keniwc

I've heard so much about how good the Most Recent Legend Coupe was of soooo much better design-build and quality than our CL's...because it was built in Japan...

But is that true? I hope not...I like my CL so far...

So how does the Legend Coupe compare...

Faster? Looks better? What???

Let me know what you guys think.

mdaniel

It had 230hp with a 6 speed so I think the speed was similar to a CL-S. As to build quality, remember that it was a much more expensive car. I think it was close to 40 grand and that was like 7 years ago. And since the engine was long. mounted, the turning radius was much smaller than ours. Overall, its a very solid car. My dad has a 93 or 94 Legend sedan so I do have a point or reference.

LarryB

I had a legend and loved it. It had a 6 speed manual but i dont think it was faster even though it had the same/similar engine. Build qual was better but I had 100,000 miles. Needed a new car. It was great and I would buy a new one of it over the CL any day. But since there isnt i settle for the sufficent CL-P :p

GoldTypeS_RENAMED

That's a hard question to answer. If you're talking about a brand new CL and a brand new ( ** in 1995 **) Legend, then I think the Legend would probably be better. But keep in mind that the old Legends were over $40K. Uhm... that's really A LOT. Like equivalent to what a GS430 costs in today's dollars. Do you think today's CL is "better" than a GS430? I would sure hope not! But is today's CL better than a 5-7 year old Legend? Well... I'd take the CL any day.

eyeguy

I still think that the Legend coupes were great cars. I had a 92 Legend LS sedan prior to my CL-S and had I had a coupe, esp with the stick, I doubt I would have bought the CL-S. I still think the Legend coupe looks awesome. Actually, I like the seating position in my old Legend. Plus, I like the way the Legend looks closer to the ground. Actually, I think the ground clearance was less as I frequently scraped the spoiler whereas I have yet to scrape my current car. (As opposed to the rims.) I really think Acura screwed up by not selling the Legend long enough. In 92, the Legend had 200hp. When did BMW/Audi/etc. meet that in their sixes? Plus, wasn't the Legend the first car to have radio controls on the steering wheel? Also, I miss the horn buttons being on the spokes. I find the spokes to be a more natural location as it ends up under your thumb while driving as opposed to lifting your whole to mash the steering wheel when in a tricky situation. A Legend coupe with our center console, engine, and HID would be nearly perfect in my opinion. And better suited to the target market of 35-50 yr old as well.
Out of curiosity, I wonder what the avg age of both all owners and members of this fourm is as well as most common professions. --SVR

NYREP1

honda damn sure named that car right, "legend" i mean you still see ten year old legends for 15 grand, and dealers cant keep them on the lots, that is the car (well civic too) that made honda what it is today

EricL

My dad’s second wife (and a very dear relative) has an 1989 Legend. It has run perfectly and has only needed minor adjustments.

This may sound very jingoistic, but I realy would have bought a Acura CL-Sx if a mythical Sx model had been built in Japan.

I've taken a lot of flack for this, but one of the reasons I purchased my 1992 Maxima SE, was due to its total construction in Japan.

I think the Acura CL-S is a great car for the money, and the paint, fit, and finish are good (I guess I got lucky). However, there are little places that I can look, like the back of the door jams. I don't really look at them a lot, nor do my passengers, but I do notice that it looks like they just used some filler there; they would have NEVER done that in a Japanese car (at least any of the ones I've seen that were built there).

The car is well built, faster, but doesn't have the constructor "love" fest vibe to it. It doesn't have that feeling that I get from the Legend that says, "I was made perfectly -- try and find any defects in my workmanship"

CanadianTypeS

eyeguy brings up a good point regarding the horn button. Why didn't Honda put the damn buttons on the spokes where they belong. There's been so many times when I've tried to hit the horn quickly and missed. It's not a natural motion to have to take a hand off of the wheel to go for the horn. And even if you hit the right spot, it seems to require a fair bit of pressure to make it honk.

Scorpius

What do you mean long mounted? How does that work? They put the engine on a different axis? My 87 legend was the same as my CL. What difference does it make?

pimp_RENAMED

I think I can speak from expereince. [check out my sig]. The Type-S is a great car, and you cant beat it's value. But you really cant compare the two. Back in 95 , the LS 6 spd Coupe went for 42k and some change so imagine what retail would be these days.

