Honda Legend: Spotted
No car was less suited to its name than the 2005 Legend. Today, Honda Bargain might be a better fit
Okay, in the pantheon of great executive cars it's fair to say the Honda Legend never quite cut the mustard. In its first incarnation, back when it shared its underpinnings with the contemporary Rover 800, it was obviously brilliant in patches and desperately dull in others. It was exquisitely made, of course - much to Rover's embarrassment - but too pricey, and even if you were swayed by the looks or the quality no one would part with over £30k for a front-wheel drive Honda when they could have had a BMW or a Merc for the same money.
And the story remained pretty much the same right up until the last UK Legend, the 2005 model. This was smaller than the older cars but roomier, thanks to its transverse engine, and if it looked as beige as the older models on the surface underneath it was laden with some innovative and deeply impressive technology.
That it had a competent engine can be taken for granted. Its 295hp 3.5-litre V6 was gloriously smooth and refined and lively enough to push the Legend - which alas was no lightweight - from a standstill to 60mph in just over seven seconds and on to a competitive top speed of 155mph.
But its USP was its four-wheel-drive system, labelled SH-AWD. This beauty could turn the outside rear wheel faster than the others when cornering to reduce understeer and shift up to 70 per cent of the engine's power either front or rear. At the rear axle, it could move 100 per cent of it to either side, wherever it was most needed. It even allowed the front and rear axles to turn at a different speed, the better to aid traction and stability in fast cornering.
On the road it was quiet, rode well and handled eagerly. It had a neat five-speed sequential autobox, too. Inside was a well-built and solid interior that was fully leathered up and equipped with all the latest tech. It was, if we're honest, a bit dull, like an old friend you haven't got the heart to shake off, but like a lot of quiet people it at least had hidden depths.
No one bought it new, of course, and so there are precious few to buy used, but we found a well-maintained 2009 example with an average mileage and a full Honda service history that's actually, at £5800, reasonably priced.
What you'd get is years of luxury motoring - quite possibly trouble-free - and unlikely though it seems a car you could take by the scruff of its neck and thrash without fear of coming massively unstuck. And if no one notices your dowdy Legend consider that a good thing, too: stealthy speed is always better than unwanted attention.
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Mark Pearson
SPECIFICATION - HONDA LEGEND (2005)
Engine: Front 3.5-litre V6
Transmission: Five-speed sequential automatic, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 295hp
Torque (lb ft): 259
0-60mph: 7.3 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Weight: 1878kg
CO2: 273g/km
Price new: £35,835
Price now: £5,800
The seller says he is selling due to advancing years - so doesn't the 'Advanced Driver Assist' work properly then?
As for the 'CMBS (collision mitigation breaking system)' - last time I looked all breaking systems were for collision mitigation!!
I'll get my coat - but before I go - I choked on my coffee when I saw the price - for some reason I was expecting this to be in shed territory
Lovely looking car though.
Why?
Well, if robbers used one as a getaway car it would be hard to describe it, as it blends in with no significant difining features.
Hence my colleague giving it’s alternative moniker, ‘grey porridge’...
Superb comfort, equipment, refinement.
The SH-AWD used to slightly defy physics when you pushed it.
Not so great auto box calibration (worked much better when used as tiptronic)
It used to drive itself on DC's and Motorways (excellent auto-steer and active cruise)
Dull steering and underdamped ride (felt very 'American')
Overall an excellent car though, Although a Merc E500, BMW 530-545i or Audi A6 4.2 provide a much more enjoyable experience for similar money.
Despite being laden with what in their day were very advanced electronic devices, they are incredibly durable.
OK, parts prices are hideous, but you need very few - typical Jap crap, IOW.
Clearly not fully indoctrinated into the grammar police but yet exercising their powers - curious....
Meantime, buy a Phaeton.
Almost everything on them is bespoke to them - there are almost no third-party or scrap spares, everything is a dealer part and the prices are mind-bending.
I recently enquired (for a customer) about a door window control module and I'm fairly sure, given the price I was quoted (along with a massive delivery time) that they'd mistaken my enquiry as a request for a new engine...
Superb comfort, equipment, refinement.
The SH-AWD used to slightly defy physics when you pushed it.
Not so great auto box calibration (worked much better when used as tiptronic)
It used to drive itself on DC's and Motorways (excellent auto-steer and active cruise)
Dull steering and underdamped ride (felt very 'American')
Overall an excellent car though, Although a Merc E500, BMW 530-545i or Audi A6 4.2 provide a much more enjoyable experience for similar money.
You also have to be brave enough to keep the power in and then (especially the more atrocious the driving conditions) the more astounding it is.
So you get three options; boring FWD understeer.
Neutrality.
Drift King with a huge margin of impunity.
The 18" models have I believe, the Acura A-spec suspension as well, which is a pretty good compromise between handling and not riding too much like a skateboard, when on the correct-spec Yokohamas,
The non-ACC/CMBS models still have old-fashioned hydraulic PAS, which is a very good thing.
I never realised an Ueber could be so very pleasant...
Looks like a 'nice barge' to me. Maybe not the most engaging drive but I'm sure it will waft with the best of them.
I’ll be keeping mine for a long while yet, 135k and still going strong. It’s a Honda innit
The real replacement was cancelled post-Lehman, so they re-bodied it as the Acura RLX. Google that, if you fancy a laugh....
Hmm: this or a C6? Don't fancy any other luxobarge as much as these two. But try finding a petrol C6.
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