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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  6 Months of RSX-S - 2002 Acura RSX
  By RSX02S - June 14 - 7:30 am

  The RSX Type-S is an ideal car for entry level luxury, sporty performance, usefulness with the hatch, and high levels of reliability, all at a reasonable price.

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  A more sporting TL? - 2005 Acura TSX
  By daschtick - June 13 - 1:46 pm

  This car has been my biggest surprise of the year. I needed to replace my wifes 92 Legend, and I was dead set on the TL after having previously driven one. But after discovering that many of the TL features had been added to the TSX for 05, I became curious about it. I had my doubts that the 4 cylinder would be satifying, but after the first mile, I found that it far exceeded my expectations. What surprised me most was the nimble feeling of the chassis which made it much more fun to drive than the more powerful TL. Throw in better mileage, and a $6000 dollar savings, and the answer became perfectly clear - TSX!

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  TL The Best - 2005 Acura TL
  By Mark Matlack - June 12 - 10:53 am

  Ive owned Honda Accord Coupes for the past 6 years. Step up to the TL and what a difference. I cant wait to drive the car. The XM Radio is the best and the Bluetooth phone system is fanstatic. No complaints at all. I would buy another one tomorrow and probably would go for manual.

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  Perfect Fit - 2004 Acura TSX
  By gt0279a - June 12 - 10:00 am

  Hands down the best car I have owned. The bottom line is I cant wait to drive the TSX everyday. Carbon Grey is a great color matched with the grey leather interior.

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  The best car in its class - 2004 Acura TL
  By Vtecne - June 12 - 10:00 am

  I love this car.

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  Acura - 2004 Acura TL
  By coach03 - June 12 - 10:00 am

  This is fun to drive. It responds when you accelerate and is very comfortable. There are so many technology features that it does take some time to learn but the time is well spent.

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  great car - 2004 Acura TL
  By hmseminole - June 12 - 10:00 am

  I bought this car the 1st week they came out. Car and dealer are unbelievable. Intitial cars had tire problem, but Acura has resolved this with mine and with the new models. Best car I have ever had.

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  Cant Get a Better Car Dollar for Dollar - 2006 Acura TL
  By astropeter@gmail.com - June 9 - 10:50 am

  The 2006 TL might not have all the features available on other luxury cars, but I believe they did that to keep the price down, which allows people lie me to afford it. I considered many other cars, in fact I was shopping for about 6 months, but in the end the TL was the best I could get for my budget. I got my 06 Navi for 32,100, which I thought was a great price for the car. And after driving it for 6K I still believe it is the perfect car for me. It is not the best at just one thing, but it accels at almost everything. The combination of engine, gas milage, stlying, interior room, trunk space, amenities, technology, reliability, fun factor and price make it the best car for its class!

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  Finest Car in its Class - 2007 Acura RDX
  By BornToDrive - June 7 - 10:46 am

  I have a 300 RX Lexus but found it a little sloppy on the road. Yes it had a luxury ride and feel but wasnt quite what I wanted. Solution RDX with tech pak. It rocks, it has performance, ride, handling and about every bell and whisltle you can find a price that will not put you in the poorhouse. Go for it! Tech pack a must!

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  So Glad I Gave It a Second Look - 2004 Acura TSX
  By T Mitchell - June 7 - 10:00 am

  I spent 18 months looking for my next car and just couldnt find the level of performance and economy that I wanted without spending 35K+. I test drove the Acura TL twice and was about to give in to buying it in spite of the expense when I finally decided to test drive the TSX just to rule it out (truth is I was afraid of the 4- cylinder and "knew" I wanted a V-6). All of that changed during the test drive and I purchased one two days later. I now have over 10K miles on it and absolutely love the ride, performance, and economy. I am routinely getting 31 mpg on freeway trips and have not gotten less than 27 mpg to/from work. This car is very fun to drive and only cost me $25,500!