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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  The New TL is a Great Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By BoSox in 04 - July 14 - 10:00 am

  Ive had the car for six weeks and 2200 miles and am very impressed. Acceleration and handling are first- rate, making it the most fun car Ive owned. Styling is excellent. Interior look and feel are great, with very good front and rear seat room. Content and technology are class-leading. Build quality is excellent - no squeaks or rattles. Put it all together and the new TL is the best under $35k car available.

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  Very Happy - 2009 Acura TSX
  By SW - July 14 - 12:26 am

  I just purchased my TSX a few weeks ago and couldnt be happier. I test drove and compared the G35, Maxima, IS250. I did a ton of research and the longer Ive had the car the happier I am with the purchase. I got it loaded with most accessories... the others were much more expensive and lacked comparable features. If youre in the market for a small four-door sedan you wont go wrong with the TSX.

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  Best Car Ive ever owned - 2014 Acura RDX
  By Jim - July 13 - 4:55 am

  Maybe the best car Ive ever owned...Im 70!

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  Third Times A Charm - 2005 Acura RL
  By Bob - July 8 - 12:56 pm

  This is my third Acura product and it is the best yet! It is a luxurious, high performance ride with enough high tech equipment to keep any gadget freak happy. I love this car!!

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  Excellent car - 2004 Acura TL
  By Hays - July 7 - 10:00 am

  Great car for the money.

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  Forget BMW, Jag, and Merc TL is RE-AL! - 2004 Acura TL
  By anselon2 - July 7 - 10:00 am

  I have driven in every luxury car out there. You havent driven till you drive this car. Interior is uncluttered, yet SUPER LUXURIOUS. My friends (who HAVE BMWs, Jags) are jealous, between the voice commanded "passenger temp" to the DVD- Audio, to the aluminum and wood paneling. This car has it all. We also have a MDX that my wife loves, and now were both driving Black Acuras. This car has the drive punch of a Porsche motor. My brother has a porsche so Im speaking from experience in driving one. Im talking real exotic torque to the pedal. And welcome the first tiptronic that really responds IMMEDIATELY. this is the techies dreamcar.

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  Great Bargain - Almost there w/features - 2004 Acura TL
  By JDS in DC - July 7 - 10:00 am

  The TL is almost there with its euro car competitors. It has most of the features, but a few obvious oversights (automatic lites & wipers. Acceleration good, buit braking could be better and turning radius was much better on my Merceds M-Class (reads 3- pt turns are now 5-pt turns). Passengers and drivers are comfortable and easy enterance and egress. More space in back than 5-series. Over all a good value for the price, only a few features missing and braking could be better (hard braking is very tough). For the price and class, way ahead of other Japanesse in style, comfort, performance and FUN.

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  Great car! - 2005 Acura TL
  By floridadriver - July 6 - 1:00 am

  I looked at all the other cars- Audi A4, BMW330, G35, Volvo S60. I bought the dealer option, so it has everything.The navigation is very user friendly.For the money, this is the best car out there.

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  More good than bad - 2003 Acura RSX
  By Scottiedsl - July 4 - 2:00 am

  Though at first I was doubtful of the 200 horsepower with only 140 torque, this car really moves fast and has ridiculously amazing steering. The styling is so-so, the seats are great for going fast but harshly solid when relaxing, the shifter is stiff from 1st to 2nd and has some problems in 3rd but is otherwise fantastic, and the main problem is the ride quality (unbelievably noisy on highway, harsh on bumps, engine always whines). It doesnt touch the smoothness of the Eclipse in terms of power or ride, but handles much better and, when punched, absolutely flies.

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  Love the TSX - no regrets of decision - 2004 Acura TSX
  By Madhuri - July 2 - 10:00 am

  This is my first new car, and I am glad I made the right diecision in getting a TSX. I love driving this car. Nice interior with silver trim (for Carbon Grey ext / Ebony interior). I was speculating between Saab 9-3 and TSX, interior is one of the reasons I opted for TSX.