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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  Good car - 1990 Acura Integra
  By kevlexus - April 1 - 2:00 am

  Purchased my car with 150k on it. Had to get a 2nd car because of these high gas prices and having a SUV will break your pockets. Car is very fun to drive. Car is very easy to fix and parts are cheap and readily available. Dont have to go to the dealer for everything( my previous car was a 95 BMW 740i). Anyone with a basic knowledge of auto mechanics can keep this car running and tuned up. Driver seat was a little worn when i brought it but it seems like all of them are like that with this many miles on them. Seat cover fixed that problem. Paint still has a little luster to it. Very good 2nd car or car for a student.

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  Excellence for the money - 1997 Acura RL
  By joepcrowley - April 1 - 2:00 am

  I have had it a few years and with the exception of a blown fuse one time. I have not had to do a thing to it. But it is almost brake time. What a fun comfortable car.

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  Integra 2000 -- I Love It! - 2000 Acura Integra
  By M. Moore - April 1 - 2:00 am

  Granted, I prefer small cars, but graduating from a Honda Civic, this car was just that much better. Its sleek profile never goes out of style, and it handles really well. I can always scoot through where SUVs fear to try. My husband had a much more expensive car and agreed the handling on the Integra was much better. Mechanically, this car is a dream. Aside from scheduled maintenance, Ive never had a single mechanical failure. Ive been leasing it for the last three years, and Im seriously considering buying it.

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  Cant be beat ! - 1990 Acura Integra
  By REL-GA - March 31 - 2:00 am

  Purchased this car in Sep 1990 and now have 195,000 miles on it. The reliability is unbelievable. It has the original clutch, alternator and exhaust system. The only money sunk into this car has been routine maintenance (oil changes/brake pads/belts/water pump). Excellent for a first time driver.

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  91 Acura Legend 4dr L sedan - 1991 Acura Legend
  By mrfoxy54 - March 31 - 2:00 am

  Bought this car with 91K on it a year ago. Other than no cupholders which ive struggled to get used to..even now, this car is a joy to drive and to look at. parts are not that much higher than Honda. Gas mileage around 23 - 26mpg. with new tires (i have Dunlops) and wheel alignment correct, this car rides like a dream.

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  Price-performance ratio gets no better - 2003 Acura CL
  By despair - March 31 - 2:00 am

  A $30,000 car with the luxury and features of a vehicle far more expensive. The CL has enough power to make extended highway driving as much of a breeze as peeling away from stoplights, but sacrifices not an ounce of driver comfort for that performance. From the heated leather seats to the (admittedly gimmicky) shiftable autotransmission, this car as all about giving you that in-command feeling, at a price you can actually afford.

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  Reliability and Value - 2000 Acura RL
  By D, Biernacki - March 30 - 2:00 am

  One of the most reliable cars on the road today. Cant believe how reliable this car can be. Great experience with all previous Acuras. Dealership should be a model for any manufactures service standard to beat.

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  Rsx-S == Good; - 2002 Acura RSX
  By mooboydc5 - March 29 - 12:06 pm

  Very smooth car. As in smooth shifting, smooth pickup, and smooth exterior styling...

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  Acura actually mfrd a lemon! - 2001 Acura CL
  By jenr8er - March 29 - 2:00 am

  I took my 1st CL (97)to 110k w/o ever using the warranty. Completely different story this time around. Nearly every recall and service bulletin my car has been in for-from rattles to a blown transmission. Whats worse is that while service did everything they could on my repeated SRS/engine light issues, we had exhausted all resources (6 visits) and were praying to the car gods to please let it be fixed. Read the recalls/TSB for 02 & 03 models-they are nearly identical. Feeling a little sketched out by it all and thinking maybe I should find something else to drive til they get it together in a year or two!!!!!

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  My 2005 TL is worth every penny I paid. - 2005 Acura TL
  By rosemarie sodano - March 28 - 4:20 pm

  This vehicle handles the road and rides very tight and safely. It is comfortable, the navigation system is superb. It offers blue tooth tehnology, satellite radio. The surround stereo system is fantastic. It lets you know how the percentage on much longer to change your oil. It is a luxiurious vehicle. I highly recommend this car.