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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  very well refined - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Dave - October 2 - 2:00 am

  I always thought of Acura as an overproced Honda. I had an Accord for 12 years and test drove a new one. Very nice ride but really bored me. Test drove a VW CC and liked it but not sold on VW reliability. I considered the 328i, the infiniti and the Audi. All very nice cars and from a driving purist perspective, all better handling than the TSX. However, the price tags were all over 35k and this I got for around 27k.I like that it has a lot of standard features and is comfortable. Acrua always does things that makes sense and I am happier every day I drive the car.I opted for the 4 cyl as the 6 cyl pricing would have steered me in another direction.I like that it doesnt look like every car uc

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  Great car for $$$ - 2000 Acura RL
  By RLownerRI - October 1 - 2:00 am

  I bought this in 07 with 114K on it. I have since put 90,000 and for the $8,000 I spent on it I couldnt ask for a better car. Its very comfortable, has enough pep to get out of its own way (it is not a race car by any stretch of the imagination) and is the most reliable car I have ever owned. The body integrity, even after 11 years and 202,ooo niles is top notch. Motor runs great. My only repaits have been a seat belt sensor and a fuel relay switch - less than $1,000 in repairs (excluding regular maintenance items of course). I do have a small leak in tranny that just started but no slippage. For 200,000 miles Im not going to complain.

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  Great vehicle - 2010 Acura TSX
  By Kevinmac - October 1 - 2:00 am

  The V6 TSX is a great vehicle, being fun to driv3 and acceleratin is above pr. Edmunds has 0-60 sprints as 6.4, its more like 5.7- 5.8, with 1/4 miles coming in at about 14.5. These time were measured in sport mode. Great car fun to drive!

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  Fun Daily Driver - 2010 Acura TL
  By Raynman - September 30 - 2:00 am

  Wanted to replace a 2008 TL S-Type with a moderate-price spirited daily driver adding AWD for winter driving. The TL is slightly underpowered, and I didnt like the FWD/tourque steer. Test drove the BMW 535/335 X, Mercedes C 4-Matic. Both are nice cars, but when compared to the TL S-Type neither is really exhilarating. I was not considering another Acura until I saw the 3.5 litre 6-speed. My impression, this car compares very favorably with the BMW 535 in size and performance. Compared to the S-Type the ride is softer with less road feel but the AWD system makes it corner like its on rails even with 18" all seaon tires. Put 19" performance tires on it if you really want to have fun.

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  You want quick and reliable? Start here - 2003 Acura CL
  By airplane nerd - September 29 - 2:00 am

  By a large margin, the best car Ive owned in more than a half-century on the road. Impressive response to throttle inputs, smooth shifts, excellent torque, even in 5th gear, pretty decent mileage (22 with a lot of stop-and-go 25-mi commutes into DC and back). Virtually no shop time other than for reg maintenance, brakes went 60K before replacement. Finish holding up very well despite outside parking at home. The kid wants to know when Ill be too old to drive it so she can have it, even tho shes not sure why there are three pedals. When they pry my cold, dead fingers from the shift knob, thats when. Or when Acura builds me a suitable and acceptable successor.

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  93 acura gs-r - 1993 Acura Integra
  By dohc vtec - September 27 - 2:00 am

  this car runs like power of dream.fast and quick.one of the rarest acura on the streets and collector.

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  Keep going and going - 2001 Acura TL
  By The Ottoman - September 27 - 2:00 am

  I have been driving it for about 7 years now and had to change its transmission once. Other than that no issues at all. I havent changed the brakes even after driving 90k miles. I only changed battery, wipers and tires, and thats about it! Gas mileage is 29 in city which is excellent. It still drives like new and Im planning to keep it forever or give it to my college kid in 10 years...:-))

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  love it - 2010 Acura TL
  By oscars - September 27 - 2:00 am

  I had a 3G TL (2007) leased, and with the lease coming up I started looking around at new cars. Specifically the luxury/sporty/AWD sedan market. The 2010 TL was always in the running, but I didnt like the front end on most colors (though it looks good in white and silver), and some other cars seemed more sporty - G37, BMW 335, and others seemed more luxurious - MB C class, Audi A4, Lexus GS. Then I saw they had a 6spd manual, and I had to go drive it. When I drove it, I had to have it. The interior is top notch for the price point, the exterior is distinctive in a GOOD way (esp. the back end), and the combo of 4 doors, 300 HP, AWD and a manual transmission is a very rare and good thing

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  Modern Luxury Right Here - 2010 Acura TL
  By JLGolden - September 26 - 2:00 am

  I first considered Infiniti G37, Lincoln MKZ, Lexus IS / ES. I even looked at a new LaCrosse. Then it all came together at Acura. The Acura brand is a quiet, confident player among the luxury cars. The TLs styling, comfort, performance, features, and value were the perfect ingredients for me. The Acura brands reputation, as well as the great dealer experience, further impressed my purchase decision.

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  Worth it - 2010 Acura TL
  By ACD - September 26 - 2:00 am

  I have owned a 2004 TL prior and went to Lexus GS 350 in 2007. I came back to the TL after driving the 2010 SH-AWD. Acura does all the little things well, the bluetooth (quality is outstanding), the stock stereo is everything other reviewers claimed (outrageous for stock), the Navigation is second to none. Having owned a Lexus, BWM and Infinity, the Navigation is well executed and very useable. The AWD reminds me of my 2001 BWM 330ic it truly makes handling feel like a German sports car. I shopped it against the Audi 6, the Infinity M and Cadillac CTS. For the money with all the things Acura puts in the TL standard it was not even close. A perfect choice for an outside salesperson.