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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  Nice Car - 2000 Acura TL
  By Ashutosh - February 24 - 2:00 am

  One of the best cars I drove in this category. The steering and drive is smooth.

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  Superb car except for choppy ride - 2005 Acura RL
  By Raja Bhat - February 23 - 6:50 am

  Ive got 2000 miles in now. Great car overall, AWD gives confidence on wet roads. Handling is very precise. But tight handling comes at a price: a rough, choppy ride, disappointing for Acuras flagship car. Electronics including GPS navigation, superb Bose sound system with fully integrated satellite radio, are grand. Has a disconcerting rattle in potholes.

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  Im VERY happy! - 1997 Acura CL
  By Lisa11 - February 23 - 2:00 am

  I fell in love with the looks of the vehicle and had to have one. Acceleration is good for the 2.2 model, although I drop it into 3rd gear for quicker acceleration at take-off and for passing. I enjoy the solidness of the car and it handles well. Trunk space is great. Ive never kept a car this long but I believe Ill have a long and happy relationship with my CL and see how long it will run. Maintenance is not too pricey which is a big plus. I actually like the design on my 97 better than the newer ones and so do most of my friends.

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  Great Car! - 2003 Acura CL
  By bradleybradley - February 23 - 2:00 am

  Bought a 2003 when they came out. Great car, bulletproof so far. Gotta love a Honda. We went with the Acura as you basically get one upgrade in chassis at the same price, namely the Corolla chassis (IS300) at Lexus costs more than the larger Accord based car (CL or TL) at Acura. Lexus was just comparatively over-priced.

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  02 RSX-S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By Asian_Gang_Lord - February 23 - 2:00 am

  Wonderful car, Celica cant compare with looks or straight line performance. Not quite as good on the twisties. WRX, Nasty like Anna Nicole but fast as hell... Best for your money. Very smooth handling and acceleration. Theres nothing like the 8300 rpm limit and the excitement of revving. Hard to stay under 5000 rpm. Driving is the most fun in my life.

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  Truly Satisfied - 2005 Acura MDX
  By George - February 22 - 1:43 pm

  What a truck! I only wish I could get car fuel economny! A joy to drive with little maintenance cost.

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  An SUV for all the right reasons! - 2002 Acura MDX
  By DallasMDX - February 22 - 2:00 am

  My wife wanted a vehicle that is easy to manuever (not a tank!), nice looking, has a well appointed interior, will haul around our 3 kids plus junk and friends, and above all - is safe. And, she refuses to drive a van. Well, the MDX is the only vehicle that meets all the above criteria. And is does so with great style, and attention to detail.

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  1992 Acura Legend L - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Brandon Stephenson - February 21 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car with 155,000 miles and and I now have 177,000 miles and have had no problems. I have added a intake and performance muffler and the car just gets up and goes. Really fast, never failed to start even after weeks in the cold. Driven it up to 200 miles in 90degree weather and have had no problems. This car is great!!!!

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  Daves Review - 2003 Acura RL
  By Dave12 - February 21 - 2:00 am

  I tested the Lexus LS 430 - hard to find, very expensive, the Mercedez E300 - no leg room, BMW 5 series - CHEAP INTERIOR, Infiniti Q45 - overpriced, ACURA RL - Sweet Car!! Great Price, nice style, excellent.

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  Great Car - 1995 Acura Integra
  By tdpotq1 - February 20 - 2:00 am

  I purchased the car new and ended up putting 160,000 miles on this car. It never broke down and the worst thing that happened to it was the cassette player busted after only 3 years. The exhaust system had to be replaced several times, but all in all, it was a great car. It handled extremely well for a entry-level sports car.