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 Midsize SUV - 2007 Acura MDX
  By Corry - March 23 - 4:40 pm

  Compared with Mercedes ML350, Lexus 350, BMW X5 3.0, Volvo XC90. Better than the ones compared to. With Mercedes and BMW everything is an option. I had a MB S430. I spent too much time repairing the vehicle. MDX comes fully loaded with all options. The audio system is excellent. It plays MP3s of DVDs. It can hold 6+1 DVDs loaded with MP3. 7 * 8.4 GB (dual layer) = approx 60GB of songs... AMAZING !! Quality of audio is also excellent. Navigation rocks. MB navigation is like Mickey Mouse compared to this. I never thought of being so happy of a Honda over the MB.

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  My first SUV - 2002 Acura MDX
  By Padma - March 22 - 10:00 am

  This is my first SUV. I was always little hesitant to drive SUVs, I am more of a car person. But I was totally impressed once I got in to the vehicle. And the best thing about is I am not missing the family minivan.. right after I drove off the dealership, we went out of town with my parents and two teenage children and some luggage. No one complained abount being crammed.

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  Just bought one - 2002 Acura TL
  By SpartanMan2 - March 21 - 2:13 pm

  Nighthawk Black, beautiful, still breaking it in. Loving every minute behind the wheel. Had to buy a radar detector because I catch myself speeding so often in this car.

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  Best Car On The Market - 2007 Acura TL
  By Fozzyfoe - March 21 - 7:00 am

  I traded in my Accord and S2000 for a car that combines the best elements from each car into one. It has power, quickness, great handling, great brakes, great looks, and more features than any other car! I am hooked for a long time with Acura now and will never turn back. I hope to see the SH-AWD in 09 and will trade up to that. Also, I hear that even more power is coming!

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  TL type-S - 2003 Acura TL
  By ttliang - March 21 - 3:20 am

  great value. really fast. love the performance of this car. you cant find a better car for the $$$ you spent. suspension is sporty and nice. you may want the regular TL for smoother ride. great gas mileage consider the 260hp under the hood. it would be great if honda can put a "stick" in it.

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  Dont waste your money on the others - 2005 Acura TL
  By New Fan - March 20 - 2:36 am

  This was my first Acura. I had previously owned Toyata, and Nissans, as well as some other American Cars. The TL is by far one of the best built and fun cars to drive that Ive ever owned. Its nice to know that there is a company out there that pays attention to details The quality of this car just cant be beat. What an excellent combination of technology and comfort. The interior is layed out so ergonomically. The sound system is just incredible. The blue tooth compatible voice activated phone system is very useful. You dont have to spend 50-60k to get real quality!

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  Nice ride - 2003 Acura TL
  By Anna Harrington - March 19 - 6:01 pm

  Good car ..very nice inside and out Anna Harrington

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  Dont get on the road with out it smile - 2005 Acura MDX
  By Anthony - March 19 - 7:00 am

  Driving this car I found to be very reliable and surefooting. This would be the car to drive before making any decisions on another model of SUVs. It is not totally an off road vehicle, but capable of holding its own.

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  hard to beat - 2004 Acura TL
  By mig - March 18 - 10:00 am

  Can not believe how much car you get with the acura compared with other vehicles in its class. Power, performance, reliability, quality and state of the art technology all in one package. Navigation system is better than our friends mercedes 500 sl.

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  BEST IN CLASS - 2002 Acura RSX
  By very happy rsx owner - March 18 - 8:23 am

  It is worth every penny I spent. You can push the car so hard when speed is needed and yet its fuel economical/ confortable when you just need to cruise around your town. Great interior design that is un-equaled by integra. Classy exterior that fits the main stream people, and when style is needed, there are a lot of aftermarket support. Base / type-S both will be smart choice for you.