Remember the old Subaru Legacy? The one sold around a decade or so ago with that ho-hum exterior, anemic engine and pathetic interior trim? In a time when its rivals sold like hotcakes, it remained glued to the showroom floor unappreciated by everyone except those who can’t afford a Honda Accord. Being a wagon didn’t seem to help things either. Everyone perhaps our family shunned one and plopped down on a CR-V instead. It represented pretty much everything that went wrong with Subaru in those days.
Fast forward to 2007 and we’re behind the wheel of a Legacy…a Legacy Wagon. You can’t imagine how excited we are ever since Subaru got their act together. Its design alone is leagues ahead of its doldrums appearance of the old one. It’s sharp and athletic with nice proportionate lines and masculine detailing—and we’re talking about a darn wagon here! It’s hunkered lower than say, the Toyota Camry and the aggressively profiled 215/45 R 17 tires fill the wheel arches quite well. There’s an absence of shiny bits, which is just as good since the new Legacy Wagon wants to present a sporting character. The side mirrors are proportionately large too, again must-have ingredients in an enthusiast car. Perhaps our only complaint is with the door handles: they look like they were taken straight out of the Chevrolet Optra.
The enthusiast-biased nature of the Legacy Wagon is evident in its black-on-black color scheme with silver highlights. There are some nice detailing such as the curving metallic trim on the doors and front cup holders. Like something straight out of a sports car, the gauges are large and easy to read with small graduations for added accuracy. There’s nothing to complain about the major controls too—the steering wheel, shifter and hand brake all fall in the right places for that perfect driving position right off the box. Overall, the interior’s pretty solid but there are some hard plastic surfaces such as on the dash bin and the sunglass holder.
Perhaps of larger concern is the comfort of the Legacy’s seats. Although they move in every conceivable direction (including lumbar support), they don’t offer much support as we would have wanted. The seat cushion’s dimensions are somewhat lacking so there’s a bit of concern for those with large bums and sensitive backs. The same can be said with the rear occupants where the cushion length is too short for a comfortable long drive. That said, the Legacy Wagon is commendable since they’ve included ISO-FIX and LATCH child seat anchors as standard.
As a wagon, the Legacy is very capable. Despite its rather compact exterior, it’s able to swallow 100 cm x 100 cm cardboard with the rear seats folded down. With the seats up, there’s minimal obstruction from the wheel wells so we’re pretty sure that a Balik-Bayan’s worth of luggage will certainly fit. The loading bay’s also pretty low so even the fairer sex will find shoving groceries into the Legacy very easy. There are numerous hooks and a luggage cover too.
On the road, the Legacy behaves like how a Subaru should: composed, sporty and refined. The ride borders on the firm side, but it does take potholes quite well. Wind and road noise are relatively subdued, but the tires make itself quite known at higher speed. It’s a good thing though that the 2.0-liter flat-4 makes one of the best sounds in a four cylinder engine we’ve heard so far. It’s throaty, balanced with a deep bass at the low-end. It has excellent power too: 165 horsepower, but its peaky nature leaves us wanting for a turbocharger. Once at speed though, the Legacy scoots around quite well. The 4-speed automatic is nicely spaced and responsive. There’s a manual shifting function, but it’s too slow to react, so we’d rather leave things in full automatic mode. The shift quality’s smooth and unobtrusive, but you can still coax it to get confused when you alternate your throttle pressure from gingerly to ineptly.
Despite the added wagon weight, the Legacy makes up for it with some aluminum body panels. As a result, it has excellent reflexes—there’s little lean in the corners and handling’s nicely balanced. The responsive steering and symmetrical all-wheel drive helps a lot too. Braking is equally excellent with nice pedal modulation and no nonsense stopping power. Despite the frameless doors, the Legacy has a solid feel to it. There are no parking assist systems of any kind onboard, but slotting the Legacy through the tightest of spaces is a breeze thanks to excellent all-around visibility.
As we let the engine and brakes cool down after a long, enthusiastic drive we are quite impressed at how the Legacy has grown in a little span of ten years. A decade ago, we can see why people were so turned off by the Legacy. Subaru was an untried brand and the Legacy certainly didn’t set your loins on fire. Now, things can never be more different. The brand’s now a renowned enthusiast’s choice and the Legacy has grown up both inside and out to become a formidable driving machine. People who want the SUV space but want a very sporting driving experience should look no further than the Subaru Legacy Wagon.
By Ulysses Ang | Photos by Ulysses Ang
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