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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  Driven into the ground - 1997 Acura RL
  By KHolub - November 22 - 2:00 am

  I purchased my 1997 3.5RL w/ 38K in 2000 and three year and 60K miles later I still enjoy the car. The exterior paint and interior fit/finish have held up well-(it gets pampered at the car wash weekly). The only complaint I have with the car is that It seems to eat brakes every 15-19K miles. Houstons traffic may not help. Look forward to owning a 2005,hopefully with a V8&navigation system.

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  Awesome - 1993 Acura Legend
  By luxocruiser - November 22 - 2:00 am

  It is sooo loaded, and is the most comfortable car Ive ever owned. The only car I Like more is the nsx, but dont have 85k. I will keep this car forever. I have only put in a 85 dollar motar mount since owning it, and the regular stuff like tires etc.I will definately by another legend if I could find one with under 100k miles, mine has 194,000 miles and my mechanic doesnt foresee any problems for at least 60k more miles.

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  MDXcellent - 2002 Acura MDX
  By 2002 Black MDX - November 22 - 2:00 am

  Were very pleased with the MDX, it it spacious, well designed and extremely comfortable to drive. The 240 hp engine provides excellent fuel economy and enough power to handle any driving conditions. Cant wait to try it in the mountains this coming winter.

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  Still crazy after all these years - 1994 Acura Integra
  By OneHappyGSROwner - November 21 - 2:00 am

  I bought my 94 4-door GSR in 96 after extensive research. I figured it would be reliable and looked pretty good. What a surprise! Even after 6 years and 60K miles, I cannot believe what a wonderful experience I have driving this car. Its quicker than you can imagine, and corners like a dream. I have had no major repairs, and look forward to driving it for a long time. Whee!

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  good value - 2000 Acura TL
  By kensho - November 21 - 2:00 am

  the TL is the best sub $30k car on the market hands down - fast and fun to drive -

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  Good Car - 1990 Acura Integra
  By Mary Watson - November 18 - 2:00 am

  I liked it a lot and enjoy driving it all the time.

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  Could be better (Transmission Problems) - 1998 Acura CL
  By CLCoupe - November 18 - 2:00 am

  I own this car for 5 years and never had any electrical problems, but something is wrong with Acura/Hondas 1997-1998 transmission. I bumped into another car lightly (no dents or paint chipping off, no damage whatsoever), then my transmission acted awkwardly and shifts very hard. The transmission were free of charge though. This didnt only happened to my car, it also happened to 2 of my other friends who owns a 1997 prelude and 1998 Accord. Same symtoms from VERY light head-ons. BEWARE!!! Honda might be trying to cover up this problem.

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  Great Car - 2002 Acura CL
  By Mary Watson - November 18 - 2:00 am

  I thought that this car was good on gas and has many different features that I beleive everyone would enjoy.

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  2002 cl - 2002 Acura CL
  By scotty mo - November 18 - 2:00 am

  Weve owned the 2002 cl for about 8 months. Havent had any problems. Has lots of standard features, decent power. customer service has been excellent.

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  Highly Recommended - 1997 Acura Integra
  By Persson, Roy - November 16 - 2:00 am

  The car combines luxury, reliability, efficiency, sensibility, and cost managment into a car built for just about anyone. Young people will enjoy all the cool toys and performance mods. Older people can appreciate the car for its mechanical prowess. I have owned this used car for over 1 year... I have replaced.... NOTHING!... No lie.