[ 07-19-2001: Message edited by: pimp ]

pimp_RENAMED

:: double post, sorry ::

[ 07-19-2001: Message edited by: pimp ]

Jake

Scorpius

The 91-95 Legend (I owned a 91 coupe) had its engine mounted in the car as if it were rear wheel drive. A drive shaft ran back half way to the rear of the car and was then reversed back to the front to a differential that sent power to the front wheels. The result much better weight bias compared to our car. If not for the fact that my Legend was getting old, I would still have it. Best built car I every owned. They buy that bought it from me basically took what ever number I thought out.

Wyle E. Coyote

My dad has had an '87 Legend Sedan, '88 Legend Coupe, '95 Legend Coupe, and currently owns a '99 TL. He has loved all of them, but still refers to the '95 as the best of the bunch. The only thing I didn't like about it was the auto tranny and its price tag ($43k). The tranny seemed to "lunge" too much when shifting. It was a sweet ride, cherry red with tan interior.

Cee eL eS

my uncle had a legend coupe, and when that thing was new, the build quality was superior to that of my cl-s. actually, even my '91 integ was built better than my cl-s. can't beat the cl-s value of course, but the build quality is no where close to japan-made cars...

sundance_gold

When I was looking for a second car, I test drove the RL. I have friends with a 91 Legend and the RL reminded me (a lot) of the Legend.

phinthesky

Nothing will ever replace the Legend. I want one.

silverstarr

I can't speak from experience since I've never owned the Legend Coupe. I do like the looks of the Legend Coupe. But it terms of what is better, it is an interesting debate.

In regards to build quality, the Legend had to have been superior. My CL has so many rattles and squeaks, it's not even funny. I've tried to get this resolved with the dealer, but having them take apart the dashboard would probably make things worse and cause new rattles. The main thing that upsets me is that my friend's brand new civic does not rattle like my CL, and my car costs about twice as much.

In terms of technology and convenience, you definitely would have to go with the CL. There are just too many things available on this car that make it superior: VSA, side airbags, navigation, power auto walk-in seats, sportshift, HID..and the list goes on.

Think of what you could buy for 42K (price of the Legend Coupe back then) today?

debaser

as a 94 6 speed coupe owner (and 2 other legends before that one!) i can say that they are FANTASTIC cars. as far as performance, i think they match up well with the CL-S (i drove a CL-S on 3 occasions). build quality of the legend is superior, IMHO. it just has the overall feeling of being built like a tank. if you've driven one, you know what i mean. there's a "heft" to all the controls and body parts that the CL-S doesn't seem to have. the downside to that is that it feels "heavier" and less agile to drive. you can get 200k out of a legend no problem because they're built so well. hopefully the CL-S will also go that long.

after all that, anyone want to buy my 6 speed? i'm sad to see it go, but i bought a bmw and can't afford insurance on two cars in this state
http://users.erols.com/thenexus/acura

Smurfboy

I love driving my 89' Legend Coupe
After all these years and over
100k miles later it still has not given me
any problems other than routine maintaince.
Not to mention that I ripped it through a pole on the right side taking out the entire
paneling and door (ouch). Sure it isn't
the fastest car out there but it still fairs
up well even after all these years.

1.7 liter v6
161hp and 162ft/lb (for the curious)


Keith

Shawn S

The Legend Coupe was definitely built better then any other car I have owned.

I sometimes regret selling it for the CL-S, but I’m a “material guy” and I love all the new electronic goodies that are on the CL-S that weren’t available back in 1991.

The biggest thing I miss is the stick shift. I thought the “Sport-Shift” would be a good fall back over a straight auto, but I HATE it.

If I had known about the 6-Speed CL, I would have waited another year.
They DO hold their value quite well; I sold it for 11,500 with 110,000 on the clock.

Shawn S

Here is the car shortly before I sold it:

Gs400TRD

damn that's a nice clean coupe.
I have been looking for one with a 6 speed for awhile as a alternative. you want to sell me yours

CL-Super

I use to own a 94 Legend Coupe and that thing was built like a tank and was a comfortable ride....not faster than the CL-S but can definantly hang with one....for some reason I think it was faster on the freeway driving (meaning acceleration from 60+ mph)...Brand new I would take the Legend Coupe over the CL-S....

pimp_RENAMED

Thanks, hit me up in about 5 years.