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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  Our MDX - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Kevin Roberson - January 11 - 2:00 am

  Great SUV. Overall best SUV for the money. We like it even better than out Lexus lx470

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  flawed - 2004 Acura TL
  By flawed - January 11 - 2:00 am

  TL nifty in many ways but between 50 and 55 MPH the car vibrates, the dash shudders, things squek. Engine seems to "sag" at that speed compounding the condition. Acura needs to fix this quick. Give me back my BMW.

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  2nd TSX - 2006 Acura TSX
  By KD - January 10 - 9:53 pm

  I had a 04 5AT + Navi TSX. I was xtremely disatisfied with the 5AT performance. The car just felt sluggish...when I wanted to pass a speeding car on the highway. Hence, my decision to trade in for 06 MT + Navi. I love the way Honda has configured the gear ratios. It gives a better acceleration + drop down 1 or 2 gears and it rewards u with peak performance (vtec points reached easily on every gear). I decided to stay with TSX for its Honda reliability, interior design and one of the best 6 spd gear box in the market. The car is rated top 10 in car and driver magazine (the kick is - ONLY MT are test driven and reviewed). TSX only lacks power + torque..but it is a natural breathing engine.

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  Happy Owner - 2005 Acura RL
  By Nonsense31 - January 10 - 8:36 pm

  I had a choice of this or Mercedes E500 I chose this because the Acura RL offers so much more to offer and has a different look. Im tired of the same cars on the roads. I got more for my money and from what I hear the Mercedes are in the shop a lot and at a big cost.

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  The RSX rocks - 2002 Acura RSX
  By rkelly4384 - January 10 - 10:00 am

  Dont be mislead by the base RSXs 160hp. Its definetly not a V6, but being as light as it is (2700lbs) it accelerates beautifly. I had considered the eclipse and celica and I must agree with motor trend the rsx kills the competition. Its the best four cylinder Ive ever driven, riden or seen.

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  Smooth rider - 2005 Acura MDX
  By rugrats - January 6 - 7:33 pm

  At first, I felt that it was big for me to drive, but then when I got used to it, I honestly prefer to drive my Acura MDX instead of Honda Accord/ Coupe. What I like about this car it is very quiet and runs really smooth. I am very happy that we had selected this vehicle.

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  Rattling noisy cabin. - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Raju Joshi - January 6 - 10:45 am

  I got 2016 MDX in last June. It was ok for about six month then from passenger side middle row some kind of noise (like two plastic or rubbing two seat together) start coming. I try real hard to pin point but can not pin point. Now is about more then eight month I have vehicle and sound is coming everywhere, I dont know what is solution, is that my vehicle only or most mdx? Very very poor acceleration and uneasy shifting. I plan to change with other brand SUV, but before that I am going to take to dealership and/or body shop just for that noise.

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  Great vehicle - 2004 Acura MDX
  By John6952 - January 5 - 2:00 am

  Ive spent a lot of seat time in many SUVs. MDX has the best compromises between utility and sport. Too little utility X5, FX35/45, RX330. Reliability issues ML320/500. Unproven reliability XC90, Toureg (sp?), SRX. You got to be kinding/what were they thinking? Cayenne, G500.

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  Awsome Car!!! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Bret Temple - January 5 - 2:00 am

  This is one of the nicest cars I have ever owned. I currently have a lexus GS 300 and like this car much better. I love the voice activation, and the bluetooth phone technology. The looks of the car get me more compliments than any other car I have owned. Great Improvement from the old TL which I traded in for the new one.

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  The MDX is the best SUV I have ever owne - 2002 Acura MDX
  By chad frank - January 3 - 10:00 am

  This is the best SUV I have ever owned. I traded in my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee for this vehicle. This is a great automobile.