2009 Honda Legend reveals de-shielded Acura RL at AutoFans www Auto Com

2009 Honda Legend reveals de-shielded Acura RL

Remember when Superman chose to relinquish his super powers for love in the Man of Steel’s first sequel? Without that ‘S’ on his chest, Clark Kent quickly got the crap kicked out of him by a truck driver. If the 2009 Acura RL (right) with its giant shield grille is Superman, then the Euro-only 2009 Honda Legend is surely Clark Kent. So many people have decried the new shield grille that we thought it’d be interesting to gauge reaction to the new Legend, which is basically the same car as the RL without the Acura overtones. To our eyes the Legend’s new face is as boring and uninteresting as Acura’s new grille is obnoxious, which truly does it make it the Clark Kent of cars.

At the Moscow motor show, Honda has revealed the look of the re-styled Honda Legend to Europe.

This revised model gives a new edge to the top of the range Honda and responds to customer feedback on the current model. The most noticeable change is to the exterior style of the Legend, with new lights, bonnet, front wings, boot lid, bumpers and the adoption of standard 18″ wheels.

Under the restyled bonnet is one of the most powerful V6 engines in this sector, giving the power of a V8 engine, while retaining the smoothness and fuel economy inherent to this layout.

The new engine has an additional 200cc that helps to give the new Legend greater torque across the whole rev range. Complementing this increase in capacity the 3.7 litre V6 has VTEC added to the exhaust valves, joining the system already fitted on the inlet side. These realised a 20% increase in torque in the mid-range. The result is an enhancement to the feeling of power, as well as the improved acceleration.

Coupled to this revised engine, is an all-new 5-speed gearbox that helps the driver exploit and enjoy the revised power unit. The new box has switched to a straight gate and empowers the driver with additional control over gear selection with revised steering wheel mounted paddle-shifters and new gearbox software. The new transmission reacts faster to changes in driver input even in the normal automatic mode and so gives the driver access to power when it’s most needed.

The combined effects of the improved transmission and increase in torque mean that the new Legend can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds quicker than before. Fuel economy and CO2 have also improved over the previous model, despite the improved acceleration performance.

Central to the concept of the current Legend is the cabin refinement which reduces the stress of modern motoring. This theme has been taken a stage further with the new car by equipping it with a suite of NVH reducing technologies. The most advanced of these is the Active Noise Cancellation system (ANC), which cancels out low frequency noise by playing the opposite wave form through the Bose sound system. New to the flagship is a new form of sound deadening mat that has improved noise reducing properties and is lighter than conventional materials. An acoustic windscreen and improved bushing complete these improvements to the already very refined Honda flagship.

Safety is a cornerstone of the Legend, and adds Active Head Restraints to its already impressive safety equipment. The new head restraints are similar in principle to the items found in the Civic and Accord models and compliment the reassuring ACE (Advanced Compatibility Engineering) body structure. Optional in some markets are the Adaptive Cruise Control and CMBS systems, which use millimetre wave radar to detect and help reduce the risk of collisions.

The chassis of the Legend has also received some attention to further enhance the Legend’s rock solid, yet entertaining handling. Although the very advanced SH-AWD system remains unchanged the settings for the suspension have been altered to improve the ride and handling.

The already well equipped Legend gets some more revisions to compliment the new model. Rear seat passengers can now enjoy the benefits of heated seats, while the Bose Audio system now has a USB socket, to enable the easy connection of an iPod.

Other Honda Cars In www Auto Com:
+    Pics aplenty: 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid
+    Officially Official: Honda unveils updated 2009 Honda Civic
+    First Drive: 2009 Honda Fit and 2009 Honda Fit Sport
+    Honda’s Prius-killing hybrid gets a date: April 2009
+    Skunk2 project EP3 Honda CivicRR up for sale
+    Spycam: Honda’s all-new global hybrid and refreshed 2009 Civic Hybrid
+    Rendered Speculation: 2010 Honda S2000 replacement
+    Honda’s next Civic hybrid could revive Insight name
+   Long Term Arrival: 2008 Honda Accord EX-L
+   The Frugal Five: Compact Crossover Comparison
+   Honda Legend facelift leaks out
+   First Drive: 2009 Honda Pilot
+   2009 Honda Accord Euro spec in 2008 Geneva Motor Show
+   2008 Geneva Auto Show Preview: Honda unmasks the Euro Accord
+   First Drive: AutoblogGreen drives the 2009 Honda FCX Clarity
+   LA Auto Show 2007: Honda unwraps the 2009 FCX Clarity!
+   Honda S2000 CR campaigning in 25 Hours of Thunderhill
+   Honda S2000 Type S at 2007 Tokyo Motor Show
+   Honda confirms production FCX and car based on CR-Z Concept
+   2007 Tokyo Motor Show: 2008 Honda Fit gets Civic-minded makeover
+   LA Motor Show 2007: Honda Civic GX quick test drive
+   Tokyo Motor Show 2007 Preview:Honda CR-X is back
+   Tokyo Auto Show 2007 Preview: Honda CR-Z Concept Car
+   Tokyo Motor Show 2007 Preview: Honda DN-01 motorcycle features automatic transmission
+   A brand new version of Honda’s small car is set to hit the road
+   Tokyo Motor Show-2009 Honda Fit: Now With More Embargo-Breaking Interior Shots! - Jalopnik
+   Bigger, better Jazz ready to call the tune

Other Acura Cars In www Auto Com:
+   Detroit Grand Prix 08: The Detroit Sports Car Challenge (Spoiler Alert)
+   Inside Line does its thing on the $160k Acura NSX
+   Spy Shots: 2009 Acura TL in the buff
+   Long Term Update 4: 2007 Acura RDX
+   Spy Shots: 2009 Acura TL continues triangular theme
+   Spy Shots: Acura NSX hits the streets
+   Spycam: 2009 Acura TL
+   New York Auto Show 2008: 2009 Acura TSX revealed… again… but LIVE
+   2008 Geneva Auto Show Preview: Honda unmasks the Euro Accord
+   New York Auto Show 2008 Preview: 2009 Acura TSX heads for the Big Apple
+   First Drive: AutoblogGreen drives the 2009 Honda FCX Clarity
+   LA Auto Show 2007: Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive on display
+   2007 LA Auto Show: Acura shows drawings of a future fuel cell Le Mans racer

2009 Honda Legend reveals de-shielded Acura RL

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 3rd, 2008 at 5:31 am and is filed under Acura, Honda, Sedans/Saloons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.