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 - 1992 Acura Integra
  By John W. Doe - February 16 - 2:00 am

  This car has everything a car needs performance, fuel economy, and reliability. Almost a 100k and still drives better than my last car which had only 52k on it. Its very fun to drive because of its awesome acceleration. I would recomend this car to anybody.

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  Best Value in a Luxury Car - 2003 Acura RL
  By GregSkie - February 16 - 2:00 am

  There is no car in this price range with the quality and comfort of the Acura 3.5 RL. The engine is smaller than other cars in its class, but otherwise there are no appreciable differences between the RL 3.5 and cars costing $10-15,000 more (Lexus, BMW, Mercedes)

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  I thought Acura meant reliability!! - 2003 Acura CL
  By Husband - February 16 - 2:00 am

  Dont get me wrong...this car is fun to drive and performs great..when it is running, that is. After only 1700 miles, my brand spanking new Acura was in the shop for over 3 weeks. The dealership had to replace the short block on the engine AND brake rotors. I think their quality control guy must be sleeping. Once a car has engine work, I dont consider it a new car. Very very disappointed with Acura, their answer, and the overall experience. I was a repeat customer. Will now re- evaluate them for future purchases.

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  Awesome car! - 2000 Acura TL
  By Customre - February 15 - 2:00 am

  This is my 5th Acura, and they have all been bulletproof. My car has 62,000 miles on it and it has been just awesome. Great performance and luxury all combined into one great package. The car has been bulletproof no transmission problems as I have read. The car still feels as tight as a drum there are no squeaks and rattles. The engine is simply sensational awesome power all across the rev range. Whats more, I took the car from NY to Fl and got 32.5 MPG. Unbelieveable car! My lease is up in April, and I will be purchasing either a new TL Type S or the all new TSX. Acuras are awesome cars my son just got a new RSX and it has been similarly awesome.

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  Fun ride-94 Integra - 1994 Acura Integra
  By jiml - February 13 - 2:00 am

  Reliable LITTLE car. good fuel mileage, it handles great in the mountains. Decent stereo but I did upgrade the speakers. The car has a solid feel to it and the steering still is nice and tight with 101500 miles on it.

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  Integras the best cars ever build!!! - 1993 Acura Integra
  By Ignacio M S.Sort-UPS - February 12 - 2:00 am

  I own a 1993 Acura Integra LS coupe. The car is fun to drive and there are a lot of aftermarket parts for them. I got mine right before I graduated from high school, and now I use it to go to college and it is the very realiable with no serious problems. The only complent I have is a leaky gasket which I heard is a very common problem with integras. I have upgraded to many engine mods and the car just keeps getting better. I dont think Ill ever sell it. Why buy a new car, when this one is so great and it has plenty of life left after all its a HONDA!!

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  positive response - 2003 Acura RL
  By caodart - February 12 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car about one year and it is about as perfict as a car can be made I have found nothing wrong with this car. Exellent quality and excellent performance. It is as good as it gets. Also, it has all the bells and whistles, I especially like the phone system. It is cheep for the service and covers ev

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  Good smooth ride, less acceleration - 2000 Acura RL
  By Gill, I - February 12 - 2:00 am

  Its almost 2 months since I bought this car from an auction. Paid 16.5K for 2000 model with 60K miles on it. So far no problem what so ever, dont know about future. The ride is very smooth, very good gas milage about 21.5 miles/gallon in city and highway. If you are looking for luxary car and want to drive smooth with fun this is the car, but if you want to accelerate this car like BMW you will not be satisfied. This care really lacks acceleration as compared to other comparative cars in its class. Not very popular car.. people still call it Honda.

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  06 TL -- Not great but OK - 2006 Acura TL
  By Scott - February 11 - 8:06 pm

  Ive had this car about 3 months. Nice car and good value for around $30K but Im still adjusting. Cant get used to the 5 speed automatic transmission -- it seems to shift up and down too much and doesnt feel smooth. The engine is peppy, more so high end than low end. Front torque steer is inevitable in FWD, so dont kid yourself that youre getting a real sport sedan that you can run hard off the line. The interior is very nice, I like the XM, sunroof, roomy backseats, no problems with leather seats so far. Gas mileage is less than youd expect around town. Turning radius like a bus. Visability backing up in poor due to rear seat headrests. Doors dont stay open.

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  Great Vehicle - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Damodar Patel - February 11 - 11:28 am

  We love the vehicle, getting use to all features. Salesman was very professional, courteous and made feel like coming back for next vehicle. Lots of things too early to rate since we have driven only 300+ miles, time will tell. Overall we are happy. Too early to fuel economy rating. Draw back is no spare tire with the pricey and luxurious vehicle. Road free road side assistance in case of flat tire how long it will take in town and when I am on roads 100 or more miles away from nearest facility ? It would not have cost Honda more than $ 50 dollar more per car which consumer pays. In my judgment it is poor decision on Hondas part.