Ever so often, there are some cars that get forgotten by buyers at selling prices that leave little left to be lost in further depreciation and it is my job to remind all of you that they still exists. One such luxury sedan is the 1995 Honda Legend 3.2. This was the first luxury Honda to be locally assembled with a high level of luxury appointments and a truly remarkable engine for its time. This Legend was fitted with a four-valve-per-cylinder V-6 engine developing 230 horsepower. Engine, chassis and suspension techniques from Honda’s successful Formula One experiences were adapted to the Legend.
A 1995 Legend is a second-generation design that shares little but its name with the original. It is well engineered, beautifully crafted, refined and reliable. The V6 engine itself is hardly unusual, though its 24 valves are operated by a single camshaft over each bank of cylinders rather than by dual cams. What’s different is that the Honda engineers chose to mount the engine longitudinally rather than transversely, as is more common in front-wheel-drive applications. Improved weight distribution and the ability to design a stiffer structure around the engine are cited as the primary reasons for adopting this approach. You’d be hard-pressed to find an automotive interior from the same year more thoughtfully designed or richly appointed as the Legend cabin stands out as a model of refinement. Virtually every convenience known to drivers and passengers is standard here. There’s plenty of legroom in front and back and a spacious 15 cu/ft. of boot space. Most units were corporate owned and affluent owners who kept the Legend well maintained. Mechanical parts are now starting to cost a little more as supply has dwindled and damaged trim bits are very hard to replace. It must be noted that it is hard to find parts from junkyards and secondhand parts dealers.
Prices start as low as RM12,000 for a good unit with little issues. A well maintained unit can be had for less than RM20k and if you are lucky to find the coupe version which only a handful arrived in Malaysia via parallel importers then this is the car to own. A new coat of paint and some refurbished leather and this could well see you another 5-8 years of luxury motoring. Not much more to depreciate after that and yet offers curbside attention if trim and paint is flawless.
