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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  CHERYLS OPINION - 2003 Acura MDX
  By CHERYL WARREN - October 16 - 10:00 am

  THIS VEHICHLE IS VERY COMFORTABLE AND DOES NOT HAVE THE TRUCK RIDE THAT MANY OTHER MODELS HAVE.IT IS FUN TO DRIVE AND IS VERY COMFORTABLE. I LOVE IT!

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  My new MDX - 2003 Acura MDX
  By Angelastarr - October 16 - 10:00 am

  By no means bland, the Acura MDX is surefooted off the road and elegant on the road.It handles like a dream. The extra width in the back, about 6" more than most SUVs, allows for an airmattress for safer camping and helps me in my volunteer work which involves transporting cats and kittens for healthcare and adoption. So the fuel efficiency doesnt bother me. I have the best of both worlds...a truck and a sports car.

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  Extremely Satisfied - 2003 Acura MDX
  By songb42 - October 16 - 10:00 am

  I am completely satisfied with this vehicle. My MDX drives like a car, but has the power of a truck. It is very comfortable and fun to drive.

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  A GOOD CHOICE - 2003 Acura MDX
  By EK1988 - October 16 - 10:00 am

  A GOOD VEHICLE - WE DEBATED BETWEEN THE ACURA AND A 4 RUNNER LIMITED. SAME PRICE BUT BETTER FEATURES IN THE ACURA. TIME AND CONTINUED USE WILL DICTATE VALUE.

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  Best top of the line buy - 2003 Acura TL
  By nshorejay - October 16 - 10:00 am

  A great value, all that is needed in a car big trunk, seats 3 in rear with comfort. The trunk pass through is actually useful....skis - 2 x 4s

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  Best car for my money - 2003 Acura TL
  By jdgossage - October 16 - 10:00 am

  This vehicle not only looks good it is very comfortable, it drives and handles like a vehicle with a much higher price tag. Acura has built a high performance vehicle with all the features of a luxury automobile.

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  SH-AWD is a blast! - 2009 Acura TL
  By michael - October 14 - 1:06 am

  I had a 2008 Type S and loved it. My only complaint about this car was the FWD, always spinning when I needed grip. Most of this problem was made moot when I drove home my SH-AWD two days before the big snowfall in Seattle. I now have 500 miles on my SH-AWD, I can tell you that unless youve taken the SH-AWD in 10 degrees with a foot of compact snow & ice on mountain roads, gliding around corners above freeway speed limits when others could just as well be peddling their cars, you really dont have the data needed to write a review. Ill give you that look of the nose and rear of the body as it comes from Acura arent as cool looking as the 08 Type S, but those two panels could be painted.

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  TL Review - 1995 Acura TL
  By Pimplogic - October 13 - 1:35 pm

  I bought the car for $2,000 cash, it already had 192,000 miles. I have had no problems, it performs great, has plenty of power and luxury, great features, is a smooth, fun, comfortable ride.

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  GREAT CAR - 2005 Acura TL
  By JIM - October 12 - 4:06 pm

  This is the best TL Acura has built. This car is fun to drive, gets good gas mileage. All the extras are included in the price except the nag system. Great job Acura. You have a winner.

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  TSX is so enjoyable to drive!!! - 2009 Acura TSX
  By TSX123 - October 11 - 12:34 am

  I bought this vehicle three months ago and still Im in love with it. Its steering and turn radius is great. Its sleek and sexy looking with a sporty feel. Its great for city driving because its still a smaller sedan, but big enough where you dont get bullied on the road or feel unsafe if you were to get in an accident. The interior is very stylish and although the buttons/navigation system can seem intimidating, its not difficult to understand how to use it.