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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  Honda/Acura has come a long way! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By cachupin25 - March 6 - 2:00 am

  In my opinion best SUV for the price if compared to many European, American, and other Asian SUVs. Performance is great, has great trailering ability, all though, if at the limit of the trailering weight, the rear suspension lacks strength. Maintenance is good if compared to any European vehicle. Honda/Acura has re-engineered all their vehicles to add a european flavor to them and has also strengthened the body strucutre if compared Honda/Acuras built in the 80s.

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  GOOD - 2003 Acura CL
  By candy - March 5 - 2:00 am

  GREAT FAST CAR, cool, attractive, drive like a 50~60k car..................................... ......................................

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  A good surprise - 2003 Acura CL
  By Nagy - March 5 - 2:00 am

  Great Car, Great performance. I love It

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  Tranny problems knock it out for 2 weeks - 2002 Acura TL
  By masterjps - March 5 - 2:00 am

  While I love my type S, Acura has a known issue with a bearing in the transmission that wears out far too fast and leaves the car stranded. I encountered this problem during a 1200 mile road trip. Fortunately, I was only 40 miles away from an Acura dealership. While they gave me a decent rental car, I miss my Acura. Not only that, now I have to go pick it up 600 miles from home. I love the car, and hopefully, this is the only issue Ill have. When buying or leasing, make sure your Acura does not have the faulty transmission bearing installed, or get it replaced immediately.

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  Took A Chance On High Mileage - 1996 Acura RL
  By Bongotoo - March 4 - 2:00 am

  I took a serious chance on a 1996 RL with 89,000 miles. I had planned to buy a 1999 RL but the prices were too much. The only problems so far include 1. The AC compressor went out while I was 200 miles from home. I cut the belt off and drove home without a problem. The dealer replaced it. 2. My ABS goes out intermittently. I havenÂ’t had it checked yet but it has me scared. This could be a big one. 3. The Bose CD player didnÂ’t work. IÂ’ve been waiting since December for the dealer to have it repaired. I hope they arenÂ’t jerking me around. In summary, the jury is still out on this car.

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  I love my CL - 1999 Acura CL
  By Mary Neuhaus - March 4 - 2:00 am

  I always wanted a sporty type car. The kids are grown and moved away, and I dont have to share my CL with a hot rodding son or daughter. My husband is just too large to be comfortable in my CL, and I love that too. He doesnt drive it except to the car wash and gas station! I want a new one!

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  up scale honda accord - 1997 Acura CL
  By sohcvtec - March 4 - 2:00 am

  the only problems i have had with the car was a leaky fuel injector. I paid for an acura extended warrenty but the dealer wouldnt cover the injecter. outher than that i love the car

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  Im Happy - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Bronx Bomber - March 4 - 2:00 am

  The MDX rides pretty smoothly. Also has decent pickup. I think the handling is decent. Purposely drove it at a high rate of speed to test braking and maneuverability. Although lane change is not as smooth as in a car. It is a lot smoother than most other trucks I have driven.(Rx300,Chevy Blazer, Pathfinder and a Passport) Of course I dont recommend anyone trying this. One complaint. I was told that on hills the MDX had some sort of mechanism to help stop roll back. I was on a (not so) steep hill earlier and I happen to take my foot of the brake. Immediately the truck began to roll backwards down the hill. SO much for that anti roll back feature.

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  Im very happy - 2003 Acura CL
  By Corehhi - March 4 - 2:00 am

  I actually have a 2001 CL and I have only had one problem with it. The sunroof rattled a little, about an hour to have it fixed. Fun car to drive and for the price I really dont see how you could go wrong. My one thought is something has changed since I bought mine. I have a Blue CL w/tan leather which seems to have only been offered the first year the model changed. I have no build quality issues at all. Also I bought my CL from Southern motors and so have a few poeple who live near me and I havent heard anyone one having a problem with their service dept. But on the other hand I havent used it much. Just my 2 cents.

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  3.2CL Type S--Wonderful Vehicle - 2003 Acura CL
  By ejwe - March 4 - 2:00 am

  The vehicle has extremely comfortable seats and has a reasonably quiet interior. The interior is put together quite well with very few rattles or squeaks. The independent suspension soaks up potholes. The vehicle is responsive and appears to be very quick for a vehicle of this class. The exterior styling may be a bit dated for those who desire the latest new look. CDs sound clear and the base is great.