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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  Acura 3.2 - 1996 Acura TL
  By Bob Daugherty - June 10 - 2:00 am

  The car continues to be a strong performer.

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  A Jewel of a car - 1991 Acura Integra
  By IntegraLover - June 9 - 2:00 am

  This is the only car I have ever owned and will be for some time yet. 200k miles and still running as good as the day I bought it (NEVER garaged). The main lesson learned is that if you do buy a Honda/Acura, if you do the regular maintenance (i.e. oil changes every 3-5k, timing belts, etc.) these cars will run trouble free and last a very very long time. Not to mention the style, while not flashy, is rather conservative, and 11 years old it still looks good! Seen how ugly the 91 Celicas or Eclipse look in this day and age?

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  this is a very very well-built car! - 1997 Acura RL
  By brian woods - June 9 - 2:00 am

  the review written below is obviously biased. maybe his/her car was a lemon. ive had mine for about 4-5 years now, it never any a single problem! ive even gotten into an accident with this car but still performs like day 1. this car is very very comfortable to drive (but not really fun to drive as my Bimmer) and reliability is far beyond expectation (well, it is basically a honda so you know what i am saying). bottom line: dont avoid buying an RL like the other guy said. i would recommend this car to any one!

• 

  Got Me Hooked by PACA - 1998 Acura CL
  By Paca - June 9 - 2:00 am

  Had this car approximately a year and a half, and I am still impressed. My first Acura was a 1991 Integra, which I still owned with 215k miles! I like CLÂ’s balance of both luxury and performance. Acceleration is quick and smooth unlike the Accord V6 Coupe, which is somewhat jerky. Nobody can beat the GermanÂ’s performance, however for a lot less money these AcuraÂ’s come pretty close.

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  Love my TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By JKrupp - June 8 - 7:26 am

  I LOVE my TL. Best car I have owned. Its fast and very responsive. The interior is amazing and very user friendly. Acuras navigation is by far the best on the market hands down. I love XM radio and the surround sound 5.1 DVD audio system. Researching all the other cars in its class from BMW to Infiniti to Audi, The Acura TL is by far the most bang for the buck. If your looking into this car.....Get IT!!!

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  An Exciting Drive - 1993 Acura Vigor
  By JBM - June 7 - 2:00 am

  Fun to drive. Very quiet for the type of acceleration experienced. Attracts the attention of all who see it on the road. We bought it new, with the gold package, with spoiler and the gold inset wheels. The light tan leather interior stays cool in the hot summer months. Have had no problems with the vehicle to date. We expect it to last for many years to come. Sorry to see the Vigor line discontinue.

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  Best Car Ive Own - 1997 Acura RL
  By Felix_U - June 7 - 2:00 am

  This car is owesome, I hope I spelled it right. But this car feels like the most comfortable car in the world. Probably not more comfortable than a Cadi... but it is for sure up on that range.

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  Transmission failure at 10000 miles - 2001 Acura TL
  By edsak - June 7 - 2:00 am

  I have had car only five months with 10000 miles and was told today I need a "new" rebuilt transmission. The whole reason for buying Acura is reliability, not with mine... Anyone else out there having problems with their transmission? By the way the "rebuilt" is warranted for only 36000 miles if purcahsed. Not a happy camper...

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  Just plain AWESOME! - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Omi Oh My - June 5 - 10:00 am

  After drooling over the pictures in the brochure and staring at every other RSX on the road, I finally got my own beautiful Arctic Blue Pearl Type-S. This car is incredible. The interior is classy and refined, and the exterior a joy to look at. The ride and performance are excellent, made all the more enjoyable by the sound of the exhaust. For the money, there is no better alternative.

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  bang for the buck - 2003 Acura RSX
  By madjoe - June 5 - 10:00 am

  i am a master auto tech and this is by far the most fun car ive driven in 10 12 years of driving.the shifting is effortless and it handles like a M3 but half the price. all i have to say is 100 H.P. per liter naturally aspirated.unreal if everyone could do that the morning commute would be a pole position. go drive one and see for yourself. P.S. chicks are drawn to this one.