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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  Great Car - Great Value - 2009 Acura TL
  By Jim Matheson - November 12 - 9:25 pm

  This segment is filled with excellent vehicles, but the TL stands out based on its long list of standard features and reasonable price. Mine is the base model, which is just as quick as the AWD due to its lighter weight and gets better mileage to boot. I agree the front grille is not Acuras best work, but I found a replacement in the aftermarket which is a huge improvement. While not a true sports sedan, the car handles well for its size and intended use and the motor is a jewel - smooth and powerful. Acura builds a quality automobile and I have found the resale values to be excellent. Guess thats why I have owned 22 of them so far...

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  Love my MDX! - 2008 Acura MDX
  By Buck - November 12 - 9:48 am

  Best car I have ever driven. I came from a mini van and wanted something more sporty. Handling is great. Easy to parallel park. Turns on a dime. I love how it looks. Few things they should improve on: paint chips easily, bluetooth poor quality, navigation system needs much more updates, coin tray cover broke, running board separated, needs a right arm rest or higher console, a lot of wind noise unless you remove the roof rack, need a place to put my purse. When getting in the car I wish the seat would not advance right away this makes it hard to get in. Had roaring noise in drivers front. We already had to replace the bearings!! Even with all this I still love the car.

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  Lovin it - 2007 Acura TL
  By drjohn - November 11 - 6:36 pm

  The car is a blast. I bought the car on a salvage title (front end accident). I love the tight handing. While I dont have the S type, I do have after market struts with coil over shocks, so it is a bit lower and a more stiff ride. The interior is wonderful. I love the transition from the door to the dash which is rounded, so I dont feel like Im boxed in like BMW & Volvo. Smooth transmission with better acceleration at plus 40 mph.

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  Just what I was looking for... - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Ben - November 11 - 3:44 pm

  IÂ’ve always found great quality & value in Acuras. This time is no different & once again chose Acura over Infinity, BMW & Lexus. Recently I traded in my 2007 Acura TL for a 2010 Acura TSX. When it was time to get a new car I looked at all the big boys including the new TL. I didnt really dig the TLs new exterior body style or its new found higher price tag of $43k just a bit more than I wanted or needed for my daily urban driving. When looking at the TSX I was concerned about going with the 4 cyl having just come from a pretty powerful, fun V6Â… but went for it. Wow, am I impressed. The TSX is NOT a slow car by any standard. ItÂ’s fun to drive & zips around town like no ones business.

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  MDX - One of the Best - 2002 Acura MDX
  By R Smith - November 11 - 12:53 pm

  There are many SUVs to choose from but if youre looking for a luxury SUV with the best list of amenities you cant do any better than the MDX. The MDX is one of the few SUVs that offer leather heated seats, a power moon roof, rear seat a/c and heating vents/contols and a third row of seats all standard (touring edition). It is also one of the few that ride like a car. These cars are well worth the wait!

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  Best of the Breed - 2004 Acura TL
  By orclking25 - November 11 - 10:00 am

  The 2004 TL is hands down the best car of the bunch, I tested two other cars when deciding on this purchase, the BMW 330 and Infiniti G35. Beamer- nice car but way overpriced, you have to add options to get it to the same level as the TL, lacked many features, bad placement for a cupholder!, plus I had heard rumors of reliability issues with the new 3 series. G35- great performance but ugly, cheap interior, Extremely ugly front end

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  A great car choice - a little squeaky - 2006 Acura TL
  By John - November 10 - 9:47 am

  I bought my car in July and it has been so much fun to drive!! The looks, both inside and out, are top notch. I drove the comparable BMW, Lexus, and Infiniti and all had some kind of issue that I didnt like. The TL smoked all of those in my book (after 6 months of research)! I drive mostly on the highway and average 28 mpg so it also gets great mileage. Everything is great! Except... The only bad thing is that since Acura used so many different materials on the inside, during the cold months they squeak and rattle sometimes. It doesnt happen all the time but when it does it DRIVES ME CRAZY!!!! Still love the car and wouldnt have been this happy with anything else.

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  greatttt - 2002 Acura RSX
  By sol - November 9 - 10:00 am

  excellent car, with great exterior looks, i am glad that i bought this wonderful import from acura i wanted a bmw but saved a lot more money on this wonderful car

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  Happy Owner - 2002 Acura TL
  By SLM206 - November 9 - 10:00 am

  Ive owned this car for a year and 1/2 and the only, picky thing I would change about it is the cup holders. It is a joy to drive, has the pick-up I need for merging onto busy freeways, and the ride is smooootttthhh. Everyone who rides in this car loves it. And the price makes it even better.

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  Cant get enough of the Acura Legends - 1993 Acura Legend
  By kenneth walker - November 9 - 1:00 am

  I just recently got in an accident with the first acura legend I ever owned. It was the other guys fault. It was a 1991 sedan. After the insurance company compensated me for my loss I went right out and bought a 1993 acura legend sedan. I cant get enough of these cars. They are one of the most luxurious and well built cars Ive ever seen. My other car is a 2000 trans am ws6. I enjoy driving my acura legend as much as I love driving my trans am. All I ever want to own luxury car wise is the acura legend. Ive owned other sedans before but this legend is by far the best sedan Ive ever owned. The acura legend is total luxury with performance car attributes with its 200 hp engine.