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THE 1987 ACURA LEGEND Coupe is a work of passionless excellence. Itstight grip on technical perfection strangles joy and sensuality. Itsfixation on predictable performance evokes thoughts of Holiday Inn: nosurprises, absolutely none.

The Legend Coupe is so self-consciously right, you feel likegenuflecting before starting its engine. Had this car been around whenJim and Tammy Bakker ran PTL, they might’ve chosen it over theMercedes-Benz.

Who knows? Things might’ve turned out differently.

The Legend Coupe rivals German luxury models in overall quality. Butit runs low on feeling. There’s little here to ignite the libido, tolead good folk astray.

Automobiles in this class should be seductive, vain and power-hungry.They should inspire envy, spawn emulators and be seen on TV programslike “Dallas,” “Dynasty” and “Falcon Crest.”

The Legend Coupe, by comparison, is a candidate for “Wheel ofFortune” — a good car waiting for Honda to fill in the blanks. Let’sgive ’em a hint: The seven-letter word starts with a “P.” It has adouble “S,” and it ends with an “N.”

Complaint: The test car’s analog fuel gauge quit working at thethree-fourths-empty mark — a one-of-a-kind problem cited by Hondaofficials before the car was delivered.

The fault wasn’t critical, because the car is equipped with acomputerized function that displays the number of miles that can betraveled on what’s left in the tank. That system worked fine.

Praise: That the only real problem with this car is its lack ofpersonality. That’s a subjective thing. It could produce boredom downthe road. It’s not likely to produce anger.

Things that cause anger are hard to find in the Legend Coupe. The caris crafted well, in typical Honda fashion. The five-seat interior iscomfortable and well-ordered. The analog instruments, the complementarydigital display screen, and the manual controls that can be used tooverride the car’s automatic climate control system are easy to see,reach and use.

Also, the Legend Coupe’s standard five-speed manual transmission is abreeze.

Head-turning quotient: Attractive in a Honda sort of way, which ispart of this car’s personality problem. I just don’t think “AcuraDivision” when I see the Legend models. I don’t think “Mercedes” or”BMW,” either. I think: “What’s a nice Honda like that doing in a pricerange like this?”

Ride, acceleration and handling: All excellent. The Legend Coupecomes with a 2.7-liter, 24-valve, computer-controlled, fuel- injectedV-6, which is a bit more powerful than the 2.5-liter rendition of thesame engine in the Legend sedan. The coupe kicks out 161 horsepower at5,900 rpm. It can move.

Sound system: AM/FM stereo radio and cassette with seven-band graphicequalizer, by Alpine. A little bit of soul, at last!

Mileage: About 21 to the gallon (18-gallon tank, 375-mile range),combined city-highway, running with one to five occupants and with airconditioner on most of the time.

Price: Wham! Approximately $26,000, including $255 in transportationcharges. Add about $720 for optional four-speed automatic transmission.Estimated dealer’s invoice price on tested model is $21,091, accordingto Automobile Invoice Service in San Jose. All of the above prices maybe affected by fluctuating yen-dollar exchange rates.