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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  Still a great car at 70,000 miles - 2000 Acura TL
  By onlyme - June 5 - 2:00 am

  This car is the best new car Ive ever owned! Its been driven nearly 70,000 miles (mostly highway and at high speeds) and asks for nothing but an oil change at 3,000 and a tank of gas. It looks great with the rear spoiler (which I feel was a bit pricey but it makes the car). The paint is still beautiful (white diamond pearl), the interior still great. Great fun, value and reliability. Only cars Ive driven which was more fun were BMW 540i and M5 - but youre in another class now!

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  Acura TLX is a Fine Car - 2016 Acura TLX
  By Paul Grasewicz - June 4 - 11:06 am

  Test drove a Lexus ES-350, Mercedes C-300 and the Acura TLX V-6 Advance. The Acura was more spacious inside, it is wider and there is more headroom. Very quiet interior and the car seems to float over the road. No problems whatsoever with the 9 speed transmission. I understand it just took a software update. I was bothered by too much road noise in the Lexus and the height/head room is tight (plus no sunglass holder!). The Mercedes C-300 offers a high quality car. However I found it small inside, particularly the width. I really like the Acuras separate screen for the navigation and one for the sound system. The ELS 10 speaker system with surround is wonderful. I like to just sit in it and listen to my IPod. The car has very good acceleration and good gas mileage. There are more technology features than other similar luxury cars. Plus it is priced lower than the Lexus and Mercedes C-300. I highly recommend the Acura TLX, particularly the V-6 "Advance" (all the options). You get much more for the money. Test drive one, youll be convinced like me.

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  Great family car, not very fast, little noisy - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Simon Chu - June 4 - 9:34 am

  Overall not a bad car for a US manufactured vehicle, lots of gadgets that are fairly standard with other luxuries. My first time owning an MDX, the jewel lights are great. I am a little annoyed by the dull hum when you turn the steering wheel. The service guy says that is how it is made. I did not hear it in the other vehicles. The controls screen HAVE to be UPDATED to include a single button to change air circulation, when you see some exhaust and dusts you have to scramble to find the control and press TWO BUTTONS to change to recycle. I am able to get by just putting the car in AUTO for AC. You have to press TWO BUTTONS to turn on and off AC!

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  my baby - 1993 Acura Vigor
  By monkey boy - June 4 - 2:00 am

  i think the vigor kicks @$$, i absolutly love it, the vigor was the first car i leagaly drove and it currently has over 115000 miles on it and it still runs like its brand new, and the 2.5L has always had enough power to get out of any sticky situations

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  2 Dr GS-R Hatchback - 1999 Acura Integra
  By Jeff in TX - June 4 - 2:00 am

  Excellent car overall. Still could use a little more horsepower. Pretty fast (0-60 in about 7.2 sec, top speed over 120 mph), but not overwhelmingly so. Only fifty to seventy horsepower more would put it in the upper class of sports cars. VTEC engine lacks a bit in low-end torque, but does very well at higher rpm (over 3500). Redlines at 8000 and peaks in HP around 7200 - 7500 rpm. The engine is very happy pushed hard between 4000 and 7000 rpm. Overall the Integra GS-R is a solid, well built, and fun to drive car. The car has been very reliable. Only repair in over 65,000 miles is a power antenna that gave out. Pretty much bulletproof.

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  Fun, Practical Car - 1992 Acura Integra
  By Nitsud - June 4 - 2:00 am

  I bought my 1992 LS about two months ago and absolutely love it. It needs new brakes, the exhaust rattles at idle speeds, and only one speaker works, but it is fun to drive and it is practical. Despite being the smaller of two motors offered, it has great acceleration, great passing power, and great power for mountain passes. I can easily cruise at 100-115 on the interstate and hold 90 on the mountain passes. I love it!

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  Acura RL, excellent choice - 1996 Acura RL
  By jeffs3000 - June 4 - 2:00 am

  Just an excellent all-around car. My wife drives this car, and she totally loves it. Super smooth, powerful, and fun to drive.

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  1 fast 4 - 1994 Acura Integra
  By kidM0UA - June 3 - 2:00 am

  I bought the car with 70K miles on it and Ive put 15K on it since. I drag race my car all the time and its still holding up to all my abuse. I love it when I take out those V6 and a few v8s. I love the look on those drivers face when I tell them its only a 4cyl car. I love taken it past 6K rpm.

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  #1 Car Great and Reliable - 1999 Acura CL
  By KL - June 3 - 2:00 am

  I love my CL. I have owned several cars before her but she is the best. My CL has great pickup and in the three years that I have owned her I have not had any major problems. I change the oil and keep on going. It is a great car and I would highly recommend it!!

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  Honda with leather seats - 2002 Acura RL
  By aa1234aa - June 3 - 2:00 am

  A fair price for a 2002 RL is about $27K. Power is too low for weight, engine is noisy & sounds cheap. The Bose stereo has 4 speakers and no CD player (slot) in dash (trunck CD changed), and wont scramble songs! Door speakers intrude into the small door map pockets. There is almost nil storage room in the cabin. There is no compass, windows dont retract with the key switch for ventilation, there is little rear leg room, rear seats dont recline or fold down, trunk hinges are luggage crushers out of Accord, there is no trunk organizer, there is no alarm system, & orange-peel paint job. I sure feel like a fool because I got one.