1998 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.

WE turn the spotlight on automotive's newest and brightest stars, as we ask the questions to which you want the answers. Ultimately, however, there is only one question that really needs answering would you buy one?WHAT IS IT?The big kahuna. The Legend is the flagship of the Honda range, a big luxuriously equipped sedan for those seeking the ultimate that Honda has to offer.HOW MUCH?Priced from $76,990 ($77,685 with super platinum paint). That gets you a lot of motor car, with a 3.7-litre V6, all-wheel drive and plenty of luxury appointments _ but we cant help but wonder whether buyers would be just as happy with a fully equipped Accord?WHAT ARE THE COMPETITORS?This is where it gets interesting. It doesnt have any really, not at this price with this level of equipment. The other Japanese car makers really dont have anything to offer. The nearest is probably the Volvo S80 T6 AWD - or you could starting looking at smaller German cars.WHAT'S UNDER THE BONNET?3.7-litre V6. Good for 226kW of power and 370Nm of torque. Its the most powerful engine ever offered by Honda and is paired with a five-speed sequential auto that allows the driver to change gears manually.HOW DOES IT GO?Impressive. Smooth, powerful and reasonably economical. Gets off the mark quickly with plenty in reserve for overtaking. Leaving it in sports mode however is likely to have a major impact on economy as it prevents the transmission from changing into top gear.IS IT ECONOMICAL?It's rated at 11.3 litres/100km, with consumption dropping to 8.7 litres/100km on the open road. We were getting around 11.8 during testing.IS IT `GREEN?'Gets 3.5 stars from the Governments Green Vehicle Guide (the hybrid Prius scores five), with an air pollution rating of 8.5 out of 10 where 10 is the best. - so yes its Green.IS IT SAFE?You bet. Full five stars. Features a host of standard lifesaving features including six airbags, Vehicle Stability Assist, Emergency Brake Assist, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, anti-lock brakes and a standard reversing camera.IS IT COMFORTABLE?Both front seats are heated and feature 10-way power adjustability, and the steering wheel has been redesigned for greater comfort. Both the wheel and the gear selector are trimmed in supple leather, and are complemented by brushed metal gauges. Active noise cancellation makes the cabin very quiet.WHAT'S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?Big and classy. Stick the boot in and it responds enthusiastically, especially in sport mode - but the suspension is a little soft for our liking and all-wheel drive only makes a difference in the wet.IS IT VALUE FOR MONEY?Leather, climate air conditioning, satellite navigation, electric sunroof, xenon headlights that turn, 18 inch alloys, Bluetooth with voice recognition and a 260 watt 10-speaker BOSE Sound System are all standard.WOULD WE BUY ONE?Not our cup of tea. Lacks differentiation from the Accord in our opionion. The ride is also a bit soft and bouncy for weaker stomachs, but it represents plenty of bang for your buck.

