Subaru Legacy

I must declare a certain amount of bias up front when it comes to Subaru. I’ve always been a fan due to a combination of their cult status in the World Rally Championship and a certain degree of love for the under-dog. Because if we’re honest, all Subaru’s are under-dogs, usually disregarded and underestimated by the general public – if heard of at all.

I’ve even managed to forgive the Japanese based manufacturer some styling blunders. The bug-eyed Impreza, for example, was a complete minger. I have a scale model of the WRC car that I hide on a shelf behind my door because it’s that ugly. Then there’s the first generation Tribeca for which the English language does not have enough adjectives to fully elucidate the extremity of its hideousness.

The Legacy has been the exception that proves the rule, well, in the past that is, because the new generation has clearly been marred by its fellow siblings. The front fenders have an oddly bulged appearance that flows from the lines of the disproportionate headlights. This ghastly combination appears to have used up all the designers creative “genius” because beyond the windscreen pillars it’s just a piece of car – completely void of any character defining traits. Something which may have been done on purpose after the bosses saw the drawings for the front.

I had the pleasure of spending two weeks with two different models. First was the 2.0 litre, four cylinder 110kW entry level Legacy and to cut a long story short, don’t even waste your time at the Subaru dealership. The car is so big and the engine so small you spend your life shifting through the six speed manual gearbox trying to find the power band, which is so narrow it’s likely to be missed. I know the performance figures appear to tell a different story, 0-100 in less than 10 seconds sounds pretty good for a biggish saloon – it’s just the feeling I had behind the wheel that soured the experience.

For a company that prides themselves on handling, the 2.0 litre is horribly disappointing. The suspension setup is on the soft side which draws attention to the size and weight of the car as it tends to wallow about. This isn’t helped by the fact that the wheels are narrow and tall giving the sense you’re on stilts, which in turn accentuates the feeling of body roll through tight corners.

To top things off, the interior is beyond Spartan – there’s no satellite navigation, no USB functionality, no electric seats, no Bluetooth. It’s just a steering wheel, some pedals and the odd button to turn the radio off or fiddle with the temperature on the climate control.

Yes, the nicely stitched leather and ergonomically pleasing dashboard is a big step up from the Subaru’s of old, the interiors of which appeared to have been designed by the janitor on his day off, but it just doesn’t cut it in the modern age of Germanic detailing.

All this left me with a really bitter taste in my mouth. I realise that Subaru have always been less concerned by the finer detail of aesthetics, but made up for it in drivability – this Legacy lacks in both departments.

A few weeks later and there on my door step arrived the 2.5 litre GT. Instantly the difference was noticeable. The GT sits lower on its springs, 18 inch alloys filling the wheel arches, a large air intake on the bonnet hints at the cars inherent pedigree. The whole car looks more purposeful, more aggressive.

These changes eliminate the harshness of those bulbous oddments of the front end, or alternatively make the blend easier on the eye, I’m not sure which, but by the end of the week I was happy to walk out of the front door and see the GT parked in the drive.

The interior isn’t much different to the 2.0 litre I spoke of earlier, the only noticeable additions being electric seats and the Subaru Intelligent Drive dial. Fortunately the bare interior will be the farthest thing on your mind once you prod the starter button to awaken the gem under the bonnet.

The 2.5 litre, four cylinder boxer engine has been turbo charged for a little extra blow, the result of which is 195kW and 0-100km/h in less than 6.5 seconds. If you think that’s impressive, you’ll have your socks blown off in the corners.

Nothing I’ve ever driven sticks to the road like the GT.  Normally it’s quite easy to find the limit of a vehicle’s traction, and I say normally because you’d have to be a complete lunatic to enter a corner fast enough for this Subaru to break traction. The suspension setup is so completely different to the 2.0 litre it’s like comparing North and South Korean politics.

There’s no manual option, which is slightly disappointing, but one must remember that this is a luxury sedan – a fact that is easily forgotten when mashing your foot on the throttle. In fact the six speed automatic gearbox is one of the more competent I’ve come across, especially in the manual paddle shift mode.

Subaru’s Intelligent Drive system is what allows the GT to be just that, a Grand Tourer. In intelligent mode the suspension is softer, the throttle less responsive and gear changes more subtle, allowing for passengers in this relatively large vehicle to travel long distances in perfect comfort. Turn the dial anti-clockwise and you encounter Sport mode, which makes everything a little firmer and a little sharper.

Turning the dial clockwise is where things really start to get interesting. This engages Sport # which makes everything as hard and as sharp as technically possible, while easing up on the traction control. I’ve no doubt you could rock up at a track day with a helmet and your Intelligent Drive dial set to Sport # and walk away with some impressive times on the stop watch. 

It’s a real pity the 2.0 litre Legacy doesn’t cut it as a viable alternative to the more mainstream options. Without more Subaru’s on the road, the GT will remain a vehicle that only ever receives an approving nod from those discerning, well informed enthusiasts – a great tragedy for what is a great car. 

Miles Downard
Photo Credit: Subaru of America