2009 Subaru Legacy
Legacy tries to fit in
I’ve always liked the Subaru Legacy. It’s one of those cars that never quite followed the norm in its market – it’s always looked and acted apart from the crowd, which isn’t necessarily the safest thing to do when you’re in a market catering to a big audience with very precise needs and wants.
But playing it safe has never really been Subaru’s thing … well on the styling/platform front, anyway. Playing it safe on the safety front has always been very important to Subaru and it continues in the latest Legacy with multitude airbags to protect you from whichever way it gets hit, and the usual gaggle of traction goodies to keep the car toeing the straight line.
And front and centre on the safety front is Subaru’s symmetrical all-wheel drive that provides traction to whichever wheels can use it best. It’s a system that has proven itself in the exciting world of rallying for many years, in addition to proving itself in the more sedate world of everyday shuttling for pretty much the same number of years.
The Legacy debuted in North America in 1990, the same year it debuted on the world rally stage. In 1993, the late great Colin McRae took it to its first victory in New Zealand in the Legacy’s last race before being replaced by the smaller, lighter Impreza.
Despite its all-wheel drivetrain, Legacy isn’t much heavier than its prime rivals (Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, as with anybody else in this segment) and once you start tossing it about, it actually feels considerably lighter and much more nimble.
Part of the reason may be illusory – the car is so quiet in areas of road, wind and engine noise that it almost feels like it is gliding along on an updraft. There is a pronounced throaty engine noise under throttle, but it only adds to the illusion of speed and performance – you can almost picture yourself tossing and twisting through a muddied forest road in pursuit of every single second that could be the one that makes you a champion or the first loser.
Power to our test Legacy was provided by a 3.0-litre horizontally-opposed six-cylinder engine (a boxer-six) which sounds a bit rougher than the 3.5 V6s of both Camry and Accord but which is in effect considerably smoother of operation. However, it doesn’t quite match its competitors in power outputs or in economy. The one thing in its favour is that torque peaks lower in the rpm range than it does on the others.
A five-speed automatic with sequential shifts controlled by steering-column mounted paddles performs admirably to allow the driver to get the most of power and economy, but it’s not quite enough, and we could only manage mediocre readings.
Adding to the sportiness of the sedan is Subaru’s Vehicle Dynamics Control system to add more traction control to the mix and the SI-DRIVE for performance control. By manipulating a knob just aft of the console-mounted shift lever, the driver can modify the shift pattern of the automatic transmission and throttle response time – among Intelligent, Sport and Sport # (as in the musical “sharp”) modes - to effectively change power delivery from the engine for leisurely or spry acceleration.
The other part of the illusion is the airy cabin. The belt line is nicely placed almost smack-dab in the middle of the height between roof and floor, and the pillars are as narrow as you could probably make them without making them disappear altogether, partly achieved through the use of frameless windows.
The windows themselves pose a sort of conundrum – on the one hand makes a less bulky-looking door but you have to make sure everything snugs up right or you’re faced with some weather leaks (wind or water). Subaru seems to have got the design down pat, but there’s still that awkward looking sliver of glass that sits atop the rear door panels when the windows are fully lowered. The rear three quarter windows, naturally, stay in place when the doors are opened.
Interior comfort is quite nice, with wide, well proportioned seats providing comfort for four (five if you really must squeeze a smaller passenger into the middle rear spot). There shouldn’t be any complaints of cramping unless you turn over the keys to the Raptors’ starting five.
The trunk itself is roomy and flat floored with a wide opening through which to load up. The lid opens up nearly perpendicularly and the goose-neck brackets are isolated to insure they don’t crush cargo that shouldn’t be crushed. The pass-through is of the 60/40 percent rear-seatback type, which doesn’t go down flat to cargo floor.
All in all, Legacy is a comfortable mid-sized sedan that fits in pretty well against its compatriots, and market stalwarts such as the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima and Mazda6. The main difference is price, with all-wheel drive being the differentiator. Is it worth the $5,300-$9,800 premium over its compatriots ($7,300 to $11,800 for our top of the line 3.0R Premier)? That depends on the value you place on the security of all-weather driving.
Summary:
Strong Points
Weak Points
- - all weather reliability
- - feels light during handling
- - comfortable interior
- - price
- - frameless windows look cheap
- - night reflections on windshield
Editors Rating:
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