2015 Subaru Legacy Reviews - Subaru has never been afraid to chart its own path

Subaru has never been afraid to chart its own path. From its first passenger car, the rear-engine, two-cylinder, two-stroke Subaru 360, to the import-duty-skirting Subaru Brat of the 1970s, the company built its reputation filling niches that many manufacturers never even knew existed. This resourcefulness served Subaru well, helping it develop a small but dedicated following. But after watching the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord hit the big time, Subaru decided it was time to nudge the brand away from the left of the dial and introduced the larger, slightly less funky Legacy to the U.S. market in 1990. While the car had its fans—it arrived packing the brand’s trademark flat-four engine and an all-wheel-drive chassis—it never established enough of a customer base to bring Subaru mainstream success.

While the Forester, Impreza, and Outback wagon continued to leverage the brand’s idiosyncrasies to win fans in Contraryville, the Legacy’s identity crisis continued unabated. Subaru concedes that the Legacy’s sales were not only far below that of its crossovers, but essentially a rounding error of the Toyota Camry’s, which outsold the Subie sedan by as much as 17 to 1 in recent years. Yet Subaru says the new sixth-gen 2015 Legacy is, “a Subaru first, and sedan second,” adding, “we are not just a crossover brand.”

Good Vibes

But fire up the engine, and you question the whole “Subaru first” shtick. Both the standard flat-four and upgrade flat-six engines now are tethered via new liquid-filled motor mounts that filter out a remarkable amount of vibration. The motor mounts are aided in their quest to tamp down NVH by an acoustic-glass windshield, expanded use of foam-filled frame members, thicker panels, and extensive use of underfloor sound-deadening material. Matting the throttle in the 2.5-liter four-cylinder yields an instant and determined response—and a familiar over-square soundtrack, if you listen attentively—that feels just about on the mark for its rated output of 175 horsepower and 174 lb-ft of torque. The four-banger Legacy’s not quick by any measure, but doesn’t lack gumption.

Producing 256 horsepower and 247 lb-ft of torque, the 3.6-liter six-cylinder is just as subdued, but it delivers a far more rewarding driving experience. It’s not as if the six-pot transforms the Legacy into a quarter-mile demon (we’ll have test numbers as soon as we can strap on our gear), but the added output is welcome when it comes to navigating the tight, winding switchbacks and uphill sections of roads like California’s Pacific Coast Highway, which is where we drove the Legacy.

Killing Me Softly

Not as welcome is the continuously variable transmission that is the only available “gearbox” for either engine. While the four-cylinder 2.5i model shares the same Lineartronic CVT that can be found in other Subaru models, the six-cylinder Legacy Limited comes equipped a high-torque version from the WRX and Forester Turbo. Both suffer the same general disconnect between engine speed and road speed as all CVTs, but are reasonably quiet in operation. They handle torque efficiently and stay out of the way until the driver summons control by tugging on one of the wheel-mounted shifter paddles. Our biggest complaint with the stepped-gear function is the near complete lack of engine braking when downshifting. We didn’t detect any differences in operation between the two units, both moving between “gears” swiftly, and becoming nearly transparent in automatic mode.

One of the wisest decisions Subaru made for the 2015 Legacy was to make its excellent all-wheel drive and brake-based active torque-vectoring standard. The latter brakes the inside front wheel to sharpen turn-in and reduce understeer. Paired with a recently calibrated version of Subaru’s Active Torque Split Symmetrical AWD, the setup allows the driver to stay on the throttle and leave the system to sort out the particulars. Along the high rocky bluffs of PCH, where turning the Legacy into a piece of cliff graffiti or vanishing into the drink below are very real possibilities, it required a small leap of faith to leave our foot planted when understeer reared its ugly head. But all four tires howl in unison at the limit, giving plenty of warning before things get religious. An electric power-assisted steering setup finds center easily and transmits inputs from the wheel accurately, but remains otherwise cold and indifferent. The Legacy’s braking comes from the same gene pool—linear in response and more than up to the task at hand, but unsympathetic to pedal finesse.

Inside Story

We covered the new 2015 Legacy’s particulars when it bowed at the 2014 Chicago auto show, but here’s a quick refresher: Underneath the all-new sheetmetal resides a unitized structure with a claimed 43-percent increase in torsional rigidity, a gain made possible without significant weight gain by the use of high-strength steel. An aluminum hood helps to keep weight in check, and Subaru says active grille shutters, a more steeply raked windshield, and the coupe-like roofline contribute to a 10-percent improvement in aerodynamic efficiency. Four-cylinder Legacys come in three trim levels, and each gets its own wheels: the 2.5i receives 17-inch steelies with hubcaps, the 2.5i Premium gets 17-inch aluminum wheels, and the 2.5 Limited rolls on 18-inchers. The six-cylinder 3.6 Limited also gets 18-inch aluminum wheels. A rearview camera is now standard on all trims, and, in addition to blind-spot detection, lane-change assist, and cross-traffic alert, all Legacys have a seat-mounted under-knee airbag in the front seats that inflates to keep passengers from “submarining” in front collisions. We tested them all—except the latter, thankfully—including the well-calibrated adaptive cruise control that comes bundled with pre-collision braking and lane-departure warning when you order Subaru’s $1195 EyeSight driver-assist package.

It’s been a few years since our long-term 2010 Legacy departed, and in the interim we forgot how much space Subaru managed to carve out of the interior in the last redesign. Space is up even more for 2015, increasing to 104.6 cubic feet from 103 in the previous model. Incremental gains are made all around, most noticeably another two inches of width between windowsills. The trunk now swallows an even-Steven 15 cubic feet of stuff. Particularly impressive is the clean, logical layout out of the navigation and infotainment system. A far cry from the ridiculously fussy touch-screen setup in our long-term Subaru BRZ, the major functions (map, radio, satellite, climate) are on the outer frame of the screen, thoughtfully minimizing the number of screen taps needed to complete any function. Genuine volume and tuning knobs are welcome here, as are the redundant wheel-mounted controls.