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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  buy it you will like it - 2001 Acura MDX
  By bp - June 19 - 2:00 am

  Best SUV I have ever been in! More I drive it the more that I like it. More I ride in other peoples SUVs the more I like mine. HOMER

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  My Car - 1994 Acura Integra
  By AKClark - June 18 - 2:00 am

  The LS, while not the fastest, is a great car for the money, and is an overall great package. I would have gone for a GS-R instead though, for a little more money.

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  WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BIG HEADLIGHTS!!!!? - 2000 Acura TL
  By jtran - June 18 - 2:00 am

  NOTHING BUT LUXURY AMENITIES IN THIS CAR.

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  No Comparo - 2002 Acura RL
  By BigMac - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Unbelievable auto! Test drove A6, C320, 5 series, Jag and Lexus. Nothing is like the Acura. Great comfort and unmatched quality... Mercedes and Lexus should be quivering. Best deal on the road especially with the great lease rates. I would like to add a Tl type s to the stable but need to wait for more negotiation opportunities. Will see in 03.

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  Ya Gotta Love It! - 2000 Acura Integra
  By TypistTilly - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Nice comfortable car for anyone, with or without family. Steering is excellent and visibility is really good.Gets you on the highway really great and drives well in traffic due to its great manuveribility.

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  I thought there could be no 10s ! ! ! - 2001 Acura MDX
  By Bill Gray - June 17 - 2:00 am

  This has been as much fun to drive on twisting roads as my 82 Porsche 944!!! I have over 37,000 miles in just over 15 months. I love to drive it everwhere we go.

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  2002 RSX - S - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Fele - June 17 - 2:00 am

  Boughth mine in July 2001 (first batch). Car is excellent and very fun to drive (I love the 6 speed shifter). I had trouble with leather on my car seat (Acura replaced it). Otherwise had no other problems with it. Highly recomend for the price.

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  Acura 2003 TL-S - 2002 Acura TL
  By - June 17 - 2:00 am

  The car has 5000 with no trouble. Handles well, excellent pickup, great gas milage.

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  the best car I have owned! - 2006 Acura TL
  By iluvmyTL - June 16 - 8:30 pm

  I had always wanted a TL because of the exterior look of the car, but after test driving one this past weekend I came home with one! It drives so smoothly. What a fun car to drive, I go cruising in it whenever I can. I could not find a better car with the features of the TL at the price I paid!

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  You get what you pay for - 2006 Acura TL
  By Chery - June 16 - 11:20 am

  Nice car, not awesome when you are use to driving a BMW. I traded my 5 series bimmer in around January, boy I miss it...this car just does not measure up in performance, if you like bimmers...I will keep it the remaining of the year and get me another bimmer in January 07. Dont get me wrong, it is really a nice car, except with minor issues of the interior compartment I think this car is a 8 out of 10! Performance wise, it cannot touch BMW. Bimmer lovers dont waste your time.