There will always be those who simply don’t see that kind of car as coming from anywhere except Europe.The price at times hasn’t helped, with the Legend at one stage edging close to $90,000. But as it has come down to more realistic level, with the latest model offering added power and refinement, it has a better swipe at being appealing to the luxury car buyer.Powertrain The Legend is powered by a 3.7 litre, 24-valve SOHC VTEC V6 engine that produces 226kW at 6300rpm and 370Nm at 5000rpm. From a 73 litre tank, it burns 11.3litres of fuel per 100kms, and emits 210gms of CO2 per kilometre.A five-speed Sequential SportShift transmission with sports mode and steering wheel-mounted paddle-shift controls – that can be used in both sports and normal modes –gets power to the wheels.Exterior With more aerodynamic lines and a sportier more athletic appearance, the new Legend is brought into line with other cars in its class.Bi-xenon headlights, dual exhausts, seven spoke, 18 inch alloy wheels, a new boot lid with integrated spoiler and a new front bumper with integral fog lights and lower cooling air intakes give the car more poise and presence than earlier versions.Interior The addition of an ‘acoustic windscreen’ that sandwiches butul alcohol between two panels of glass, makes the leather and brush metal trimmed cabin, pin-drop quiet.A ten speaker Bose sound system, sat nav, wood grain panelling, electric seats and climate control air conditioning give the vehicle a prestigious look and feel.Safety With a five star ANCAP crashworthiness rating, Honda makes no bones about their focus on safety. There is also a comprehensive airbag package, ABS, EBD, Emergency Brake Assist and a reversing camera.Pricing The 2009 Honda Legend starts at $77,500.DRIVING Halligan says There’s no doubt the new Honda Legend is a very good car – it is just so damn boring.What is it about Honda and Toyota at the moment? Have you looked at a white Legend sitting next to a white Aurion? Or an Accord next to a Camry? Or any combination of the above for that matter. Indulge me for a moment and open this in a new tab (right click) and then this one next to it. I want to know which designer (ah-hmm) copied off the other at design school.But admittedly the Legend is good to drive. Very good. Performance and handling get a tick. It's better in sport mode. But unfortunately when you are in that mode you are burning through the fuel tank. The damn chew-through-the-juice-o-ometer at the bottom of the speedo spends too much time off the scale at the slightest touch of the accelerator.There’s little to dislike about the interior. The seats are great and the leather is very good. But the wood panelling is out of context and too try-hard, the centre dash console is a mess and the carpet looks industrial enough to cope with the traffic at CentreLink.And when my daughter put the rear window down there was wind buffeting. Then again anyone who actually buys one of these will probably never put the rear window down as their kids will have long left the household.Very good but very boring.Verdict: 7.5 / 10 

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 

It became far too expensive for a while as the price crept up towards $90,000, but a new model and solid pricing has returned it to the top of the Honda Australia line-up.The Legend now hits the road at $74,500 with everything you could want and more, delivering the sort of luxury and relaxed driving that hits the spot with a lot of people.It is a formula that has always worked for the Legend, which had a safe but secure spot in Australia until the dollar dived and prices went badly the wrong way.It will never win a car-of-the-year contest and we struggle to see the benefit of Honda's new super handling all-wheel-drive system.But the basics are good, the car is comfy and you get a lot of equipment for the money.It also makes a safe and sensible case against a lot of Euro cars that cost the same and deliver less, or cost a lot more for a similar deal.The Legend is genuinely new and Honda said it even overpowers its NSX sportscar, which was set against Ferrari in a Japan-against-Italy supercar contest in the late 1980s, with a 3.5-litre V6 that punches out 217kW and 351Nm.The Legend is much heavier than an NSX, of course, so it does not run as hard. But the engine is hi-tech and efficient.It's the same in all sorts of areas, from the use of aluminium in the body structure to active noise cancellation to make the cabin quieter and solar sensing, automatic airconditioning.Honda has always gone its own way with technology and the Legend is its new showcase, with everything from a drive-by-wire throttle, to a five-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shift levers.Then there is the AWD, basically a safety system that detects low-grip situations to kick in the rear wheels and also splits torque front-to-rear and side-to-side in the rear axle.