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:

• 

  Great Car - 2005 Acura TL
  By Joe - October 22 - 1:46 pm

  I just loving the way this car handles. With its quick acceleration and steering, you cannot beat it. The engine purrs like a kitten.

• 

  Cant get any better! - 1997 Acura RL
  By wshouse - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car used and it is the best I have owned. The ride is incredible. The fit and finish is outstanding. With Acura reliability you cant lose!

• 

  Great Car - 2002 Acura RL
  By Shin Woong Kim - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I bought this car about year ago and it still feel like new. I had Lexus GS300 before this car. But I like 3.5RL much better, its much smoother, quite, and better for value.

• 

  entry level acura - 2003 Acura RSX
  By primera_gte - October 22 - 2:00 am

  The reason why I bought the RSX is it combines looks, functionality, and price. Its handling is pretty good. However its not phenomenal The RSX has very good accelaration for a 4 cylinder auto. Either manuamatic or the D3 function is more than enough to jet around town and merge onto Socal freeways. The ride quality is poor. You can feel every little bump on the road and any dip or divot is very pronounced. The fold down seats and hatch are very useful. But its a bit disconserting to hear your purchases slide around in the back. The height of an open hatch could cause a problem for people under 56.

• 

  Details - 2006 Acura TL
  By Chris - October 21 - 1:36 pm

  Nice Car, Only 6000 miles and it already has problems. Window Buttons are falling off and it makes sqeeky noices inside, which is distracting. ALso, it takes to long to get the item repaired. Been waiting a month and it is still is not fixed. Besides the these problems, very nice looking car and it drives and handles very well on the freeway. The moonroof is nice but it can not be opened on the freeway as to much air noise but it very nice in the city.

• 

  Greatest Vehicle of the Century - 1993 Acura Legend
  By Mike the Acura Drive - October 21 - 2:00 am

  These are the beast vehicles for your money. You might call it the poor mans Lexus. I have owned 3 Acuras now and the 93 is my favorite. I have owned a 91 Legend and own a 97 3.5RL

• 

  Good comprimise of Space and performance - 1999 Acura TL
  By STORY - October 21 - 2:00 am

  Buyers beware, if your TL is a Canadian version, then it is NOT under warranty in the United States! Either my Sales person was misinformed, or just plain lying....but thats the fact on the issue. Even still, the car is very reliable and fun to drive. The sport shifter is very effective for passing once you get used to it. You can achieve a more sporty appearence with body kit and rear spoiler without sacrificing its classy style. Could use some Fog lights. Different wheel styling and bigger tires wouldve helped enormously with the handeling.

• 

  Bang For The Buck - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Jeffrey Duquette - October 19 - 11:46 pm

  I did a lot of research and drove quite a few cars and couldnt find anything that has all the TLX has to offer. Its comfortable and sporty at the same time. I love the technology and the ability to stay connected. For the price the European cars are far behind.

• 

  Good car for the price - 2002 Acura MDX
  By first acura - October 19 - 2:00 am

  Did not like the look of Pilot. Needed 7seats. Dont want truck based SUVs because dont really need off road capability(just rough road cap. is fine). Fullsize is too bulky and cumbersome. Volvo is expensive and has questionable reliability. ===========> Acura MDX was my choice.

• 

  best car i ever owned - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Chicago Gas - October 18 - 5:06 pm

  I have owned other luxury cars such as BMW and Mercedes, but this car has been far superior in value for the money. It handles and performs like a dream. People comment on the excellent style of the car. It truly lives up to Money Magazines Car of the Year. The only difficulty I had was negotiating the price. The Chicago dealers stick close to list price.