The Honda Legend is a Super Rare Luxury Saloon (Acura 3.5RL)

A full review of the 1995 - 2004 Honda Legend / Acura 3.5 RL
Also known as the third generation, Mk3 KA9 Legend or Acura 3.5RL.
1998 3.5 V6 model
#hondalegend #honda #acura
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[@douglasdowns4846]

In the USA this car is an Acura RL 3.5. My twin brother and I both have one, mine is a 1998 and my brother's is a 2002. We love these cars! The "RL" stands for refined luxury. Having owned in the past Mercedes, BMW, Volvo and Toyota Avalon I love this this car the most. It is like taking all the afore mentioned cars roll them into one and you get the Acura RL, without the outrageous maintenance costs. The build quality of these cars are amazing everything is tight and solid. These cars are a dream in the highway cruising like an older Mercedes 300 turbo diesel. These are indeed rare as the selling price new was quite high and you had the Mercedes and BMW as the competitors at the time. As I say I love these cars but I do have a hard time considering it luxurious, it is just plain solid and a delight to drive. Really enjoyed your review.

[@JJonCars]

Refined luxury is a perfect name for it, sums it up well. I guess the fuel consumption isn't as important in the US as it's cheaper there. Thanks for taking the time to comment, and I'm glad you enjoyed the review :)

[@rogerpritchard]

My dad had two and i had one. The earliest was a 1996 which was smoother and quieter than the other 1999 ones. Beautiful cars, well built and effortless to drive. Built to last.

[@incognito5109]

No way, ive ever seen a honda looking this dapper besides the '98 accord . Honda over here being underrated 😍

[@JJonCars]

That's a great word for it.

[@injinerconev]

That little shot fired at the Range Rover 👌🤌😆

[@neilduignan9835]

Great video, JJ. Fantastic to see cars we’d forgotten about being reviewed. Just seen there’s only 10 on Auto Trader, could pick a barge like that up for £3k. Best value ever!

[@JJonCars]

Thanks Neil! They are a bargain for sure :)

[@Daz_Stap]

Lovely cars. I was an apprentice at a Honda dealers back in 1989 and I remember the Legends and, best of all, the Legend Coupe. A truly stunning car.

[@JJonCars]

Oh man yeah, the Legend coupe, shame they didn't make one for this third generation

[@marknelson5929]

Down here in OZ, I'm on my second Legend saloon, the 1990 model, same body shell with different front/rear treatment and the 3.2 litre V6. I used to own Honda's first generation 2.7 litre V6 Coupe from 1989 (same engine used by Rover in the 827 series). I also have a 1993 Legend Coupe in dark metallic red, biscuit leather interior. Again 3.2 V6, pity Honda didn't continue with the coupe.

[@regan8372]

These are the 3.5RL in the U.S. and Canada. My mom and aunt had one. Our neighbor had one as well. They’re such good cars. They were pretty common in my area, and still are even 20 years later. Its not unusual to see them still rolling around.

[@JJonCars]

Sweet. You just never see them here. I think you guys in the US and Canada know a good car when you see one. That and your fuel is cheaper 😆

[@nigelbryant5932]

Beautiful colour. Lovely car

[@novicetheaf]

Honda's are great, I like the look of this car and the owner made a good choice to put those alloys on it, suits it well 👌

[@JJonCars]

Yeah agreed, they look good don't they :)

[@chilldwill7179]

Im Getting a 2004 Acura Rl with only 80k miles w/nav and I cannot wait to get it in a couple weeks.

[@JJonCars]

Nice!!

[@leebrown6623]

Gorgeous car quality and refinement! Awesome content as always

[@JJonCars]

Cheers Lee 👍

[@howardsamurai3265]

It’s lovely car with elegant. To me, that’s gentlemen’s car. My family lucky to have one until now ❤😊, Thanks for the video ❤

[@JJonCars]

Yes definitely gentlemans car, thanks for watching :)

[@cuba9357]

I got Honda Legend, my dad gave me one when i was 14, i was thinking about my first car and my dad just bought for himself new one, so honda was waiting for being sold. I got with dad an idea to give it to me for my 18th birthday gift. Now im 17 and i will be adult in 1,5 month. In these 4 years i was doing basic stuff like cleaning, buying parts that needed to be changed, oil change, new tires and for now the only thing i need to buy is something for steering system cause its making noises. I own this after lifting model, and im not gonna sell it fast because its gaining worth.

[@JJonCars]

That's awesome, an amazing first car, and great to have it all that time to work on it. What a day it will be to drive it properly for the first time!

[@brallandanielbasiliotomas1003]

I got 2004 silver with green wood dash and it’s been the smoothest car I’ve owned

[@Birmingham_racing]

My neighbour used to have the later model. My friends dad had a h reg 2.7 I think around 25 years ago. I was only a kid at the time but remember how smooth it was

[@JJonCars]

It would have been such a classy car back in the 90's. Funny how these memories stick with us :)

[@tomdeberry3600]

In the USA this car was called an Acura Legend. Great car!

