on it and love it. Its gorgeous! I am very comfortable in it, although I am not very big. My husband is not as comfortable but hes tall. I love the power and the handling that this car offers. Step on it and go! I like the feel of the road, and this car has that. My kids are comfortable in the back. The sound system is great. I love the back up camera & the ipod plug. I do have a rattle on the back trunk lid part where the speakers are. Will have them check it at my first service. I did have to replace one of the tires because I hit a pothole ($240). Tire guy told me the low profile tires are horrible. They look cool tho. So far very happy!

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  Acura 2001 MDX - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Alicia - December 26 - 7:11 am

  Bought my 2001 MDX back in 2003. Have never had any major problems with it. I love the MDX, very sporty for the money. Engine light came on and took it to the dealer. It needs a new transmission. It only has 79,000 miles on it. I have followed all the maintenances on it, changed the oil every 3,000 miles. Just so discouraged at this point. Not sure how this happened.

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  Cars are for Driving - 2005 Acura TL
  By Alex A - December 21 - 1:53 am

  As good as this car is for the money, it falls short in driving dynamics to its German competitors. Its far from "bad", but after owning 2 VWs and 1 BMW, Ill take the German cars anyday for pure driving enjoyment. However, considering what you get in the TL for the $$$, you cannot go wrong. IMHO the TLs exterior design is gorgeous. Ive already brought the car to the dealer to replace the power memory switch. Normal in some German cars, but not normal for Acura. Overall, a great car for the American Market.