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:

• 

  Boutique SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Bink - July 28 - 10:43 am

  Poor gas mileage on premium - 18.3 MPG on mostly freeway driving. I used to average 16.9 MPG with my 4.7 L Jeep 4x4. Very uncomfortable ride on 18" tires - bounces down the road. No interior space or trunk space in spite of being longer than my Grand Cherokee. It feels like youre in an airplane cockpit. No pep when you step on it. High maintenance cost as it requires premium and special oil, 4 times the cost of regular oil. I cant wait to get rid of it in the spring.

• 

  Great Car - 2003 Acura TL
  By sorra - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Great car...Ive enjoyed driving it and it is quite reliable. Good waranty too.

• 

  The TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By Mezdej - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Acura has done a fine job with its redesign of the TL. This sport sedan has to be a winner for Acura. Smooth handling, excellent acceleration, nice appointments add to the joy of driving this vehicle. I have owned my TL for a month and cant say that there is a day when I wish I had looked further. Overall, I expect miles and miles of pure driving pleasure with the new TL.

• 

  2004 ACURA TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By xxharoutxx - July 24 - 2:00 am

  The 2004 Acura TL is the best in its class. I have driven an Infiniti I35, Lexus I 330, Mercedes E320, BMW 530, none of this vehicles drive like this "legend".

• 

  The Totally Redesigned TL - 2004 Acura TL
  By AtlantaTLOwner - July 24 - 2:00 am

  The 2004 TL is my third Acura, and I can say that its the best model yet. What drew me to the new TL was the total redesign. The previous TLs always looked plain and conservative. Acura created a handsome, sporty sedan that can now compete with the BMW in overall looks and features. The car has much more power, a smoother ride, and handles curves much better than the previous CL and TL models. The interior of the car is very modern and contemporary. I purchased the Abyss Blue exterior with camel interior. The blue glow of the dashboard really complements the exterior color of the car nicely.

• 

  Acura 2004 - 2004 Acura TL
  By Joe218 - July 24 - 2:00 am

  Never one for non-stylish design,the acura tl drew my undivided attention for exterior beauty. A 4 door sedan in the past would never fly,the new tl style sold me .Options galore, power,handling,comfort,looks,surround sound,its all there -you cant go wrong,an investment for now or years away.

• 

  2002 RSX-S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By mininsx - July 22 - 2:00 am

  I love this car. This is my third Acura, and my bajillionth Honda. I have absolutly no complaints on the car that are not just nit-picky. Overall I would buy this car 100 times over again, without hesitation. I would however choose a different dealer.

• 

  Happy, but... - 2002 Acura MDX
  By WeWantMoreMPG - July 22 - 2:00 am

  Overall, were happy with the vehicle. Our only complaint is were averaging 16 MPG. Its rated 17-23....Wheres the love? Anyone else having this problem?

• 

  Another Transmission Failure - 2002 Acura TL
  By atlthinker - July 22 - 2:00 am

  I thought I bought a car that had great value for the dollar, but all of you folks whining about a particular street not being on the Nav system need to get over it...just wait til your transmission fails! You wont need to worry about where your going, but about how you are going to get there! This is not what I expected for such a highly rated vehicle and the build quality we have come to expect from Honda. And if you think this is a fluke, go to http://www.acura-tl.com and http://www.acura-cl.com and find out how many other Acura owners have experienced transmission failures...thats right...FAILURE, meaning needing to be replaced!

• 

  Great Car for a Great Price - 2003 Acura TL
  By A-Man - July 22 - 2:00 am

  Great ride, great buy and gives BMW a run for its money. This car whoops BMWs 530i out of the water and keeps money in your bank account. No regrets except for not getting the 6 speed.