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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  more luxury than sports in this coupe - 2003 Acura CL
  By vaid02 - March 18 - 2:00 am

  this was my first car, and im very very happy with it...for now. its a great luxury car with an enourmous power band, but only in the lower gears. your gonna have to downshift to get any acceleration, but when you do downshift, its there. the handling nowhere near matches the power though. its all but non-existant. for a japense car, the price your paying, and the fact that luxury comes first in its name, you cant expect much. although its not horrible, it cant match BMW or anything else in its price range. but you can tell how they cram in so many options as standard equipment, by cutting back in certain places.

• 

  Good vehicle but not a great vehicle. - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Outlaw 06 - March 18 - 2:00 am

  My wife drives the MDX primarily for shopping and shuttling around our 3 children. I drive it primarily on weekends. Like all Hondas, the MDX offers good reliability and value (dealer price gouging notwithstanding). The MDX is built well and has a very good engine and drivetrain. The MDXs interior quality and ergonomics are also very good. However, performance is average, handling is unimpressive and the vehicle is noisy at highway speeds. Braking is HORRIBLE, the MDX takes forever to stop! Additionally, the MDX is not very stylish when compared to other "luxury" SUVs such as the BMW X5 or Mercedes-Benz M-Class (regardless of the price difference).

• 

  Great SUV!!! - 1998 Acura SLX
  By Jewell - March 17 - 2:00 am

  Great truck, everyone who rides with me is amazed by the comfortable ride, the interior amenities. #1 comment is "Its like riding in a limousine!" Good looking truck, if you ask me.

• 

  Very good car - 1991 Acura Integra
  By xs6dfg01 - March 17 - 2:00 am

  I bought my Integra in the Spring of 1997 and sold it in the Spring of 2002. This was the best car I ever owned. I would have kept it but I needed a 4-door vehicle. I purchased it with 60K miles on it and sold it with 150K miles on it and it still ran so quiet you didnt even know the car was turned on unless you looked at the tach! Honda makes the best 4 cylinder motors on the planet, period.

• 

  Legend Coupe - 1995 Acura Legend
  By rmoch - March 17 - 2:00 am

  This was my dream car - have put over 100,000 miles on it and still love it. There has been no other car made that has turned my head. I get more comments about this car wherever I go.

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  Best Vehicle Ever Owned - 2001 Acura MDX
  By dsippin - March 17 - 2:00 am

  We are complaetely satified with our MDX. A perfect mix between luxury car and useful SUV. Handles great, extremely comfortable, and quiet. I think the milage is great for a vehicle of this size- it gets over 22 mpg highway. Also, we do use the Nav system all the time- a great system! The only thing I miss is that low-end punch you get from a V-8. Definitely not the last one we will buy.

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  Minor Problems - 2000 Acura TL
  By PoorAcuraService - March 17 - 2:00 am

  Overall the 3.2TL has performed OK but I have some nagging problems that the dealer will not fix. The windows rattle when it is cold, the transmission clunks when it downshifts, the speedometer/odmeter reads 7% high (The dealer says that is within spec). So when it says you are going 75MPH you are actually only going 70MPH and the gas mileage is only fair (20MPG overall). The other problem is the heater, it gets hotter and hotter in the car even when it is set on 65.

• 

  Great affordable luxury/sport sedan - 1990 Acura Integra
  By crxbrett - March 16 - 2:00 am

  I had the 90 GS Sedan and never let me down. The car handled and cornered like it was on rails (I did upgrade the wheels to 16s and had low-pro tires). The engine is adequate for city driving, but needs to be revved past 5500 rpms to get any kind of power (0- 60 is about 8.5 seconds). SO A 5-SPD IS A MUST! Do not get an AUTO! The cabin is very nicely done and isnt too fancy or dated looking. I recommend the 90- 93 Integra if you want a car with good looks, good driving characteristics and good reliability.

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  Honda/Acura has another winner - 2000 Acura TL
  By brucen1953 - March 16 - 2:00 am

  After 3 Honda Accords, I moved up to an Acura TL. I loved my Hondas (I gave my last one - a 1997 - to my daughter, who still drives it, and has no visits to the repair shop), but the Acura is even better. Smoother ride, great performance, great handling (though the Honda was superb as well). I also like the understated styling, and the fact that everything comes standard. Im sure I will get another one when the lease ends this summer. If I had any item that was less than perfect, it is the brakes, which seem to sag a little on occasion.

• 

  04 Acura TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By fcerauli - March 15 - 2:33 pm

  Great car... fun to drive... great design and comfort... plenty of power... rattles like crazy... taking it to the dealer one rattle at a time! (Still love the car).