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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  Too reliable - 1992 Acura Vigor
  By Katarina - May 3 - 2:00 am

  My car has 174,000 miles on it and still runs great. The ride is still better than most new cars and no suspension or any other major parts have needed replacement, it still has the original clutch. Unfortunately I have no ligit excuse to get a new car.

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  1993 NSX - 1993 Acura NSX
  By MichaelJohnson - May 3 - 2:00 am

  The only thing that I wish I had done differently was purchase the NSX-T (with he T tops)

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  Two thumbs up for Legnd Coupe!!! - 1991 Acura Legend
  By Jazzzy! - May 3 - 2:00 am

  What else can I say? The cars title speaks for itself... Legend!!! A twele year old design that still turns heads even among new Acura owners and Dealers. If you cn find one that has been well maintained, go for it! Car still purrslke a kitten and has fooled me a couple of times being on when thinkin it was off (most new cars arent that quite! Love it! Love it! Love it!

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  hopeful, but disappointed - 2004 Acura TSX
  By jimc&hisTSX - May 2 - 10:00 am

  Only had mine 2 weeks, but have had a horrendous creaking in the right passenger A pillar area since day one; loud, annoying and constant! Svce mgr says its a prevalent problem with the TSXs. Great, just my luck. Anyone else had anything similar. Was it resolved? They tell me they havent had much luck resolving them. Have to wait 3 weeks to get it looked at. Otherwise, pretty fun car...especially the nav system. Its lots of fun. Wish it had heated ext. mirrors; why only in Canada? It gets plenty cold in the US also? Stupid! Traded in an A4. The TSX is nice and a good value, but its not an Audi. Thats what I get for boycotting German products.

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  Defenatly a nice car to own - 2005 Acura RSX
  By Great Fun Car - May 2 - 10:00 am

  If your looking for an import, this is it. for the horsepower you get and the sportiness of the car,it surpasses the price you pay for this car. Acura has a great reliable name of honda right behind them.

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  Fix the new lights like the old ones - 2005 Acura RSX
  By THISisMYname - May 2 - 10:00 am

  This car has kick to it. The only draw back for me is to find the right color, cuz they sell so well.

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  Best car Ive owned - 2004 Acura TL
  By patentcad - May 2 - 10:00 am

  My last two vehicles were a Lexus GS300 and a BMW 540ia, $10K-$20K more expensive than this car. The TL delivers a more satisfying overall experience. I have the 5AT and torque steer is non-existant. I have to admit to being baffled by a few complaints about torque steer on the automatic (its hardly noticeable, Car & Driver agreed it was a manual trans/lmtd slip issue) and the leather wearing poorly. My car is a month old and the leather looks brand new, front and rear.

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  Perfection pursued but not obtained - 2004 Acura TL
  By Beezer Trapp - May 2 - 10:00 am

  When I first test drove this car I was flat out amazed. It was without a doubt the most impressive vehicle I have ever driven. The first impression is pure awe.It became my dream car. Opportunity knocked and 5 monthes later I had one, and at a good price. Unfortunately, it had the first year bugs, the Bridgestone ELPs are garbage, falt spots and vibrations abound, the interior trim rattles in two locations. Otherwise it is perfect. The DVD audio is the best car stereo on the planet. The power is seamless, the gas mileage very good. The ergonomics perfect. The rattles and tires have overshadowed what is truly a remarkable auto. Wait until the third year then buy one.

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  TL II - 2004 Acura TL
  By Sregornhoj - May 2 - 10:00 am

  I have purchased two of these vehicles. The first one was totalled in a head on collision. The safety features of this vehicle that are utilized in this type of crash are the very best. I walked away, unscratched, from a destroyed vehicle. At my age, I dont bounce like I used to. My biggest problem with the exact replacement vehicle is that Acura cant seem to get a serious tire problem solved. My dealer is however still trying to find the problem. Overall, a great car.

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  great car awful dealer - 2005 Acura TL
  By bigdog45 - May 2 - 10:00 am

  This car is such a pleasure to drive having a 99tl before I am very pleased with the vast technology and performance improvements. The only drawback was my dealer