Wednesday, August 24, 2011
The Subaru Legacy has been redesigned for 2010 and now boasts a bigger backseat and improved gas mileage, with the same nimble steering the 2009 model had.
Starting MSRP $19,995–$31,395
Snowbelt drivers will appreciate its standard all-wheel drive, which few competitors offer.
Among midsize family sedans, the Legacy is a jack of all trades. In trying to do everything, though, it doesn't master very much. The Legacy doesn't feel as high-rent as some of its competitors — particularly the suburb-infesting Honda Accord. Nor will its polarizing styling work for everyone.
The 2010 Legacy — you can compare it with the '09 model here — comes in base, Premium and Limited trim levels, with a four- or six-cylinder engine. The related Outback wagon, also redesigned for 2010, is covered here.
I drove a four-cylinder Legacy Limited. There's also a turbocharged four-cylinder available in Premium and Limited trims, though it only comes with a stick shift.
I drove a four-cylinder Legacy Limited. There's also a turbocharged four-cylinder available in Premium and Limited trims, though it only comes with a stick shift.
On the Road
Today's four-cylinder family cars are hardly the dogs they used to be (my point of reference being the mid-90s Accord I drove in high school — a car that won me few stoplight-revving contests and even fewer dates). The Legacy gets up and goes without protest, with around-town oomph that's comparable to a four-cylinder Accord or Toyota Camry. At highway speeds, Subaru's continuously variable automatic transmission takes a while to serve up the passing power you asked for, and the same is true on hills. If you prefer to shift your own gears — or just want to save $1,000 — a six-speed manual comes standard.
The all-wheel-drive system provides a confident grip — six-cylinder models get a more sophisticated all-wheel-drive system that's supposed to give the car a more rear-wheel-drive-like experience — and the steering wheel carves corners with admirable precision. Unfortunately, those same maneuvers cause excessive body roll, like you'd expect in a Camry. Subaru says suspension tuning is the same across all variants.
Ride quality is good and wind noise is low, but road noise with my test car's 17-inch wheels seemed loud. Above 70 mph, crosswinds can make the steering wheel a bit jittery. I spent a good chunk of time on the interstate making minor corrections to stay on course. The Camry has its own problems — mostly its numb, lollygagging highway steering — but the Accord feels more settled than the other two.
Four-wheel-disc antilock brakes are standard, with turbo and six-cylinder models getting beefier discs. My Legacy's brakes worked well, with a linear pedal feel and decent stopping power.
Gas mileage, at an EPA-estimated 23/31 mpg city/highway with the CVT, is better than last year's four-speed automatic Legacy, but it trails segment leaders like the 33-mpg Camry and Chevrolet Malibu and the 34-mpg Ford Fusion. Subaru's standard all-wheel drive adds weight. With that in mind, its mileage is hardly below par: The all-wheel-drive Fusion's best mpg numbers are 18/25 mpg (though that's with a V-6 engine). Ford doesn't offer all-wheel drive with the four-cylinder, so the Legacy's price of entry for an all-wheel-drive midsize sedan is roughly $8,000 less than Ford's, with 5 mpg of fuel savings to boot. Learn More...
Source : http://www.cars.com
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