[@TysonHugie]

Actually it was the Acura 3.5RL

[@JJonCars]

Yep, great car!

[@KA_Sammler]

Damn, Tyson is watching Legend stuff everywhere like me. Hey there! @@TysonHugie

[@datmachine1600]

Have a 98 here in Australia as my daily, love driving it. Has Mazda RX8 18s on it and has been lowered.

[@JJonCars]

Nice, I bet it looks great!

[@noble20xx56]

Love these luxury cruisers. Even before I could drive I knew I always wanted something like this.

[@JJonCars]

The best kind of car! :)

[@mroberts7519]

I had a 1992 Acura Legend. I was just thinking about how much I missed that car. Honda/Acura really were playing around with luxury and sportiness in their models at this time. It may not seem like it as much these days with the styling that is all around, but back then the 2nd gen Legend and then this the 3rd gen/3.5 RL were much sportier than other cars in their class. A sport exhaust sounds amazing on these.

[@willswheels283]

Lovely car, I think Rover based their 800 on the Legend, although Rover offered more than one engine. I think I can count on just one hand the amount of Honda Legends I’ve seen over the years. It reminds me of the Lexus GS300 I had, straight 6 but rear wheel drive, Luxury interior with beige leather and a steering wheel that adjusted itself to your “requirements sir”. Thanks for the video mate, nice to see a Legend again.👍

[@JJonCars]

Would love to review the 800 too. I spotted a GS300 while I was reviewing this car, in fact check out 4:15 into the vid in and you'll see it 😄 I thought about buying a GS300 before I ended up with the CLK. Glad you liked the vid Will 👍

[@willswheels283]

@@JJonCars I’d love to have a drive in an 800 as well, the GS300 is a lovely car and so is the CLK, especially in coupe form, the GS I had was a 1996(P reg) mk1 Jap import with beige leather seats, it was a proper “Sofa on wheels”.

[@JJonCars]

@@willswheels283 Sounds glorious!

[@jesdadotcom]

Great videos. Free of gimmicks and exaggerations.

[@JJonCars]

Thank you!

[@kazalisnadruzinakucasmija4867]

I drive Legend 98', 3.5, 350xxxx km.... Beast😎💪

[@robinhood1794]

In Taiwan, it's called honda Legend, too. it's good car, i am love to drive it.❤❤

[@JJonCars]

Oh that's nice to know it's not just called that here :)

[@andrewsmactips]

I have a white’97 model that I’ve owned for the past six years. The comfort and ergonomics are top notch. I’ve had to replace the starter and recondition the ABS but apart from that it just runs and runs.

[@ArtJorgeCom]

I used to have one. Still one of my fav cars ever❤❤❤

[@kkkk-xg8ks]

JJ, thank you for this video. You are wright, new parts are getting hard to find and used parts condition leaves much to desire. I own 1998 left hand drive Legend of the same color since 2011. It is sitting idle for several months (parts issue) so fuel consumption is not a problem for me :-) and never was since comfort and positive impressions compensate it all.

[@JJonCars]

Haha, best way to get good fuel economy from the Legend :D It's totally worth it. Thank you for keeping one on the road!

[@blobba5442]

Great review! My father had two 1st gen Honda legend coupe ka3 in the 90s and early 00s. They're probably scrapped by now. he lent my uncle one to drive down to London and sadly it was stolen the same night.

[@JJonCars]

Thank you! The coupe gen 1 is such a nice car. So very very rare now.

[@unknownyoutuber01]

This color is beautiful. I had Civic VTI in this color and looks nice 😊

[@Birmingham_racing]

Bet you wish you kept it with the value that hold

[@unknownyoutuber01]

yup :)

[@JJonCars]

I wonder what the colour is called. It's so good

[@martynm.449]

'Pirates Black' NH605P. Didn't even need to Google. Knew it off by heart! Best colour ever. I, too, had a VTI in that colour.

[@boardernut]

fantastic car

[@JJonCars]

totally!

[@peterstewart9228]

I have owned two of the facelift versions of this car and they were fantastic cars! Never missed a beat over around 100,000 between the two of them. Also had one of the newer ones on a 56 plate and it was a very advanced car. Beautiful made and lovely to drive. I would highly recommend anyone thinking of buying one to own one.

[@JJonCars]

Sweet. I'd like to try out the later generation one too, always liked the idea of them.

[@shand1967]

Funnily enough I saw a next generation Legend (super active 4-wheel drive) that was parked next to me in my local Tesco car park; the first time I had seen one in ages. It was in beautiful condition. They didn't sell because stupid people think the Honda badge isn't premium and there was no diesel.

