READY FOR BATTLE
Subaru Legacy gets new styling and powertrain to challenge competitive mid-size market,
LAFAYETTE, IND.— Subaru does things a bit differently, as evidenced by the Boxer engine, all-wheel-drive and quirky vehicles such as the Justy, the Brat and the Baja.
This thought process carries through to its 3.4-million-squarefoot manufacturing plant in Lafayette, Ind.
Not only does it spit out a new Legacy or Outback every 70 seconds, but the plant is also so green that, when you toss your Timmies cup in the trash, you’ve created more landfill waste than that entire plant has over the past nine years.
The Forrester, Outback and Crosstrek are doing well, but in the chaotic pie-fight of the mid-size sedan segment, Subaru has been flinging the equivalent of butter tarts. Hose away the meringue and whipped cream and look who’s left standing: the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata, Ford Fusion, Nissan Altima, VW Passat and the Mazda 6.
The new Legacy should get Subaru closer to that inner circle.
There’s a perception that the Legacy is more expensive than the competition, but it’s actually been in the ballpark since 2009. For 2015, the base model starts at $23,495.
That gets you the 2.5-litre flat-four engine, a six-speed manual trans- mission and a pretty good mix of standard goodies, including threeway heated front seats,10-way power driver’s seat, heated side mirrors, Active Torque Vectoring (which applies braking to the inside front wheel when cornering), a 6.2-inch screen for the radio and backup camera view. If you want the CVT automatic, add $1,000. All-wheel-drive is standard and this alone should have mid-size buyers seriously considering the Legacy. Various packages and trim levels increase the price until you top out at $35,395 for the six-cylinder CVT with all the bells, whistles and safety nannies. The 2.5-litre four puts out 175 horsepower and 174 lb.-ft. of torque, while the 3.6-litre six makes 256 hp and 247 lb.-ft. Changes to the Legacy’s engine and CVT, an aluminum hood, active grill shutters and a more sloping roofline help improve fuel economy by 10 per cent over the previous generation. The four-banger is rated at 7.7 L/100 km city and 5.4 highway, while the six checks in at 10.5 and 6.9.
During some spirited slaloming at Subaru’s test facility, the Legacy showed a fair bit of understeer on trailing throttle.
But keep your right foot down and the Torque Vectoring helps the vehicle turn, resulting in noticeably higher cornering speeds.
It’s a decent handler but not built for the rally circuit. Most owners will be favouring its comfort over the handling potential.
In normal use, the quick electric power steering was fine. Stepping up the pace had it feeling a bit numb, although it transmits inputs accurately enough.
Even while flogging through the slalom and bashing over the simulated rough roads, no squeaks or rattles were evident, courtesy of the claimed 43-per-cent increase in torsional stiffness, an acoustically laminated windshield and additional foam in- sulation in many body panels. The redesigned interior is tastefully appointed, controls fall easily to hand and the leather-wrapped wheel feels oh-so right. Thankfully, designers left the round knobs for the radio and climate controls, so you don’t have to go poking and prodding to change things up. Styling is subjective and the Legacy doesn’t exactly knock your socks off, but none of the competition does, either. It’s certainly contemporary and makes good use of available space, especially considering it’s riding on the same wheelbase as last year. Subaru says the new Legacy has the largest passenger accommodations in the mid-size segment, and my 6foot-3 frame had no issues with comfort. The trunk is bigger this year, too, with a full 425 litres of space. The usual crop of electronic nannies is available, including Subaru’s Eye-Sight system for active cruise control, collision avoidance, blindspot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and lane-change assist that monitors the speed of approaching vehicles in adjacent lanes and gives you advanced warning.
All these changes should make the Legacy much more desirable to anyone shopping for a mid-size sedan. And being the only offering with standard all-wheel-drive is just the icing on the cake — or pie.