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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  Auto Transmission Woes for CL - 2002 Acura CL
  By rallyhat - April 20 - 2:00 am

  My 2001 CL Type S went through its transmission in just over one year. Getting a replacement took a month. (I was told they were in extremely short supply due to high failure rate.) Apart from this, my only complaint is mysterious rattles from the passenger side that nobody at the dealership can find. This adds to the noise level that already seems a little high given Acuras reputation.

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  Acura TSX review - 2005 Acura TSX
  By shananigan - April 18 - 6:00 pm

  I absolutely LOVE my Acura TSX! I am very happy with it and would reccommend it to anyone. There are only a few things missing from it that I would complain about. Great car!!!

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  I Love My MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Sandranna - April 18 - 10:00 am

  Researched cars 3 yrs, chose MDX.Waited 9 mos (switch from 02 to 03,delayed it a few months).Well worth the wait! I accessorized it so its the sharpest one Ive seen yet.Very sporty!Im 54, had a Buick LeSabre for 11 yrs.Needed something sharp, sporty. I drive safer now: with its weight, its a weapon. Its L/W are same as my Buick, but it took me a long time to get used to driv- ing it.I did purchase a larger rearview mirror for help with backing up. Didnt know about the rear camera when I bought this; that whole package is EX- PENSIVE but I’d now consider it to help with backing up. A great car,passengers love it, & I plan to keep it 15-20 yrs!

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  Fantastic Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By oumark - April 18 - 10:00 am

  This car has been everything I expected when I bought it and more. I have owned a 2003 TL for almost a year and a half, have driven it over 30,000 miles, and have had no problems whatsoever. The features that come with the car are fantastic, and are far less expensive in other makes of cars, such as Cadillac, BMW amd Infiniti. The service at the dealership is outstanding.

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  The 07 TL Type S won in my comparison! - 2007 Acura TL
  By rl6569 - April 17 - 4:16 am

  I was recently in the market for a new automobile, and I researched those that would provide me with the greatest value, economy, safety, and technology. I test drove the Lexus IS350, BMW 5 series, and the Mercedes-Benz C350 Sport Sedan. All of these automobiles were impressive in their own right, but the Acura TL Type S wasnt even on my radar. That is, until I spoke with a few friends, and they suggested that I check out the Acura TL. So, I did. I went to the local dealership and presented them with a laundry list of items that I wanted to see on my next automobile. As I ran down the list, they said that all of the features that I wanted to see were STANDARD on the TL. WOW!!

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  2.3 Underpowered - 1999 Acura CL
  By Ford-Mustang-GT - April 17 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my 2.3 for 3 years and the only problem I had was with the horn assembly a month after it purchase. For whatever reason, it caused the car to lock in Park. But, I havent experienced any serious problems thereafter. My only complaint would be that the 2.3 is a bit underpowered and it sometimes has a rough idle.

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  2.3 Underpowered - 1999 Acura CL
  By Mike C - April 17 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my 2.3 for 3 years and the only problem I had was with the horn assembly a month after it purchase. For whatever reason, it caused the car to lock in Park. But, I havent experienced any serious problems thereafter. My only complaint would be that the 2.3 is a bit underpowered and it sometimes has a rough idle.

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  Best Car on the road!!! - 2005 Acura TL
  By Rob - April 17 - 12:33 am

  I used to drive the 3.2 TL-S which is a very nice car. The new TL is a totally different car in terms of comfort, safety, handling & toys. Big thumbs up!!!

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  The car to get. - 1996 Acura RL
  By Mismith - April 16 - 2:00 am

  This car, is a car you can enjoy. Just get one!

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  Great daily driver - 1990 Acura Legend
  By drsills - April 16 - 2:00 am

  Other than rust, it has been a fantastic car. Drive it nearly every day, it outperforms most cars on the roa. It especially handles well.