[@JJonCars]

That later generation one was not quite the same in the looks department I think. But a sweet sweet car all the same.

[@davidwilliams8352]

loved this car as a kid

[@JJonCars]

Good aren't they

[@doveronefoxtrot4417]

That will outlive a Mercedes S class by around 10 years. They are absolutely bullet proof.

[@turnne]

But yet the Mercedes S class outsold these many times over at a much higher price

[@whybother1045]

The 1990 s classes were pretty solid but they still are over complicated. The replacement started to disintegrate after 3 years The proper 80s s class is not faster, longer or heavier than the Legend it it is noisier though. Japanese engineering was amazing at that time.

[@turnne]

@@whybother1045 Where are you getting this information from...I the Mercedes W126 , w140 as well as the 2nd generation Acura Legend( 1993) The Mercedes were a more substantial , quieter and in the case of the W140 a lot more complicated car In the case of the W140..very complicated...but a significant amount of firsts in technology. Many of which, even years later, the Honda/Acura products never received.

[@turnne]

Apples and oranges to compare this car to an S class You could compare this car to a Toyota Avalon....that would be closer comparison

[@merc340sr]

Very nice mag wheels!

[@Rjhs001]

Beautiful car JJ but the fuel consumption would hurt.

[@JJonCars]

Haha yep, it's not ideal!

[@memeloverI61]

I’m writing this comment the night before I’m going to buy one. It’s gonna be my second car, the first one was Honda accord cb3 1993 2.0l. And now, I saw this Honda legend, but from 1999. Me and my uncle saw the car. And I’m in love, tomorrow gonna deal with all the papers and take this baby home

[@JJonCars]

Awesome! It will feel like a really nice fancy version of the Accord. Enjoy :)

[@NathanArnold-sf7gx]

Love it!

[@khikashi6268]

I currently own a 2001 Acura RL and it’s treating me nicely. Just replaced the stock radio with a more modern infotainment system. Need to get the front brakes replaced soon but the car is as tough as it’s beautiful. When I got the car earlier this year it had an oil leak but it still drove pretty well all things considered. I have further plans on this car but yeah the gas mileage is definitely not great lol I fill up my tank like twice a week

[@JJonCars]

So it's painful to fuel even with the cheaper US gas prices? (I am assuming you're in the US...) Great cars!

[@harveyneedleman817]

I had 6 of these , they were the most relaxing car i ever drove.

[@JJonCars]

6 of them! Wow

[@harveyneedleman817]

​@JJonCars Yes , I loved them. Years before I had 5 ford granada mk1 ghias , one of which was a coupe. Also 4 mk2 granada ghias. The honda drove much the same way as the granada , very relaxed.

[@user-dr2ln3rc3n]

We had a 1996 in the same exact rare (eggplant) colour. Super smooth car which felt powerful compared to the basic 2.0 NA engines we were accustomed to at the time. Looking back it was probably underpowered or detuned a bit to compensate for it being fwd. Torque steer would be unbecoming of it Ours was bullet proof reliable though, until a rock fell off a truck and went under the car and tore up the transmission 😢

[@JJonCars]

Great colour isn't it. Perhaps you're right there, it was definitely set up to be smooth and relaxing, wouldn't be good to be sliding all over the place under acceleration 😄 RIP your old Legend

[@KA_Sammler]

The 1998 was a special year for the edm Legend. Not only it had the internal facelift without the external for the 1999 but was the only year with the turbine style wheels. sadly this car in the video has cheap aftermarket wheels on. By the way the KA9 came in 1996 not 1995.

[@kuiss5204]

Damn, when i found this video i was realy skeptical cause i though it will be rare but i actually found one and im excited ☺️

[@JJonCars]

Oh nice one! In Europe/UK they are definitely quite rare. More common in the States I believe

[@kuiss5204]

@@JJonCars well, i think i saw one on street and i think, with right maintanance it could go over 500k kilometers

[@JJonCars]

@@kuiss5204 yeah definitely could manage that!

[@kuiss5204]

@@JJonCars noice, im let you know if something goes wrong 😁

[@JJonCars]

@@kuiss5204 haha, good luck!🤞

[@martynm.449]

I would love one of the newest models of Legend. 290hp and a clever all wheel drive system. But the tax bracket is certainly hard to swallow.

[@JJonCars]

Yeah, those are pretty sweet! I know they came out around '06, I wonder if there are any very early ones that were in the old category of tax...

[@ordinate5838]

1998 my family had that Acura... oh, the Legend

[@JJonCars]

Nice. In 1998 it would have been one of the nicest cars on the road.

