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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  LOVE MY CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 1998 Acura TL
  By Erin - October 23 - 2:00 am

  I have had this car for 10 months and am so happy that i made the choice to buy it. The body is in great condition with no rust and is a very rugged car to drive. When i test drove it i was very impressed with how it hugged the road. When its time to get a newer car im sticking to the Acura TL.

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  Great car - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Ddsdriver - October 23 - 2:00 am

  First car I have ever owned that remained flawless for the entire first year and expect it to remain that way.

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  Not worth the money - 2002 Acura TL
  By Maggie - October 22 - 2:00 am

  Not only will I never buy another acura again, but I will warn everyone I know to never buy one. Transmission went out a thousand miles over our purchased "extended warranty". Acura should be ashamed that a 1994 Geo Prism has outlasted my way overpriced Acura. $3,000.00 later, transmission still not working, and the car is only worth 5,000!!!! Run, run away from Acura products!!!!!

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  Rattles galore - 2010 Acura TL
  By Chad - October 22 - 2:00 am

  I couldnt be more dissapointed with the craftmanship of this car. I am having similar issues that a review posted before and neither Honda/Acura would do something about it. I love the car but Acura cannot consider as a luxury brand, quality of fitting is just as bad as it can be. Buy Infiniti, Lexus or BMW. Customer service is just horrible.

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  RDX Review - 2011 Acura RDX
  By JAMES - October 21 - 2:00 am

  This car looks small and drives like a small car but interior/cargo space is plenty. I am 62 and i have plenty of rooms to spare. Acceleration and handling is great and coming from Civic Si and evo IX, this car definately deserves the title of sportiest CUV in the market. I opted for AWD without the technology package and it has everythingy. I cannot justify the price of $3000 on navigation. Overall, excellent vehicle with great value.

• 

  Outstanding - 2010 Acura TSX
  By driver - October 19 - 2:00 am

  Had 06 TSX. Great car but a little small and terrible turning radius. The 10 has the size just about right and they fixed the turning radius. Just finished driving coastal highway (1/101) from SanDiego to Astoria and had a fantastic road trip. Never dreaded getting back into the car. Average 25 city and 35 highway. Who needs a hybrid?

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  What a Over Price Car !!!!! - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Over Price Car - October 19 - 2:00 am

  I cant believe any buyer would pay over 30K for a base four-cylinder car with 201 Horsepower? Car is small and under power especially going up mountains. For this price buyer can get 2011 Toyota Camry SE V6 or 2011 Honda Accord V6 EX. Both cars has more power and more room and better looking cars. Need i say anymore????

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  Acura doesnt stand by product - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Im Dissappointed - October 19 - 2:00 am

  Nice driver, poor quality. When I hit around 30,000 miles I noticed my lower paint chipping badly and starting to get rust on bottom of my mdx. Went to my acura dealer to see if they would remedy the problem. They will not stand by their design or workmanship. On new mdxs they added a plastic strip and plastic flare guard on door. So they know the design was bad but will not fix the problem. My 2nd mdx, also have an rdx, will never buy another Honda product. There are many other nice suvs out there.

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  one of the best.....ever - 1998 Acura Integra
  By tegcollector - October 18 - 2:00 am

  This car is amazing ,even standing still ,your friends stand around it and drool ,i call it my japanese porsche,but its so much more ,great car to have your girl in ,for a date ,my 98 ls is the third one i owned . I had a 91 ls special ,and it was special,going to get the gsr or type r next .

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  Excellent Ride, Needs Better Brakes - 2009 Acura RL
  By P Medina - October 17 - 2:00 am

  Up to date, it has been a very enjoyable ride. Classy enough for my trade, as engineering consultant, and sporty enough for my younger heart. It has been, however, sifnificantly fuel thirsty, almost as my wives MDX! However, dealership service has been excellent and the vehicle has operated flawlessly, unlike my previous Avalon! Overall, Im happy with my purchase, except for braking performance.