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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  2006 TL handles better than it looks. - 2006 Acura TL
  By Mike McAndrews - March 27 - 7:33 pm

  A fun car to drive! Grips the road through turns at high acceleration. Superior sound system and well appointed interior. Test drove the Infiniti G5, BMW 3 series and Audi 4 series. TL was by far the best value for the money.

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  Terrific Alternative To German Models - 2007 Acura RDX
  By dorianf - March 26 - 2:26 pm

  I buy a new car every six to seven years, alternating with my spouse. I bought the RDX with a need to buy something upscale and fun. Also winter handling and cold weather features were other concerns. Here was my must have list and what the RDX provided: heated seats, standard; heated outside mirrors (hate scraping), standard; AWD, standard, XM or Sirius radio; XM standard (better channels than Sirius and no Howard Stern); Bluetooth; standard; good acceleration; standard, and very good I might add; classy; standard - even without the BMW, Lexus, or Mercedes nameplate. Okay, there was another sort of must-have that the RDX did not give me: auto-headlights.

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  Best Sports Car Value Available - 2004 Acura RSX
  By bauhaus01 - March 25 - 10:00 am

  I have now had my RSX Type S for over a year and am currently approaching 28,000 miles. So far I have not had a single problem. I have made two long distance road trips and averaged 32 miles per gallon on each. I normally average 24 miles per gallon combined city and freeway driving. I split the freeway/city driving about 70/30. Everything about the car is pure, clean and crisp. I was looking for simplicity when I searched for my car. There is nothing complicated about the RSX. It has pure clean lines, a simple ergonomically correct interior and simple, pure, smooth power. This car begs to be driven hard and fast.

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  My analysis after 2 weeks. - 2004 Acura MDX
  By smc2103 - March 25 - 10:00 am

  Got my 04 MDX about 2 weeks ago. I am getting about 20.5 mpg (mostly highway, some local) on average so far. I am happy with this average as my 96 TL was giving only about 2 miles more. I have no sloshing issue, however the 2K RPM humming sound is there. However, I have learnt to ignore it, and doesnt bother me too much. Other than that really loving the drive! Would have loved Acura to place some light over the coin tray!

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  AWSOME CAR TO DRIVE - 2004 Acura TL
  By BARZAK - March 25 - 10:00 am

  AWSOME CAR. FUN TO DRIVE, VERY STABLE.

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  love it! - 2004 Acura TL
  By dougco - March 25 - 10:00 am

  this thing is a blast to drive! im 63" and have a hard time finding cars i fit in but this one is plenty big. The engine and shifter are fabulous. the sound system kicks ass! Great value. got it for $2800 off list so dont get taken. FAST!

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  Best Car I Ever Owned!! - 2004 Acura TL
  By BrianWag - March 25 - 10:00 am

  I had researched all the cars in the TLÂ’s price range, on the Internet, reviews, test drives, and so on. Frankly I had looked at every car except the TL, and had decided to just go and see what Acura had. At the time I did not know that this new 2004 TL existed. Once I saw the car I fell in love with it. It looked like something that James Bond would drive. The styling, I mean it looked classy. Then has I test-drove the car, the power and acceleration was apparent. I had just driven the Lexus 300si, and that car was gut-less, no power. Plus the interior of the TL especially at night is beautiful. I love this car.

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  2005 Acura TL - 2005 Acura TL
  By Cherrie R. Lubey - March 24 - 11:26 am

  I love my car. I especially find the nav system very easy to use.

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  Love this car... - 2004 Acura RSX
  By MiaMia - March 24 - 2:00 am

  Ive had this car a little over a year. I still love it! I love driving it. I normally get sick of a vehicle after the first year, but Im not sick of my RSX yet!

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  Best car Ive ever owned - 2004 Acura TL
  By cestjim - March 24 - 2:00 am

  Ive had my TL for two weeks. It is comfortable to ride in and drive. the acceleration is impressive. I tried accelerating without the bu## saver switch (the VSA) once and have kept it engaged since. the torque steer was scary!!