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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  still a great car after 9 years - 1994 Acura Vigor
  By jecjr - March 15 - 2:00 am

  Great car and both two a month apart-only problem was ac repair on evaporator element for both cars.

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  Beware of the name - 2004 Acura TL
  By Lucas31 - March 14 - 10:00 am

  First week was a blast. I drove it everywhere I could. After that, things started to happen. Rattles from the glovebox, rattles from the headliner, vibrations from the sunroof. the dealer, of course did not hear the problem. My TL was in the shop more than in my garage. I must say I will be trading it in for a BMW. You might pay a bit more but it is well worth the price!

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  Much Better than the G35 - 2004 Acura TL
  By JBHunter - March 14 - 10:00 am

  I really enjoy the actual AL trim inside the vehicle. The manual trans. is one of the best I have ever driven. The Brembo brakes provide great performance but I have experianced some brake "glazing" causing brake squeaking... You usually find this with high performance brake pads... The seats and cabin is neatly appointed with a fit in finish that is beyond what I expected...

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  hard seats, bad suspension, great stereo - 2005 Acura TL
  By iggy - March 14 - 6:06 am

  This is a great car for a 16-30 year old who has an extra 35 k to spend. It has without a doubt the best combination of horsepower and sound system in any car I have ever driven. Now for the 30 and over set, the seats are leather which have no softness to them, ie they are like sitting on a hard leather bench which is quite uncomfortable on long rides. The damping system or shocks is adequite only on smooth roads, any imperfection in the road is immediately transferred to your spinal column otherwise in a jarring and overly communicative fashion. Having driven Audis in the past I am used to road feel, this car gives you almost no damping and is a quite harsh ride especialy with the hard seat

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  RSX REview - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Guy - March 13 - 11:56 am

  This is a cool ride

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  Japanese, but still best overall - 1996 Acura RL
  By BostonMatt - March 13 - 2:00 am

  Well Folks. Have driven prety much every vehicle under the sun. Owned Jaguar, Saab, BMW, Mercedes, Nissan, and Mitsu...While the Rl may not excel in any one area, not a 740il in overall elegance and performance, nor have a ridiculously solid build, like the XJ6, for most car buyers, by far one of thebest vehicles on the road today. Just bought a 1996 with VERY low miles, and couldnt be happier. Plush, quiet, just right...try one for a couple weeks, youll see, trust me.

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  I love this car... - 1990 Acura Legend
  By Jiggs - March 13 - 2:00 am

  This car really impresses me everytime I drive it. It has required several expenses due to repairs but you have to expect that from a old car. Wish they still made Legends instead of those RLs.

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  Good Car - 2002 Acura RSX
  By rsx02 - March 13 - 12:16 am

  Love the interior

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  This car ROCKS! - 2006 Acura TL
  By JEvans - March 12 - 11:30 am

  I upgraded from a 1997 Civic to a 2006 TL. Its been 6 months since I bought it and the initial shock of driving something 1) that worked and 2) that is fast has worn off. However, the fun I have driving it has not died. There are times I wish I was in sales just so I can drive it around. Although, Im pretty sure its quickness and nibleness will probably get me a ticket at some point. I love this car. I try to tell everyone I know to get one. I loved my Honda and now I love my Acura. You just cant go wrong with that company. On a side note, I have to say the dealership I went through was amazing. Ive never thought of buying a car as a pleasant experience. They were great!

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  RSX - 2002 Acura RSX
  By matwka2002 - March 12 - 10:00 am

  Its really good car and is sleak and easy to modify for those of you who like to supe up cars.