Honda's low profile executive saloon
14/08/08 14:09 Filed in: Road tests
From a UK perspective, it is easy to forget that Honda produces a sports executive saloon. It may be quite high-profile in markets like the United States, but there it bears the Acura badge of Honda's US prestige brand. In this country it is badged as a Honda and is somewhat eclipsed by Honda's more high-profile small and medium-sized hatchbacks and SUVs.
You immediately know this is a Japanese car as you walk up to it and see the SH-AWD badge on the back. Apparently It stands for "Super Handling All Wheel Drive"! As if that rather brash fascination with acronym badges wasn't enough of a clue, when you jump into the Legend Japanese fascination with chimes assails your ears with an insistent "bong, bong, bong..." to remind you of something. Not quite sure what – possibly that you have opened the door and got in?
Honda Legend proving it really is a sports saloon on the circuit
It may not have an Audi, BMW, Jaguar or Mercedes badge on it, but the Honda Legend certainly has the credentials to earn its place alongside them on any list of executive sports saloons. It is spacious and comfortable, has a quality feel and finish, and delivers an effortless performance that will eat up the miles even on a long journey.
Honda are particularly proud of the technology fitted to the test Honda Legend, thoughtfully supplying a small book to explain the A-Z of its "warm technology" (as opposed to "cold technology"?). So, under S, what is SH-AWD, or Super Handling All Wheel Drive. It turns out that it is an active four-wheel-drive system that apportions power to the wheels based on the current conditions and information from the engine management system.
Then there is the optional Advanced Driver Assist System. This provides a combination of adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping-assist. The cruise control senses the distance to the car in front and will adjust the Legend's speed to maintain the gap. The lane keeping assist works with a camera inisde the top of the windscreen. It reads the lane markings and, if you start to veer out of lane (as you might do if tired, for example) without using the indicators, then it will alert the driver and, if there is no reaction, it will start to correct the steering.
The Collision Mitigation Braking System is based around a radar system hidden behind the Honda badge in the grille. If it senses an impending collision it sets off a driver alert, tugs the seatbelt tighter and applies the brakes lightly. If the driver doesn't take action the seatbelts pretension and the brakes are applied. I had reason to find out that the first stage works.
Driving in town, the vehicle in front stopped unexpectedly just as I was glancing in the rear view mirror. As I re-focussed to the front, the alarm sounded, the seat belts gave a slight tug and the brakes were gently applied. Given that a third of all accidents in the UK are caused by drivers not looking properly, systems like this will surely be a considerable benefit if the cost can come down to the point where more cars are similarly protected.
The Legend has a welcoming interior. The electrically adjusted seats and steering wheel all motor into position at the touch of your particular memory button. It is an attractive environment too, apart from the wipers which permanently look as though they have not parked properly. The space in the back is equally welcoming, while the boot is big and superbly trimmed.
The Honda Legend adapts well to your chosen driving style. I you are happy to run it in automatic on a light throttle it will waft along in refined style. The ride is generally good, although it sometimes does transmit the worst of surface imperfections, probably because of the low-profile tyres.
But, when you want quicker responses, there is an eager kick down that will have the car holding its five gears for longer as it zips up to speed with a wonderfully urgent engine note. On more twisty country roads, I found the best progress came from flicking the selector across to manual where you can use the steering wheel paddles to select gear. This meant, for example, that you could stabilise the car coming into a bend by dropping down a gear, ready to accelerate out.
Adding to its credibility as an executive sports saloon, the steering on the Legend is excellent. It feels precise and responsive and, combined with the balance of the four-wheel-drive, it makes this a car that seems to shrink around the driver, proving remarkably nimble.
There is only the one engine availabe, the 3.5-litre V6 that whisks the Legend from 0-60 in a shade over seven seconds. The official combined fuel consumption is 23.7 mpg and it produces 282 g/km of carbon dioxide.
At £36,597 the Honda Legend 3.5i VTEC competes head on with cars like the BMW 5 Series. In the UK, where drivers are more badge-conscious than the USA, that is small but tight market to aim for.
You immediately know this is a Japanese car as you walk up to it and see the SH-AWD badge on the back. Apparently It stands for "Super Handling All Wheel Drive"! As if that rather brash fascination with acronym badges wasn't enough of a clue, when you jump into the Legend Japanese fascination with chimes assails your ears with an insistent "bong, bong, bong..." to remind you of something. Not quite sure what – possibly that you have opened the door and got in?
Honda Legend proving it really is a sports saloon on the circuit
It may not have an Audi, BMW, Jaguar or Mercedes badge on it, but the Honda Legend certainly has the credentials to earn its place alongside them on any list of executive sports saloons. It is spacious and comfortable, has a quality feel and finish, and delivers an effortless performance that will eat up the miles even on a long journey.
Honda are particularly proud of the technology fitted to the test Honda Legend, thoughtfully supplying a small book to explain the A-Z of its "warm technology" (as opposed to "cold technology"?). So, under S, what is SH-AWD, or Super Handling All Wheel Drive. It turns out that it is an active four-wheel-drive system that apportions power to the wheels based on the current conditions and information from the engine management system.
Then there is the optional Advanced Driver Assist System. This provides a combination of adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping-assist. The cruise control senses the distance to the car in front and will adjust the Legend's speed to maintain the gap. The lane keeping assist works with a camera inisde the top of the windscreen. It reads the lane markings and, if you start to veer out of lane (as you might do if tired, for example) without using the indicators, then it will alert the driver and, if there is no reaction, it will start to correct the steering.
The Collision Mitigation Braking System is based around a radar system hidden behind the Honda badge in the grille. If it senses an impending collision it sets off a driver alert, tugs the seatbelt tighter and applies the brakes lightly. If the driver doesn't take action the seatbelts pretension and the brakes are applied. I had reason to find out that the first stage works.
Driving in town, the vehicle in front stopped unexpectedly just as I was glancing in the rear view mirror. As I re-focussed to the front, the alarm sounded, the seat belts gave a slight tug and the brakes were gently applied. Given that a third of all accidents in the UK are caused by drivers not looking properly, systems like this will surely be a considerable benefit if the cost can come down to the point where more cars are similarly protected.
The Legend has a welcoming interior. The electrically adjusted seats and steering wheel all motor into position at the touch of your particular memory button. It is an attractive environment too, apart from the wipers which permanently look as though they have not parked properly. The space in the back is equally welcoming, while the boot is big and superbly trimmed.
The Honda Legend adapts well to your chosen driving style. I you are happy to run it in automatic on a light throttle it will waft along in refined style. The ride is generally good, although it sometimes does transmit the worst of surface imperfections, probably because of the low-profile tyres.
But, when you want quicker responses, there is an eager kick down that will have the car holding its five gears for longer as it zips up to speed with a wonderfully urgent engine note. On more twisty country roads, I found the best progress came from flicking the selector across to manual where you can use the steering wheel paddles to select gear. This meant, for example, that you could stabilise the car coming into a bend by dropping down a gear, ready to accelerate out.
Adding to its credibility as an executive sports saloon, the steering on the Legend is excellent. It feels precise and responsive and, combined with the balance of the four-wheel-drive, it makes this a car that seems to shrink around the driver, proving remarkably nimble.
There is only the one engine availabe, the 3.5-litre V6 that whisks the Legend from 0-60 in a shade over seven seconds. The official combined fuel consumption is 23.7 mpg and it produces 282 g/km of carbon dioxide.
At £36,597 the Honda Legend 3.5i VTEC competes head on with cars like the BMW 5 Series. In the UK, where drivers are more badge-conscious than the USA, that is small but tight market to aim for.
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