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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  A Home Run! - 2004 Acura TL
  By dan127 - November 30 - 2:00 am

  Acura really did their homework with this one. My father has been driving cars for two years but finally decided on the 2004 TL. For a decent price, you get tons of features all wrapped up in a gorgeous sedan with gobs of power and refinement. Even if the new BMW 5- series were offered at the same price, my father said he would have purchased the Acura. Youd be making a huge mistake by not adding this car to your test-drive list. This model is tons better than the 2003 (better looks, more power, AWESOME sound system, higher quality interior)... Great work, Acura!

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  Good with the bad - 2004 Acura TL
  By bezee - November 30 - 2:00 am

  Looks Great! Runs Great! Loads of fun to drive. Awesome sound system. Alas, with 1500 miles on it, rattles in the dash and from the glovebox. Not what you expect from Acura. Not what you expect from vehicles in this class.

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  Awesome Car - 2007 Acura TL
  By RickKim - November 29 - 7:00 am

  This is our first brand new car purchased in 26 years. We are very glad we waited for this. The car is everything we coud ever have wanted and more. The nav, sound system, fit and finish... truly superb... and then you get to drive it. WOW. Only concern is the mpg which should get better with added miles.

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  rsx-s - 2002 Acura RSX
  By comanchep - November 28 - 10:00 am

  At exactly 1500 miles the syncros in 3rd gear totally went out. the dealership gave me (immediately) a rsx loaner, next day aired a replacement tranny, and installed it without a scratch. I enjoyed driving the non S-Type with automatic for comparison and was back in business within 24 hours. Very satisfied. No other problems (5590Miles now) Milage with very hard driving style-28-29mpg. LOVE THE INTERIOR . Worst value is the stereo. No "highs" No "Lows" it must be "BOSE". No Volume either.

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  Great Midlife Crisis Car - 2001 Acura CL
  By bpats - November 28 - 10:00 am

  I put lots of miles on my car every year. I have taken the 3.2 over all the major and most minor roads in CA. The 3.2 is a blast to drive. It is quick, fast, and handles well. For fun try Hwy 36 from Scotia to Redding and you will see for yourself.

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  what the dealer does not tell you untill - 2003 Acura TL
  By whatever - November 28 - 10:00 am

  What the dealer does not tell you is that the TL and The TLs models do not interchange. Tires will not exchange and neither will the upgraded struts and you cannot cannot install a stabilizer bar. I found this out the following week and tried to upgrade to the TLS and they wanted a 10,000 dollar difference. Bottom line is You do not want the TL only the TLS!

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  Acura Tl Type S - 2003 Acura TL
  By Herm - November 28 - 10:00 am

  Leased the car in February and have just over 4000 miles. Car is fun to drive does everything well. Plenty of power, looks grow on you and is a solid all around car. Plenty of punch for the price.

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  Great Car - 2012 Acura TL
  By John - November 27 - 9:12 am

  Had to sell my new 2015 Honda Accord. Did not like the driver seating ergonomics. They did not reveal the issues during the test drive. Went with this used TL instead. Wow. What a car. Very comfortable. I can actually see the gauges instead of the steering wheel nearly completely blocking them. Very quick. I really have to watch the speed. Quiet. Quiet interior with respect to tire and wind noise. Great package. The low speed shifts are a little wonky, but that is my only complaint.

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  best car ever purchased - 2005 Acura TSX
  By j - November 27 - 2:30 am

  This acura is the best car that i have ever puchased. it rides very nice and handles well too. The engine has plenty of power. The stock tires are a little sluggish though.

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  Must test drive new TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Foghorn - November 23 - 2:00 am

  Excellent car, best value in class by far. Fun to drive, yet luxurious.