Category: Executive 
Price Range: £36,597 to £39,347
Remarkable road-holding and handling from Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system, clever safety technology, well finished and equipped, pleasingly compact for an executive car
Ride is too firm, auto transmission could be smoother, engine lacks the expected pulling power
An interesting and welcome alternative to the default-choice German offerings but spoilt by the drawbacks above. If you're going to be an individualist you'd make more of a statement with a Citroen C6.
Price range £36,250-£39,000. On sale in UK September 2006
No question, this is a luxurious place to be. Soft leather, expensive-feeling fabrics, and high-quality switchgear - all these contribute to comfort and relaxation.
The cabin is quiet, too, thanks to that noise-reducing feature built into the 10-speaker Bose sound system (you can get Bose headphones with similar technology to reduce background noise in aeroplanes). The automatic air con has a sunlight position sensor to alter its output as required and there's an electric rear-window sunblind plus manual ones for the rear side windows.
The cabin is very spacious, too, and all would be very rosy were it not for that fidgety ride and the road noise on coarse surfaces from the 235/50 R17 tyres. These snags detract from the Legend's role as a luxury car. Perhaps it's trying too hard to match a sport-pack BMW or Audi.
Heated front seats are standard, as is a sat nav and information system. A giant iDrive-like knob is the main control and the system matches BMW's for mystification and until you've eventually got the hang of the menus.
