Honda reveals new Legend flagship

Honda has revealed its fifth-generation Legend, complete with a new 281kW hybrid all-wheel drive powertrain, ahead of its Japanese release in January.

As expected, the latest Legend is essentially a rebadged, right-hand drive version of the Acura RLX sedan released in North America this year, and will not be made available in Australia.

That's due to lack of demand in Australia, where the fourth-generation Legend went on sale in September 2006 and has attracted just five buyers so far this year, making the Mk5 the first Legend not to be sold here since the original arrived in 1986.

Late last month Honda also announced it would not replace its mid-size Accord Euro sedan when production ceases early next year, leaving the wide-body Accord as the only sedan in its range apart from the small Civic four-door.

In Japan, the 2015 Legend will be offered exclusively with a 3.5-litre V6 matched with a trio of electric motors, creating a hybridised ‘Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive’ system with total outputs of 281kW/510Nm – much higher than the existing Legend's 226kW/370Nm 3.7-litre V6.

The big V6 drives the front wheels, while a 27kW electric motor drives each rear wheel and a third electric motor is positioned between the engine and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Three driving modes are on offer, including petrol-electric front-wheel drive, petrol-electric all-wheel drive and all-electric rear-wheel-drive, with an energy recuperation system generating power for the lithium-ion battery in all three modes.

Combined with cylinder deactivation technology as seen in the Accord's V6, Honda lays the Legend consumes as little as 5.9L/100km on the Japanese test cycle.

While the current Legend is still on sale for $76,135 plus ORC, its successor will be priced from under $A70,000 in Japan, where Honda forecasts just 300 sales a month, positioned as a more affordable alternative to large European luxury sedans like the BMW 5 Series and Audi A6.

As such, there's high-quality leather and soft-touch materials throughout the cabin, which features rear legroom "so generous that occupants can even cross their legs in comfort".

Riding on a 51mm longer (2850mm) wheelbase, the new Legend is 9mm longer overall (4982mm), as well as 43mm wider (1890mm) and 12mm taller (1465mm).

The 2015 Legend features an upgraded version of the CR-V's Honda Sensing driver assist system, including a claimed world-first pedestrian collision mitigation steering system, plus automatic steering assist, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, traffic sign recognition and false start prevention.