[@ordinate5838]

​@@JJonCars I'm sorry for making a misunderstanding lol, this is a quote from a song by Frank Ocean - Nights. I wasn't even born that year yet. Although i felt great vibe when i heard that line (alongside with the whole song, which is great), because old japanese luxury sedans is a vibe by itself. My family couldn't afford a car like that. I believe it wasn't even available at that time in Russia (that's where i live at)

[@JJonCars]

@@ordinate5838 ah! Went over my head. We couldn't have afforded something like that in 1998 either!

[@paulwilkinson6463]

My '03 is my daily driver and runs like a Swiss watch.

[@JJonCars]

Nice one, great car as a daily. Do you own a petrol station? hehe

[@sphere921]

im from eastern part of malaysia, i found one for sale in my town, probably the only one there is in the eastern part of malaysia. what do u think about it? i love it being a sleeper. but would like to know your thoughts on parts/ engine / gearbox availability as well as fuel compability as we run much cheaper on ron95 fuel here, i believe this engine is tuned with ron97 standard fuel from the factory. also would like to know on the customizable options on this car.

[@JJonCars]

Hi there. Well - if its the only one in Eastern Malaysia, I know that might put some people off, but I like to have something that is rare and unusual! The parts are quite hard to find, but not impossible and I assume it will be as difficult in Malaysia as it is in the UK. So really its maybe not the best car to have as your only car, as if you need parts you might have to wait for them to be shipped to you. But as a second car I wouldn't let it put me off. Fuel-wise, we have 95 and 97 here, but I think it runs fine on 95, and I imagine it will be able to adjust to it. I don't know much about any customisable options, but I bet it would sound good with a louder exhaust on it :)

[@sphere921]

@@JJonCars great thanks for sharing the info, before this i used to own an integra da5 coupe for 10 years (being the only one in east malaysia as well) before selling it off due to financial problems. but no it will not be my only car, it is more like my 3rd car. alright, i assume i should be prepared for parts hunting. the previous owner kept it well maintained too. still considering maybe within these few weeks to get it. thank again for sharing your info. yes im definitely going to slap on a straight flow muffler with cat delete. (we have less strict laws here on the cat)

[@JJonCars]

@@sphere921 sounds like it's the car for you then! good luck with it :)

[@user-is9mx8fn5y]

drive the 2005-2008 Acura RL / Legend KB1 that is one of the greatest cars ever made

[@JJonCars]

Would very much like to

[@halisjain8562]

It a great car i have one but is economy that my problem

[@JJonCars]

Yes, they are exceptionally poor on fuel 😂

[@katzicael]

wait till you find out about the Honda Vigor, Rafaga, Ascot, Ascot Innova, and Inspire.

[@JJonCars]

Well you're right, I have not heard of any of those 😂

[@aaronoralan5314]

Isn't that the Legend was compete with Lexus GS instead of LS? Indeed it should compete with LS

[@JJonCars]

I imagine it probably competed with both those models. But it's 5 metres long which is certainly LS length.

[@aaronoralan5314]

It's too big to compete with GS, but not powerful enough to compete with LS. They used to have Inspire as an independent model. The Inspire should elevate to compete with GS, and let Legend focus on LS, but they managed a different way. The Inspire ended up as Chinese market Accord and Legend downgraded to focus on GS. To date, no Honda is truly competing with LS

[@whybother1045]

I've had both the ls400 and later this model of Legend. The Ls was smoother faster but not as well made. The electric steering wheel still works there is no rust the interior dash isn't missing half back lights . All my Ls had in the back was heated seat buttons. Definitely had more legroom but the Legend boot is massive compared to the Ls400. I got rid of my Ls400 because it started to look tatty and I looked like the most unsuccessful gangster in the world. The legend is somehow a friendly car. When people see me driving it they just think I have borrowed granddad's car

[@DeutschlandVerrecke]

Hello from Germany. I own the Same Car with exactly the Same Colour. My transmission broke two weeks ago 😢. Common problems. Now I will repair it. Hopefully I find a transmission. Also I own a ls400 so I can assess the differences. The ls400 has a monster motor and takes less gas than the 3,5l legend. In town my consumption is 15liter! The ls400 you can drive it under 10litersob highway. But nevertheless the legend is a SUPERB CAR. it's sooo invisible in a positive way. The only negative thing is not the consumption (German rivals at the time also take some gas drinks) BUT THE LITTLE TANK. it has a 55 liter tank you have to go to the gas station at every 400 km. The ls400 has a 85 liter tank you can drive on motorway 700 km. Hakan'a selamlar. Muhteşem bir araç sürüyorsun. Jantlar ne kadar büyük? 17mi yoksa 18? Ben normal 16 standartla sürüyorum.

[@JJonCars]

Hakan had an issue with the transmission too, though fortunately for him it just needed a transmission flush and oil replacement. That is quite strange how small the fuel tank is! I will hopefully get an LS400 on at some point.

[@harveyneedleman817]

From what I remember, the fuel tank is 15 gallons or 68 litres.