“This new Legend is vastly superior to our previous model,” Honda Australia senior director Lindsay Smalley said.“The European brands have a strong image and make great motor cars. But if you look past the badge, is the engineering any better?"The equipment in the Legend also rings all the bells, from leather seats and a sunroof to side and rear sunshades, electric front seats, electric adjustment on the steering column and an auto-dimmer rear-view mirror.It also has lights that turn corners to follow the steering and a rear-view camera.On the safety front, it has everything from anti-skid brakes and traction control to brake assist and front-side-curtain airbags.Based on its body, the Legend qualifies as a mid-sized prestige car and that means it lines up against everything from the Audi A6 and BMW 5-Series to the Saab 9-5.It also lines up against the latest WM Statesman, though the target customers are very different.But Honda is only looking for about 50 sales a month, despite all the improvements and value in the new car. Inside viewHonda LegendPrice: $74,500Engine: 3.5L V6 with single-overhead camshafts, variable valve timingPower: 217kW at 6200 revsTorque: 351Nm at 5000 revsTransmission: Five-speed automatic, active all-wheel-driveBody: Four-door sedanFuel tank: 73LFuel type: PremiumFuel consumption: Average on test 9.7L/100kmSafety gear: Anti-skid brakes, electronic stability program, traction control, front-side-curtain airbagsWarranty: Three years/100,000km How it compares Audi A6: 76/100Citroen C6: 73/100BMW 5 Series: 78/100SAAB 9-5: 58/100 decrease

As part of its box of tricks, the Honda Legend has a system called active noise control, which works in the same way as the plane headphones. It's designed to cancel out low-frequency booming in the interior and works independently of the stereo. But despite repeatedly switching it on and off, we could not tell the difference.It certainly sounded like a great idea and the Legend is full of them. Although most are not new, the result is an unconventional large luxury car with an amalgam of influences. It bears the hallmarks of being created for the US market but is unmistakably a Honda.That's obvious almost immediately from what's under the bonnet. Honda may be the world's largest engine maker, but it doesn't make big engines. At least, not yet. Only one powerplant is offered: a 3.5-litre V6 driving through a five-speed automatic. That's two cylinders and one ratio short of what many will consider the norm for a large luxury conveyance.It's a glorious engine, though, with a smooth, silky touch for the urban commute. Press on, and it has the Honda quality of delivering its best high in the rev range — and keeps getting better the higher you go. In doing so, it goes from imperceptibly quiet to potently racy without a hint of exertion.However, this engine lacks the low-rev torque that most will identify with luxury motoring and below 4000rpm there's a decided absence of punch. It can feel sluggish off the mark, overtaking requires a run-up and along tight and twisty roads, it's hard to keep the engine on the boil.A wide spread of ratios in the five-speed automatic, with a big gap between third and fourth, doesn't help. On the positive side, the auto hangs on to the chosen gear at the redline and will accept downshifts high in the rev range with a slight lift off the throttle. Sensibly, the shifter allows fourth and fifth to be locked out and steering wheel paddles are also a plus.One innovation unique to this car is its four-wheel drive system, which adjusts torque loads under hard cornering to help the car turn more effectively. In particular, it allows the outside rear wheel to turn faster, helping to negate understeer — the tendency to run wide in a corner. It gives the Legend more dynamic ability than you might expect given its length — nearly 5m — and a kerbweight approaching 1.9 tonnes.The brakes held up well on a twisty run down into a NSW gorge and while they don't have the greatest pedal feel they were a class above the tiller for intimacy. There's an indirect and artificial quality to the steering that makes it easy to overcorrect lane-keeping on freeways, for example.On smooth surfaces the ride quality stays good, although rougher roads give it a fidgety edge that the best luxury cars avoid, and the tyres can be heard coping with coarse or broken tarmac.The interior is welcoming with leather generously applied and the stepped dash design has a tier of woodgrain. Cabin space cannot match that in locally built large cars and the angle of the side glass means the roof could encroach a little on headroom. That said, four large adults are unlikely to feel cramped.The situation is similar in the boot, which with 452 litres capacity falls short of locally