18 Jul 05
The new engine and engine-gearbox combinations aren't quite as impressive, though - as yet, at least. One of the quirks of the Subaru 'boxer' engines is that they take a long time to fully loosen up and work on full power, and although the cars tested had a few thousand miles on their clocks, they did not feel as fast as their performance figures on paper suggested. A Subaru engineer said at the 2004 launch event that it takes a good 10,000km before a boxer engine will give 100percent, and the 2.0-litre in particular felt a long way short of its full potential. Its new manual gearbox, too, felt tight, constricted, and a little awkward, though again, Subaru gearboxes tend to need to warm up as well. One gearbox unlikely to get any better with time, however, is the 3.0R's auto: this isn't the quickest-acting auto around, it seems to sap power and the manually-selectable sequential shifts don't add much to the experience, unless you really push it in Sport mode. Still, the 3.0R is the kind of car much better suited to manual transmission anyway, and that six-speed manual gearbox isn't bad at all; previous 3.0Rs we've driven with this have been blisteringly fast.
The run-in period is just one of the Subaru oddities that owners are prepared to put up with, though. It's part and parcel of buying into a left-field brand which really does do things a bit differently, and which is still able to stick with its idiosyncrasies, in contrast to once-individual brands such as Saab which have surrendered much of their independence to their parent companies. Of course, Subaru and Saab do have a lot in common - not least the Impreza-derived 9-2X and the jointly developed Tribeca/9-6X large 4x4 - but Subaru remains a little more 'out there', and less accepted into the mainstream. This is always appealing to enthusiasts, but may ultimately hinder its progress in the premium sector as conservatively-minded company car buyers might not be so convinced. Too bad: they're missing out, especially whilst prices remain such good value.
Road Test: Subaru Legacy (2004- )
Driving Impressions: Subaru Legacy 3.0R spec.B
