Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 4-door sedan body style within the same 'Luxury car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Honda and rear in the case of the Lexus). The first one has a Honda-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 295hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 252hp engine designed by Toyota.

Both vehicles got tested by European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), with the same number of safety stars gained in the process. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the luxury car segment, which is generally a very good thing safety-wise, but it doesn't do much to help us decide between the two. Furthermore, if we'd like to consider vehicle mass in this context too, which we definitely should, Legend offers a considerable difference of 17% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Honda does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Honda with an average rating of 4.7, and models under the Lexus badge with 4.9 out of 5. Independent research findings rank Legend as average reliability-wise, and GS is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Legend rank it on average as 5.0 out of 5, exactly the same as the other one.

Lexus is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.1 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 240 kilometers per hour, 10km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy an obvious choice would be Lexus GS, averaging around 9.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (29 mpg), in combined cycle. That's 21% difference compared to Legend!

Honda appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Legend offers significantly better overall protection, taking the lead here. It all continues in the same direction, with Honda offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... I believe that, when we take all into account, we have only one winner here - the Lexus. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. I suggest you spend two more minutes in order to find out which car, based on your needs and budget, would be picked by the virtual adviser™, out of 12.000+ vehicles we currently have in our database.