Category: Large Family 
Price Range: £20,400 to £27,400
Unusual, distinctive, tough and durable, utterly useful and practical yet sporting to drive, should be excellent value for money
Too idiosyncratic for some?
A car for those not drawn to the obvious choices, the thinking person's option.
The Legacy has always been a highly underrated model in this market sector: smart enough to pass for an executive car, cheap enough to be an alternative to mainstream models like the Mondeo or Vectra, sturdy enough to work hard for a living, yet quirky enough to appeal to enthusiasts, techno-freaks and anyone with an eye for something a bit different.
This fourth generation of models - saloon, Sport Tourer estate and Outback (estate with extra ground clearance and chunkier styling, in a similar vein to the Volvo V70 Cross-Country and Audi allroad) - are, as is Subaru's tradition, four-wheel-drive, and all feature the much-loved 'boxer' engines: flat-four 2.0-litre and 2.5-litres, and the six-cylinder 3.0 unit.
From August 2005, the Legacy saloon/Sport Tourer came in 2.0-litre (165bhp) or 3.0R Spec B (245 bhp) forms only, though the 2.5-litre engine continued in the Outback. A 150bhp, 2.0-litre diesel engine (see separate review) - also in the 'boxer' layout - joined the line-up in February 2007.
The 2004 revisions brought power boosts, with improvements in fuel economy and emissions, and other major modifications to brakes, transmission, suspension and chassis as well as a wider body, roomier cabin and huge advances with the quality of the interior upholstery, fixtures and fittings.
The freshening-up for 2006 brought further revisions to power, handling and cabin as well as a comprehensive exterior makeover; the car looks and feels a lot more Germanic than Japanese now, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, and it still retains most of its essential Subaru character.
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