Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £20,400 to £27,400
Strong, smooth performance; refinement; a unique proposition; the usual Legacy strengths.
A little noisy at start-up; too idiosyncratic?
The most petrol-like diesel we've yet driven.
The diesel Legacy starts from just £19,995, with Outback models from £21,495: this initially sounds expensive, but given the high equipment levels and the four-wheel-drive, it's good value compared to, say, comparable Passat 4Motion or Audi A4 quattros.
High demand for second-hand Subarus also keeps residual values strong and there are relatively low tax bandings for a car this size. Insurance ratings for the Legacy were reduced during the last facelift, when improved security measures were fitted - although if things do go wrong out of warranty, or there's an accident, repairs can be expensive.
The diesel Sports Tourer returns 49.6mpg (48.7mpg in RE-spec form) and the Outback 48.7mpg (47.9mpg from the RE); carbon dioxide outputs are 151g/km (154g/km RE) and 153g/km (156g/km Outback RE) respectively.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Subaru Legacy
wrote on 01 03 2008
wrote on 24 04 2007
wrote on 16 10 2006
wrote on 09 07 2006