2008 Honda Legend Reviews

Honda execs implored Australians to look past the badge when shopping for a prestige car, and add the new Legend to their shopping list alongside the prestige heavyweights from Europe.The new all-wheel drive Legend had the engineering to compete they cried, it also had all the bells and whistles, but at the end of the day it didn't have the badge some buyers valued above all else.As a result the big Honda was relegated to older folks, ones who wanted a softer, more relaxed ride, those who preferred a zippier drive mostly went the Euro route. There's no doubt that the Legend was a sound choice, it offered good value for the prestige dollar, was safe and refined. It accommodated five in comfort, with three in the back seat, and had a large boot.Anyone who cared to dig deeper would find it also had decent performance courtesy of its high-tech 3.5-litre V6, which put out 217 kW and 351 Nm, and its five-speed auto with sequential sports shifting.The Legend was quite a sizable car and relatively heavy, all of which hindered its performance somewhat, and any idea that it could be considered a sports car.In normal situations it drove as a front-wheel drive car, but its smart all-wheel drive system could detect when a wheel was slipping  and redirect drive to the other wheels as needed to maintain progress.If you signed up for a Legend you drove away in a car with heaps of features. On top of all the things regarded as normal in a car today, you also got leather seats, a sunroof, electric seats, power adjustment of the steering column and a rear view camera.On the road the Legend was comfortable, refined and relaxed. It did everything well. If it lacked anything it was that it wasn't a very thrilling drive, but if that didn't matter to you it delivered everything you could wish for.IN THE SHOP On average the Legend would have done between 50,000 and 75,000 km, a good time to buy used when they're still in their prime. With such relatively low kilometres on them you wouldn't expect any nightmare stories and there hasn't been any to date.Given Honda's track record on engineering you would expect that to continue, given proper and regular servicing. Check the service record of any car under consideration.IN A CRASH You can't do any better than five stars on the ANCAP scale and that's what the crash body gave the big Honda. That's no surprise as the Legend had it all, front, head and side airbags, ABS braking with all the associated trimmings of Emergency   Brake Assist, traction and stability control.UNDER THE PUMP Honda's claim for the Legend was a rather poor 11.8 L/10 0 km, while the Carsguide road tester returned a rather more optimistic 9.7 L/100 km in real life driving. Prospective buyers should be aware that the Legend requires premium unleaded.AT A GLANCEPrice as new: $74,500Engine: 3.5-litre V6 petrol, 217 kW/351 NmTransmission: 5-speed auto, sequential shift, AWDEconomy: 11.8 L/100 kmBody: 4-door sedan Variants: Legend sedanSafety: 5-star ANCAPVERDICTRelaxed, refined ride packed with features, all it misses is the badge.COMING UP Do you own a Toyota LandCruiser 200 Series?  If so tell us what you think of it by sending your comments to Graham Smith at grah.smith@bigpond.com or Carsguide, PO Box 4245, Sydney, NSW, 2010.

Well, it always was a daft name. And at a time when the rest of the world is going for alpha-numeric model monikers, “Legend” looks particularly bloated and crass.Which is, some will tell you, a telling commentary on the car itself. They're wrong, but more on that in a minute.The second unfortunate perception about Honda's high-end luxury sedan is a collective inability to accept a high-end luxury sedan from people who also make a $15,000 econo-car. Toyota had the self-awareness of their place in the world outside Japan to call their top-line cars Lexus. Nothing badged with “T” is gonna cut it in a Western corporate car park. So who are Honda to presume otherwise of “H”?And nearly $80K for a Honda? (“The door's over there and mind my entry-level 5 Series on the way out.”). At least, you can readily imagine that reaction. So Legend resides in near obscurity. Almost no one buys them, partly because no two people can agree on them. Skimming reviews of the car's 2006 release was to wonder more than usual whether these blokes were driving the same car.My own piece was indifferent to the point of suggesting that for much the same money, you would be better off buying two other Hondas altogether — an Accord V6 and an Accord Euro.Today the new Euro has had a price cut and Honda has thoughtfully passed on the not-yet-dead luxury car tax hike in the pricing of the reworked and relaunched Legend.As outstandingly well-specced as ever, that extra few grand now gets an improved performer, one that's not just a substitute for the usual prestige suspects, but a player now worthy of first-team selection.The matters of torque and weight were perhaps the only aspects of the MY06 model that were universally agreed upon — there was a lamentable lack low-down of the former and altogether too much of the latter.While the Legend remains a corpulent 1865kg unladen and the maximum Newton metres arrive at a tardy 5000rpm, Honda's done a more than capable job of sharpening progress. The older 3.5-litre VTEC V6 is now 3.7 litres. Power is up 9kW to 226, and torque has grown 19Nm to 370. The ballsier output — married to an adroit five-speed auto with revised gearing and a meaningful shift-paddle manual mode — does a sound job of masking the peakiness. Typically, Honda claims that this increased capacity comes at no cost to consumption — the old 11.8 litres per 100km in combined conditions is now supposedly at 11.3 litres.We couldn't manage that, running more than 18 in urban traffic. But then we didn't much feel like trying.There is too much enjoyment to be had surging assertively off the line in our quite anonymous white sedan to the bamboozlement of drivers in various lesser machines.Honda's most powerful production engine performs via its Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive. Not just another piece of Honda hubris, this all-paw system utterly quashes wheelspin, torque steer and any other less-than-seemly behaviour. And when the opportunity arises to get into it a bit, there's a perceptibly rear-wheel-drive feel to proceedings.You're never unaware of the Legend's bulk. Neither does it unduly hamper you. And when the wet weather went Biblical last Saturday, it conveyed a Volvoesque sense of surety and composure, the ride unaffected by the 18-inch alloys. Passenger and driver alike were lovingly cosseted in beautifully appointed thrones.The revised model has a plethora of cosmetic changes to complement the panoply of safety and comfort equipment. Apart from sparkly paint at $490 (as opposed to the typical $1600 German impost), there are no options.And whereas the options in an Audi would be far too long to list here, it's the Honda's standard gear that would run off this page.While you couldn't call it handsome, the bulky body and assertive design gambits that mar both the new Accords seem less incongruous on the bigger car. Still, if Honda is serious about entering Lexus terrain, it'd be nice to see them develop a less shouty and more coherent design language.Nor is it efficiently packaged for a largish car. Rear seat room is strictly for two. Boot space is not generous.A marque's topline model is supposed to be it's halo car.Hard to say that of one car that's so seldom seen, it's more myth than Legend. Get to know it, though, and the Honda really shines throughout. The bottom lineLoses the badge boasting contest, but walks away with the substance stakes. SNAPSHOTHonda LegendPrice: $77,500Engine: 3.7L/V6; 226kW/370NmEconomy: 11.3L/100km (claimed)Transmission: 5-speed automatic; AWD RIVALSAudi A6 3.2FSI QuattroPrice: $104,800Engine: 3.2L/V6; 188kW/330NmEconomy: 11.1L/100km (claimed)Transmission: 6-speed automatic; AWD Lexus GS 300 SportsPrice: $96,900Engine: 3L/V6; 183kW/310NmEconomy: 9.8L/100km (claimed)Transmission: 6-speed automatic: RWD VolkswagenPassat R36Price: $64,990Engine: 3.6L/V6; 220kW/350NmEconomy: 10.7L/100km (claimed)Transmission: 6-speed DSG; AWD