built premium models but is fairly capacious nonetheless. A ski-hatch and tie-downs help compensate for a floor that isn't flat. Underneath a space-saver serves as spare.Despite the visibly pleasing seat contours, we had sore legs after one five-hour stint in the saddle and came away feeling there was a slight compromise in the driving position.Certainly, there are some issues with forward visibility. The length of the bonnet is impossible to gauge and the A-pillars could have been designed to obscure traffic approaching from left or right at a T-junction or roundabout. The wing mirrors are excellent, though.The controls are a little scattered, but there's logic in their placement. The hardest ones to find quickly are those grouped together on the small centre-console — although steering wheel buttons more than compensate. In common with a lot of new cars, there are too many little information screens, all of which differ in terms of typeface, resolution and layout.A rotary knob very reminiscent of BMW's iDrive is used to navigate through menus and with a relatively modest number of functions, it's reasonably easy to get around although it means changing the fan speed, for example, becomes a multi-button procedure.Another reminder of Munich came in the shape of the interior door handles; as in the 5 Series, they are too close to the hinge for easy leverage and strain visibly when closing the front doors.With only one model priced at $74,500, the Legend comes well-equipped with leather, active headlamps with light sensor, foglights, rear parking camera, power heated front seats, dual zone climate control, cruise, sunroof, auto wipers, and side and rear sunshades.Safety equipment includes six airbags — rear passengers miss side bags — stability control and a pop-up bonnet, similar to the one which debuted recently on the Jaguar XK, to lift pedestrians clear of hard engine surfaces in the event of a collision.With so much gear it would be churlish to grumble, but we did miss a lane-change blinker function, mute button for the stereo and, in particular, parking radar for the unguessable front — although the rear camera is an aid to reversing.A compass and GPS display compensate a little for the lack of satnav.Getting the Legend on to the Australian market has already taken some time, with some US buyers now several years into ownership. Its stateside priorities are evident in its bland and derivative big-car design, which lacks the sharp style of the Honda Euro, say. Another tell-tale of the car's stateside priorities is the foot-operated parking brake — very much an American device.In the US the Legend is sold under Honda's premium Acura badge — the equivalent of Toyota's Lexus — and as you would expect, it feels thoroughly well-engineered and built.It also seems like a lot of car for the money, not least because the new model is substantially cheaper than the one deleted two years ago.Not even Honda expects it to have widespread appeal here — in many ways, it runs counter to Australian notions of what a large luxury car should be. Buyers who go in with their eyes open will get a unique take on the segment.

It is good to have the Honda Legend back in Australia. It became far too expensive for a while as the price crept up towards $90,000, but a new model and solid pricing has returned it to the top of the Honda Australia line-up.The Legend now hits the road at $74,500 with everything you could want and more, delivering the sort of luxury and relaxed driving that hits the spot with a lot of people.It is a formula that has always worked for the Legend, which had a safe but secure spot in Australia until the dollar dived and prices went badly the wrong way.It will never win a Car of the Year contest and we struggle to see the benefit of Honda's new Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive system. But the basics are good, the car is comfy and you get a lot of equipment for the money.It also makes a safe and sensible case against a lot of Euro cars that cost the same and deliver less, or cost a lot more for a similar deal.The Legend is genuinely new and Honda says it even overpowers its NSX sportscar — which was set against Ferrari in a Japan-against-Italy supercar contest in the late 1980s — with a 3.5-litre V6 that punches out 217kW and 351Nm.The Legend is much heavier than an NSX, of course, so it does not run as hard. But the engine is hi-tech and efficient. It's the same in all sorts of areas, from the use of aluminium in the body structure to active noise cancellation to make the cabin quieter and solar sensing automatic airconditioning.Honda has always gone its own way with technology and the Legend is its new showcase with everything from a drive-by-wire throttle to a five-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shift levers.Then there is the AWD, basically