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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  A Great SUV - 2002 Acura MDX
  By MDXowner - November 1 - 2:00 am

  The MDX is a capable blend of SUV, and family car, with a dash of sports car thrown in. The exterior styling is distinctive and elegant. It looks sporty and clean. The touring package adds nice wheels and a roof rack which compliments the overall styling theme. The interior design is on par with most cars in this class. It hosts a bevy of standard features such as leather trimmed seats, 8-way power drivers seat, and heated front seats. The engine is refined and strong.

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  LOVE MY ACURA TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Corky West - October 31 - 10:00 am

  Fun to drive. Plenty of power. The inside is very comfortable and the navigation system is excellent. Voice recognition is the way to go.

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  Big bang for the bucks - 2004 Acura TL
  By aloha - October 31 - 10:00 am

  Effortless acceleration makes driving almost intuitive; by the time ive had the thought that id like to be ahead of that tractor-trailor, I already am. You are never hindered by lack of power. Cruising at 80 on a steep uphill, I can effortlessly accelarate without even flooring it. It feels so "at home" at high speed that with the windows shut you can creep up into the nineties without even noticing. So far, I havent found a piece of highway that it cant handle at twice the posted speed.

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  Acura TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By okcspike - October 31 - 10:00 am

  Weak spots-some road noise at 70 mph, although otherwise very quiet, cellphone adapters are poorly placed. Navigational system and excellent right are easy to get used to and appreciate, but my 2002 Impala has a lot more features at 60% of the cost.

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  Best Car Ever - 2005 Acura TL
  By THEMAD1LV - October 31 - 6:53 am

  This vehicle is one to go down in the record books. Its quick, sporty, and at the same time affordable. The design of this car compliments the interior. The navigation system includes voice activation of certain components. The audio system fills the car completely. The LED back lite gauges complement its style and attention to detail. The back seat in the vehicle is very comfy and definitely a road trip car. Overall this car is the only car I NEVER had buyers remorse on. I highly recommend this vehicle.

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  This car had been underrated by so many! - 2002 Acura NSX
  By NSX Prototype - October 31 - 2:00 am

  For those who rate sports cars by its ability to "flex" its muscles (i.e., Raw Horsepower), then youll be surprised that this "merely 290HP" NSX can outrun most stock sports cars that has more much more HP on the drag strip as well as on the track. The engine has the 2nd best soundtrack of any sports car (I rank Ferraris on the top of my list). Words arent enough to describe the feeling this car gives to the driver or even the passenger. You MUST drive this car for yourself to realize its worth every penny.

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  For the money a perfect car! - 2002 Acura CL
  By Alex12345 - October 30 - 2:00 am

  I love this car and this being my first car the expectations are set high for the future. It has awesome accelaration and above average handling. I especially love the 6 disc cd, although the sound can use a little improvement.

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  Excellent Car - 1999 Acura TL
  By Terence - October 30 - 2:00 am

  I think the TL is a very nice car. Its really roomy inside and well designed. The TLs acceleration is just ridiculous. You can drive at 80 mph and not even know it - thats how smooth this car is.

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  Awesome automobile - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Rich - October 30 - 1:30 am

  I am so happy that I decided on buying the TSX. I also looked at BMW 325i, Audi A4, Lexus IS250 & Subaru WRX. The Acura TSX was simply the best value, and was in itself a truely awesome car. THat coupled with the Acura warranty & customer care made me jump for it.

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  Best Acura - 2008 Acura TL
  By acura` - October 28 - 1:50 pm

  Handles better than the BMW, more reliable than the G and sexier than the IS. Great car.