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Used 2003 Acura CL Consumer Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
163 reviews
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4.63 out of 5 stars

Great blend of touring comfort and performance in a mid priced coupe

jimmbbo, 04/03/2011
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 6M)
17 of 17 people found this review helpful

Bought the car new after having had Honda Acuras and Preludes for a decade, and I wanted to move up. Was struck immediately by its spirited performance, good handling and comfort for long drives. The styling is refined and understated, but clearly not head turning. Interior is well finished, and mechanically the car has been excellent. Straight line acceleration is faster than it feels, and it's a blast to drive in the curves. The manual six speed is smooth, and perfectly matched to the engine and car... RECOMMENDED!

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5 out of 5 stars

Love this car

Kane Jones, 04/28/2015
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 5A)
8 of 8 people found this review helpful

Bought a 2003 acura 3.2 cl 2 years ago from a friend of mine who owns a mechanic shop, and I must say that this car is an amazing car, the engine sounds great and at times I would just turn the radio off just to listen to the engine purr as it has a distinct sound to it that sounds so good, the only issue I've had so far is with the power steering making a whining noise which turns out to be the power steering pump, but otherwise this is a great car, I updated the deck to a double din screen, hooked up a back up camera to it and installed an amplifier with an 18 inch sub woofer and now my wife is driving in style lol....I will buy another cl for myself.

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5 out of 5 stars

11 years and counting

bill2003cl, 11/09/2013
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 6M)
7 of 7 people found this review helpful

My CD player just died and I had to consider whether to pat $400 to have it fixed or possibly getting a new car and going with getting the CD fixed. After 11 years and 150,000 miles, it's showing its age externally, but it still drives great. I just had the manual transmission fluid changed for the first time. With no radio for a couple of weeks I could appreciate how great the engine purrs. If you can find a used one with a manual, I would recommend it. It sounds like it should be good for another 100,000 miles and only an Audi or a BMW might seem like an improvement.

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4.63 out of 5 stars

You want quick and reliable? Start here

airplane nerd, 09/29/2010
2003 Acura CL 3.2 Type-S 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 6M)
15 of 17 people found this review helpful

By a large margin, the best car I've owned in more than a half-century on the road. Impressive response to throttle inputs, smooth shifts, excellent torque, even in 5th gear, pretty decent mileage (22 with a lot of stop-and-go 25-mi commutes into DC and back). Virtually no shop time other than for reg maintenance, brakes went 60K before replacement. Finish holding up very well despite outside parking at home. The kid wants to know when I'll be too old to drive it so she can have it, even tho she's not sure why there are three pedals. When they pry my cold, dead fingers from the shift knob, that's when. Or when Acura builds me a suitable and acceptable successor.

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2.63 out of 5 stars

Bad Transmission

BadTransmission, 06/07/2003
2003 Acura CL 3.2 2dr Coupe (3.2L 6cyl 5A)
6 of 6 people found this review helpful

All 3.2s have bad transmissions. When ours went bad they had the car for 30 days. So many transmissions were bad on the car throughout the country that there were no parts in the states to repair the car. The problem with the transmission has never been resolved. When your transmission goes bad (and it is a matter of when not if) you receive a rebuilt transmission that has already gone bad and been "repaired". Rather than recall the car and remedy the problem, Acura extended the warranty on the transmission to 7 years/70,000 miles. This warranty extensions hide the real problem. THIS CAR HAS A BAD TRANSMISSION AND IS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE.

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