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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  Best Bang for the buck - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Jesse - December 11 - 9:03 am

  This car is great. Ive never ridden in a more responsive car. Ive been a BMW fan for a long time and have owned 3 but they don;t touch TSX. Iwsh every car rode like this. There is no better choice.

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  01 Acura at 15K - 2001 Acura CL
  By Lou Greenzweig - December 9 - 10:00 am

  This is a fantastic, reliable auto. Ive only done normal maintenance in the 15K Ive owned it. Handles extremely well, does 0-60 in 6.5 secs., gets 27 - 30 mpg on the road and is a pleasure on long trips. Hold two sets of golf clubs plus some luggage in the trunk. It certainly holds the road in wet and dry weather.

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  What a Value!!!! - 2003 Acura TL
  By Son Son - December 9 - 10:00 am

  Drive it alot on business. Very comfortable!!! Love the subwoofage and Bose speakers!!! Almost as fun to drive as my X 1/9!

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  Hits the sweet spot between minivan and crossover - 2016 Acura MDX
  By Richard Ades - December 7 - 10:56 pm

  Smaller and nimbler than a minivan but with third row has more flexibility than most crossovers. And some nice luxury and safety extras. A little sluggish in first gear but other than that a great car.

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  Best in Class - 2004 Acura TL
  By Big G45 - December 6 - 10:00 am

  My choices came down between the G-35, Lexus 330 and the TL. The TL provides the best blend of sport and luxury in this class. The hands free link and navigation system is awesome! 5.1 surround sound will blow you away. I also added the spoiler on the back to give an even more sporty look. Only real negative is lack of fuel economy performance. I have put about 800 miles on the car so far. However, overall value is still excellent!

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  No substantial complaints. Great SUV - 2007 Acura RDX
  By ECB - December 4 - 10:33 pm

  Purchased mine 2 weeks ago and have put on about 800 miles. The RDX handles amazingly and accelerates extremely well, very much like a sports car and far better than any other SUV. The technology package is a must. Acura/Honda has the best navigation system around. The handsfree capability is also impresive. Cargo room is good, as well is storage room in the RDX. Interior build quality is quite good; the leather seats are extermely comfortable. Sound system is, by far, the best I have heard in any car. I have averaged 21 mpg and Im anticipating a slight gain when the car breaks in. Please keep in mind that I do about 70% highway driving and I am a fairly conservative driver

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  Snazzy Little Car - 2017 Acura ILX
  By Tricia - December 4 - 8:57 pm

  When we decided to buy a new car we looked at the Honda Accord, Subaru Legacy and the ILX. The Subaru had a lot of safety features but wasnt very attractive. Honda surprisingly didnt ride that smoothly and if I wanted all the bells and whistle was very pricey. We have a 2006 TL and it has been a great car so we decided to look at Acura and the last car we saw was the ILX and it was IT! The ride was smooth and had much more power than I thought it would, it has all the bells and whistles I wanted and the safety features that Subaru has. We were able to get the Tech Plus for a price lower than both the Honda and Subaru with the features we got. Ive had the car a couple of weeks and the gas mileage is great and Im truly enjoying it. Ive had several people comment on how good looking the car is. I see other reviews slamming this car but this 60 year old Nana with a snazzy red little car couldnt be happier.

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  A real head turner - 2005 Acura TL
  By zman - December 3 - 11:20 pm

  This car is simply great. I looked at the Audi, BMW, and Infiniti--and this car hands down takes the cake. Thought about waiting for the new VW Passat but simply fell in love with the Acura. Price was great as well.

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  Acura - A nice surprise - 2005 Acura TL
  By Pamela - December 3 - 9:16 am

  Ive heard so many good things about the Acura and starting researching it myself for my next purchase...I love the car and so far am completely satisfied with my purchase.

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  Excellent toy not much of comfort - 2006 Acura TL
  By fred - December 1 - 7:36 pm

  I researched alot before making my decision. This car is fun to drive, but its rough like my Jeep. I have never seen a luxury sedan this rough. The handling is fine; nothing special. You will feel every hole and bumps on the road. The technology on this car is exceptional. The navigation system, voice recognition is just awsome. After all those were the REASONS why I bought this car. The sound system is not that impressive as I had read on edmunds before; it is ok though. I had a lexus LS400 before this car and I know my next car will be a lexus again. Over all, I am ok with it.