Three blade Legend: A new grille design features on the new Legend.
One of the finest luxury cars in the world hides under the bushel of a Honda nameplate. DAVE MOORE reckons it needs a badge more in keeping with its ability.
The Legend also displayed bank- vault solidity – though perhaps that's no longer desirable imagery – with thud-shut doors and a level of build quality that would make most European and United States assembly auditors swoon with its detail and credit-card thin panel gapping – inside and out.
The good news is that none of those plus-points has been compromised with the transition into the latest model, and Honda appears to have been listening hard enough to have hiked up the car's engine size by 200cc and its power and torque by nine kilowatts and 19 newton metres respectively.
However, in the meantime the car has gained 10 kilograms and the transmission still has but five ratios, which never helped with the earlier model's shortfall in torque.
How the Legend gained 10kg is a moot point as part of a mild facelift for the car was the inclusion of a lighter aluminium bonnet which now integrates into the Honda's new bi- xenon headlights and the deeper chrome-rimmed triple-bar grille.
It also sports a freshened front bumper design, with integrated foglights and lower-mounted cooling intakes.
The new Legend has redesigned rocker panels and seven-spoke 18-inch alloy wheels compared with the old 17s.
From the rear, the new Legend can be recognised over its predecessor by a new boot lid with a subtle integrated spoiler, a new bumper and tail-lights and a new exhaust treatment.
The Legend is marketed in the US as the Acura RL. The Acura brand has been used, like Toyota's Lexus and Nissan's Infiniti, to define higher- echelon models from the run-of-the- mill variety in the Honda line-up, and for all three parent companies this marketing ploy has worked.
I think it would work here, too.
The excellence of the Legend is evident from the first few turns of the new 18-inch rims. As well as upgraded tyres and wheels, the Legend has higher spring rates and firmer damper settings, and while comfort and ride quality is still high- grade, the car has even more grip than before.
The Legend's SH-AWD is designed to provide up to 70 per cent of the engine's torque for the front or rear axles as required, and it's even possible for the system to run 70 per cent of that urge to a single outside rear wheel when cornering, if necessary.
The system also allows the rear axle to turn a mite quicker than the front, giving the Legend a rear-driven feel, rather than that of an all-wheel-drive.
The effect on my open-road drive loop is one of uncanny but beautifully communicated balance, with lots of feedback from road level and a feeling of absolute and remarkably accurate control of the car.
The car's 1.8 tonne-plus overall weight does make itself felt, however, and I can only wonder how well the car would respond and feel with a couple of hundred kilos removed.
I also wonder how much quicker still the Legend would be with a commensurately improved power to weight ratio – a little less weight would have made the Honda into quite a fast sports sedan, instead of a merely a brisk luxury one.
The latest Legend also appears to be a lot quieter than the previous one. It might be put down to the new car's so-called acoustic windscreen that Honda says sandwiches a thin film of butyl alcohol between two bonded glass panels to help deliver what it calls "a whisper-quiet cabin".
It appears to work, and I'd say that the latest Legend is up there with the previous class champ for noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) suppression: the Lexus GS300.
I'm told there's extra sound insulation in the car, too, and Honda's Active Noise Cancellation setup, which is designed to transmit precise acoustic signals to help negate road noise.
The Legend, in its new mildly uprated guise, does feel more flexible than before and I didn't have as many misgivings about its five ratios this time around, with little evidence of "flatness" in the car's acceleration through the gears.
I also managed a low nine litres per 100km overall reading for my drive loop, which is pretty frugal for a petrol-powered 2.0-tonne-plus car-and-passenger combination.
Having said that about having five adequate speeds in the transmission, those who choose their cars by running their fingers down the mechanical specifications columns might wonder why the Legend's British, German and Japanese competitors have six, seven and even eight ratios to work with.
Mind you, they might also ask why they have to spend from $17,000 more to many times that for the privilege of enjoying those vehicles. Which brings us back to the Legend.
For $93,000, the new model has 10-way power-adjustable front seats, a redesigned steering wheel has been fitted, while a 10-speaker BOSE sound system and Sat-Navigation – almost invisible in bright sunlight – are standard, as are six airbags, vehicle stability assist, emergency brake assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, anti-lock brakes and a standard reversing camera. Which is a lot of equipment, but quite expensive for a Honda Legend.
However, with an Acura "A" in its grille, I think it'd be very good value indeed.
HONDA LEGEND
• Drivetrain: transverse-mounted AWD, 3664cc fuel-injected 24-valve SOHC VTEC V6, producing 226kW at 6300rpm and 370Nm at 5000rpm. Five- speed automatic with sequential manual override. Max speed 250kmh, 0-100kmh 7.1 seconds, average fuel consumption 9.2L/100km (observed).
• Chassis: four-wheel independent with double wishbones at front and multiple- links at rear and Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive (SH-AWD). Hydraulically power-assisted rack and pinion steering. Coil springs and anti-roll bars front and rear. Vented disc brakes front and rear. ABS, Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) and Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) with Traction Control, standard. 18x8J alloy wheels with 245/45R18 tyres.
• Dimensions: L 4995mm, W 1845mm, H 1450mm, W/base 2800mm, F/track 1575mm, R/track 1585mm, Weight 1865kg, Fuel 73 litres.
• Pricing: $93,000.
• HOT: remarkable chassis, loads of grip; smooth engine has improved flexibility; as well made as any German car; simple, well-organised interior; for the quality, performance and equipment, well priced.
• NOT: not well priced for a Honda, however. Still far too heavy; more cogs still needed; pitches over bumpy surfaces; sunlight makes sat-nav invisible.
• VERDICT: This car could do with another name; the US Honda Acura brand comes to mind. The Legend is far too good – albeit flawed – to be called a Legend!
Its uninspired name, design anonymity, weight, and lack of low down and mid-range torque were my main criticisms of the last Honda Legend when it finally ended up on our shores some two and a half years ago. Those minus points however, were well countered by the excellence of the car's overall package, which included one of the best all-round chassis in the business, thanks to its oddly labelled SH-AWD – that's short for "Super Handling All-Wheel Drive", by the way.
source:stuff
