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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  RSXELLENCE - 2004 Acura RSX
  By RSXELLENCE - June 12 - 2:00 am

  I am 17 years old and I am very thankful for having and choosing the RSX as my first car. I feel this car should have a much higher review rate, especially coming from fellow owners. This car has everything for its price and one of the most dominant in the sport compact genere. I love it, everything besides the sub-par Bose sound system.

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  It is OK - 2004 Acura MDX
  By Joanne Melanson - June 12 - 2:00 am

  Design flaw in retractable front seat belts causes the belts to snap back too quickly and hit the door jamb. The result is small nicks on the door casing that will only get worse as the car ages. Tape over the area helps diminish this problem. Fuel economy is not good on local travel but ok on highway. Third seat is useless.

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  what a car for the car nerd! - 2004 Acura TL
  By Tyle Davis - June 12 - 2:00 am

  this is a must see!

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  BMW Killer - 2004 Acura TL
  By ricopuno - June 12 - 2:00 am

  Excellent car, best value for the luxury you get, beats bmw 5, g35, and lexus hands down

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  Excellent Idea, Horrible Execution - 2005 Acura TL
  By former acura lover - June 11 - 10:00 am

  Fell in love with this car when I bought it now I CANNOT STAND IT, all within less than 6 months! Why? Rattles, Rattles, and more Rattles Mislaligned body parts, especially trunk that rubs and has paint chipped off and rust on it! Very poor water based paint used. Chips started on drive home from dealer and havent stopped. Paint mottling (swirling on doors) uneven paint application at factory! Looks like an army camouflage vehicle under certain lights! Cheap leather on seats that has more wrinkles than a 120 year old ladys face. Wrinkle in seat within first 500 miles and it only gets worse. If you get black its gets even better! DASHBOARD FADES TO A MILKY WHITE COLOR! ALL TLs DO IT!

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  Very Safe and Drives Great - 2007 Acura TL
  By unfsig - June 10 - 8:33 pm

  Ive had mine for about three weeks now and had an accident on the passenger side. The airbags worked perfectly. Only the ones that should have deployed actually did. The other car hit me fairly hard and the doors protected the passenger side appropriately. VERY FUN TO DRIVE. Reminds me very much of the older BMW 540, lots of torque and tons of horsepower. The only real difference I can see is that its made better, has more features, and costs an awful lot less. Its also a lot better looking than the new Bangle bimmers. The technology in this car is unsurpassed. Maybe a $90+K Mercedes has it beat, but I didnt pay $90k did I. :)

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  Excellent Geekmobile! - 2005 Acura RL
  By James Robinson - June 10 - 7:13 pm

  This car is an absolute joy! However, I will admit that the RL is not for everyone. It has more features for the price than any other car in its class. In some parts of the USA, you can get this car for close to invoice, which makes the price/features ratio even better. If youre a driving enthusiast, then the 5 series or Infiniti M might be your cup of tea. However, it you are a technophile who also like to drive, then the RL is for you! The audio system is phenomenal for standard equipment and the nav system is the most advanced Ive experienced. "Super-Handling" All Wheel Drive might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it does work well. The RL is definitely worth it!

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  Car of the Year 2007 - 2007 Acura RDX
  By Fast Freddy - June 9 - 6:20 pm

  I have had my RDX for 3 weeks. It drives excellently. Acura is #1 in technology and luxury. Drive this SUV and fall in love with it.

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  Nice Car - 2006 Acura TL
  By Michelle F. - June 9 - 7:56 am

  I love it already and Ive only had it two days! The handling is great and I am having fun driving this car.

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  Awesome car - 2005 Acura TL
  By SandiB - June 6 - 2:50 am

  This is actually my fourth Acura, and I will never buy another brand of car. As soon as I got a look at the new 2005 style, I was at the dealership. I wanted the navigation system and my husband wanted the Brembo brakes, so we purchased the 6 speed transmission and boy does it got pep!!! I have so much fun flying around town. The manual drive was very touchy at first but now it is just plain fun!