Techniek

The swoopier, shorter fourth-generation Honda Legend was launched on October 7, 2004, and became Japan’s Car of the Year for 2004–2005, marking the fourth time in five years that Honda has taken the award.

Its reduced dimensions over the third generation model seem to suggest a return to what made the Legend so popular with the first generation, being a top level sedan that offered something different from its competitors. The 2011 model marks the 25th anniversary of Honda Legend production.

In an attempt to address market driven requests that the Legend needed to be a rear-wheel drive sedan with a V8 engine, Honda introduced four-wheel drive technology on the Legend, called “Super Handling All-Wheel Drive” (SH-AWD), which earned Honda the Japan Car of the Year, and Mosuto 2005 Annual RJC technology of the Year award. This generation Legend is only available with the Super Handling All-Wheel Drive powertrain.

Select-Shift was introduced on the 5-speed automatic transmission. The newly designed J35A 3.5-liter V6 was changed from a 90 degree “V”, to a 60 degree layout, while VTEC was added to improve efficiency.