a safety system that detects low-grip situations to kick in the rear wheels and also splits torque front-to-rear and side-to-side in the rear axle."This new Legend is vastly superior to our previous model," Honda Australia senior director Lindsay Smalley says."The European brands have a strong image and make great motor cars. But if you look past the badge, is the engineering any better? I don't believe it is."The equipment in the Legend also rings all the bells, from leather seats and a sunroof to side and rear sunshades, electric front seats, electric adjustment on the steering column and an auto-dimmer rear-view mirror. It also has lights that turn corners to follow the steering and a rear-view camera.On the safety front it has everything from anti-skid brakes and traction control to brake assist and front-side-curtain airbags.Based on its body, the Legend qualifies as a mid-sized prestige car and that means it lines up against everything from the Audi A6 and BMW 5-Series to the Saab 9-5. It also lines up against the latest WM Statesman, though the target customers are very different.But Honda is only looking for about 50 sales a month, despite all the improvements and value in the new car.ON THE ROADTHE Legend is a lovely drive. Nice, gentle, cosseting and comfortable. It is everything we expected from a car that has always been a Japanese flagship, which means more emphasis on comfort and equipment than sporty driving.The ride is soft and cushy, which sometimes means it is defeated by bad bumps, but it covers ground easily.The new Legend is roomy and has great seats, is quiet and cruises happily at Australian speed limits.It has a big boot that will be popular with golfers and you can fit three adults across the back seat.It is impossible to complain about the equipment in the Legend, or the way it works. We are still waiting for mapping to work with the car's satnav, and there are no DVD screens in the back for kids, but you get everything else and for a lot less than a trip through the optional equipment list on a German brand.We did not like the giant dashboard display unit, which is obviously designed for satnav but can be a distraction at other times.The Legend is nice in the suburbs, but really works on long country runs. We took it on a 600km trip and it was always enjoyable.The Legend can really get up and go if you ask the question, thanks to an engine that has good torque but also thrives on revs. It kicks down hard and that's good for overtaking, yet fuel economy is impressive.You can play with the paddles if you want manual changes, though we believe most buyers will be happy with the auto.They might find the car a bit sluggish. You have to push it beyond 3000 revs to get the engine working towards its sweet spot.It is the same with the handling, which gives good grip but little driving enjoyment. It is typical of Honda, with slightly short suspension travel that means the car will buck and push if you ask it to go too hard.But generally it just follows the wheel in any corner, which makes us wonder about active AWD. The system is probably good on icy European roads or in a potential emergency, but we did not strike either situation during our test and could not feel it working at any time.Then again that may be a good thing. We don't like to feel anti-skid brakes pulsing or see the traction control light blinking on a test.We also wonder about the benefits of cornering headlamps, which seem more of a distraction, and would prefer to have a double-xenon set-up instead of lamps that give only halogen spots on high beam.Lined up against some rivals, it is clearly ahead of the Saab 9-5 at every level and runs rings around the BMW 5-Series for value.THE BOTTOM LINEA typical Japanese limousine that is beautifully built, great value and a reasonable drive. 75/100INSIDE VIEW$74,500 as testedENGINE 3.5-litre V6 with single-overhead camshafts and variable valve timingPOWER 217kW at 6200 revsTORQUE 351Nm at 5000 revsTRANSMISSION Five-speed automatic, active all-wheel-driveBODY Four-door sedanSEATS FiveDIMENSIONS Length 4955mm, width 1845mm, height 1450mm, wheelbase 2800mm, tracks 15755/1585mm front/rearSTEERING Power-assisted rack-and-pinionFUEL TANK 73 litresFUEL TYPE PremiumFUEL CONSUMPTION Average on test 9.7 litres/100kmWEIGHT 1855kgSPARE TYRE Space-saverBRAKES Anti-skid four-wheel discsWHEELS 17-inch alloysTYRES 235x50SAFETY GEAR Anti-skid brakes, electronic stability program, traction control, front-side-curtain airbagsWARRANTY Three years/100,000kmFEATURESAirconditioning 4Cruise control 4Alloy wheels 4Climate control 4Leather seats 4Heated seats 8Parking sensors 8Automatic wipers 44 standard equipment8 nonstandard equipment HOW IT COMPARESAudi A6 76/100 (from $80,600)Citroen C6 73/100 (from $97,500)BMW 5 Series 78/100 (from $94,300)Saab 9-5 58/100 (from $60,400)