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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  99 Acura RL - 1999 Acura RL
  By kims - March 10 - 12:26 am

  This car is very reliable, handles well and is has a well designed interior. The stereo system is excellent - handling is too.

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  1998 Acura 3.2 - 1998 Acura TL
  By dstanzi - March 9 - 5:11 pm

  Car rides very well and has been problem free for 52000 mile. Standard maintenance has kept operating costs low.

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  Great Car just a meek player - 2000 Acura RL
  By Batkins - March 8 - 5:32 pm

  Great car, after 26 months nothing has ever gone wrong, not one single problem or repair require. Better than my old Lexus and a million times better than my 94 Q45. You cant get a better quality car at any price. Quality, beauty, luxury, comfort, but with lack luster performance. My kids call it an "old mans car." But I call it "perfection at its finest."

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  Good Purchase - 1994 Acura Legend
  By REG - March 8 - 3:04 pm

  I love this coupe. I purchased it used, and it was the best value for my money. Ive even had four offers for purchase on this car! The plan is to drive it until it blows up and then Ill report on how many miles I was able to get out of it.

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  TL - 2001 Acura TL
  By Jackie - March 8 - 12:51 pm

  Love it.

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  Just Awesome - 1993 Acura Integra
  By Malafama - March 7 - 6:22 pm

  I bought this car with 130,000 miles, and i can tell that i have not spent a dime in anything that is not basic like tune up, tires or gas, wonderful pick up speed, and really easy to hook up!! one i can no drive it anymore, i will run and buy another one but always a third generation 90-93. i recommend it fearless.

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  2003 Acura MDX Touring - 2003 Acura MDX
  By kwgossman - March 7 - 10:00 am

  The only option that is missing to make this a PERFECT car is the telescopic steering wheel and XENON lights. Not sure why they skimped here???

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  Disappointed - 2003 Acura MDX
  By r.g.harrison - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I drove a 3.2Tl for 90k with never a glitch, but the MDX is a different story. Its been back to the shop 3 times for engine warning lights; a high-altitude problem my Colorado dealer says, and tells me Acura is working on it. The voice activated nav system doesnt recognize all the commands its supposed to -- again,Im told Acura is working on it. GM uses customers as test drivers, but I expected more from Acura.

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  Drives Like a Car - 2003 Acura MDX
  By mdx-er - March 7 - 10:00 am

  750 miles into our Touring MDX and loving it. Cant wait to drive anywhere and anyone. It is comfy. The 3rd row seating is super and such a great alternative to the minivan. My kids love this crossover auto. Cant wait to take this up to the snow this winter.

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  Great car for the money - 2003 Acura TL
  By rhb - March 7 - 10:00 am

  I have had this vehicle for about four months now and drive it on a daily basis. Finding a location by the number search is scattered because many businesses are not in the directory. Cant find the closest Wendys because it wants to make you go to the headquarters. I would recommend the car to the buyer who wants luxury with economy but watch out for the PREMIUM gas prices as well. I get about 23 to 24 miles per gallon pretty consistently with highway driving.