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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  Phatty Car - 1991 Acura Integra
  By Slik - July 5 - 2:00 am

  ok first car ive ever had, got it when i got my liscense, was really hard on it, redlined it every chance i got, and have had no problems. its a fun car to drive and is really reliable.

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  91 Coupe L 5 Speed - 1991 Acura Legend
  By Daddy O - July 5 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car for almost 2.5 years and have had very few maintenance items. I personally have had to replace the master cylinder, clutch, and radiator which was my fault for not filling it up properly. Overall I have probably put about $1000 into the car. Thats remarkable when you consider it is over 10 years old has 165,000 miles on it.

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  Still lovin it after 6 years - 1994 Acura Legend
  By cstien - July 4 - 2:00 am

  We purchased our car as a 2-year old and still love everything about it, 6 years later. There have been no major mechanical problems. We chose the tone on tone trim package which was a great choice. Ive notice that other 94 models with the black trim look tired compared to my color combo. The paint still looks great and with 123,000 miles on it, it still runs like a top. This is a keeper til the wheels fall off!

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  Acuras Away - 2002 Acura RL
  By D. Garrison - July 4 - 2:00 am

  Love the beast. Its much sleeker looking than the Lexus and for my dollar is a better buy. But yes it could use a V-8 and adjustable shock system.

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  I like it! - 2003 Acura CL
  By MOTU - July 4 - 2:00 am

  This is an excellent car considering fit, finish and value for the dollar.

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  Acura review - 2003 Acura CL
  By Chris6868 - July 4 - 2:00 am

  Soid vehicle, powerful, easy cruises at 80 MPH, so watch your speed! Headroom a little tight, headlights have a dark band right in front of the car which takes a little getting used to. Smooth drive and very quite. Suspension a little stiff when going over sharp bumps (such as speed bumps). Headroom in back a little on the small side.

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  Acrua TL Type S is a HIT - 2002 Acura TL
  By Kareem - July 4 - 2:00 am

  The best car Ive owned. Its packed with standard features and I love the navativagion system. Great stereo too.

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  Great Car - 1992 Acura Legend
  By Theblessed_1 - July 3 - 2:00 am

  This car is a great car. I have known about Hondas reliablity for a very long time. I have seen many of the Legends on the road and they caught my attention very quickly. I then wanted one very much. I got a deal on one, and I do not regret the choice at all. My advice to anyone who is considering purchasing this vehicle.....DO IT !

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  Best used to car to buy - 1990 Acura Legend
  By jds1990coupe - July 3 - 2:00 am

  The car has been great. Ive added plenty of mods to it for fun purposes but the stock parts never failed. All that the thing requires is regular maintenance and a car cover [That Texas Sun fades paint fast]. The 5spd is great to drive: fun, fast, handles well. My only knock on it is that gas mileage isnt great for the size/weight of the car and it being a 2.7L [23mpg]. Parts are more expensive to replace than say, domestic cars but they last longer too.

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  Classic car of the future - 2001 Acura Integra
  By turtle - July 3 - 2:00 am

  Increadible feel. Although it can be used as a daily driver, the car responds well to weekend auto-cross and track events. For those intrested in a car that is responsive, fun and easy to drive, and wont kill your pocketbook, this is the car for you! The car is in limited production as well, making it a true classic car for the future!