Honda Legend 3.5 i-VTEC
EX With ADAS review
by David Finlay (3 May 2007)
This is a very tough call. Honda has designed the Legend to be both a luxurious cruiser and a sports saloon, apparently ignoring the contradictions that are involved. The wonder of it is that the result is so successful.
Since the luxury is probably what most buyers are looking for, let's get the sporting side out of the way first. Under the bonnet of the Legend lies a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine which produces a maximum of 291bhp. Like most Honda units, this one needs to be revved to get the very best out of it (peak power isn't achieved 6200rpm, full torque comes in at 5000rpm), but there's plenty of performance available at more subdued engine speeds too.
The result is a 0-62mph time of 7.3 seconds, which is quite impressive for a large car with an automatic gearbox (there's no manual alternative). And if anything the handling is even more impressive.
The Legend uses a 4x4 transmission - named, with familiar verbosity, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive - so no individual tyre has to deal with an excess of power. On top of that, the suspension has the magic combination of being quite soft but at the same time properly damped, which is ideal for producing lots of grip with no fuss.
Let's not mince words here; the Legend is a fantastic car to drive hard. It is so sure of itself that I reckon it could easily take another 50bhp (making not far short of 350bhp altogether) without any other adjustment.
It's equally impressive when you're going much more gently, and that's where the luxury cruiser aspect comes in. The steering is beautiful - properly responsive in the country, fingertip-light in town - and the same set-up that produces such fine handling also provides wonderful ride.
You really do get the best of both worlds - or, rather, you would if Honda hadn't decided to fit completely the wrong tyres as standard. These are low-profile 235/50x17 jobs, and they comprehensively stuff the ride quality by clattering over the road surface irregularities which the suspension has done its best to subdue.
More positively, the Legend is remarkably quiet in all driving conditions. Honda has fitted an in-car noise suppression system (similar to that used in RAF fighter jets, I'm led to believe), and it works brilliantly. The engine is barely audible at tickover, and even at the 7000rpm red line all you hear is a distant whirr.
It's very comfortable too, at least in the front. The seats are splendid, and offer excellent side support even during yee-hah moments. There's nothing especially wrong with the rear, except that it's too cramped, in terms of both legroom and headroom. For taller people at least, the Legend is a car to drive rather than one to be driven in.
The audio system is top-quality, and the satellite navigation system is superb - easy to programme and clear in its directions - though it's not as informative as other satnavs on the market.
Despite all this, the interior isn't quite as wonderful a place to be as I would have expected. There's a sense that Honda is trying hard but doesn't really get it.
Adding various pieces of wood-effect trim around the place doesn't create a true luxury ambience, and the cheap, plasticky seatbelt height adjusters (which seem to be the same as the ones used on the Civic) are a disappointment in a car costing nearly £40,000.
It's also a shame that town driving, which is mostly such an easy process, is complicated by large rear pillars which do a highly efficient job of blocking the rear view. Reverse manoeuvres therefore involve more luck and guesswork than I think they should. This is the sort of thing that bedevils far too many small hatchbacks on the market, and it's a pity that in this case it also spoils what should be an effortlessly simple car to drive as the Legend.
Honda quotes a luggage volume of 452 litres, or slightly less than you get with the considerably smaller BMW 3-Series saloon. I think the effective volume may be lower still, because the boot floor isn't entirely flat, and that might make packing a bit tricky. It's not that easy in any case because the sill is quite high, with roughly a six-inch drop to the main part of the load surface.
There are two versions of the Legend, and they're almost identical in every respect - both, for example, have adaptive headlights, a pop-up bonnet to catch any pedestrian you may have collected inadvertently and the Collision Mitigation Braking System which gives several warnings if it thinks you're too close to the vehicle in front, and applies the brakes if it decides a shunt is inevitable.
What made the test car different from (and more expensive than) the standard Legend is that it was fitted with the Advanced Driver Assist System, or ADAS. This is actually two different devices in one - Adaptive Cruise Control, which keeps the car at a constant speed unless you start closing on something up ahead, and Lane Keeping Assist System, which warns you if you're about to change lanes and provides steering input to help you keep in the centre.
ADAS adds nearly £3000 to the price of the Legend, but if you feel you need the services it provides it's probably worth it. And there's a slight payback, because it requires an electric power steering system rather than the standard hydraulic one. The former requires less engine power to operate, and although this doesn't significantly affect the performance it does mean you get slightly better fuel economy (24.6mpg combined rather than 23.7mpg) and reduced CO2 emissions (273g/km versus 282g/km).
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