May 26th, 2003

2005 Subaru Legacy better, tighter

Good mix of sport, quiet elegance, and brand

Subaru's 2005 Legacy sedan (left) is lower, taut where the current model is slightly saggy, and purposeful where the 2005 Legacy projects the impression of being lost
While the 2005 model flaunts a longish overhang, Subaru has realized the importance of reigning it in on a larger car: the rear slants toward the front even as the spoiler lip releases a little tension. Note roofline parallel to waistline
The current Legacy's dash...
... and the new car's cabin. Quick - where would you rather be?
Mature, clear, white markings - yet shaded by more dramatic tinges of red and blue - illustrate the duality built into the Legacy's design
Wagon is neat and pert. Wrap-around glass and gently sloping roofline are a welcome touch of elegance which show that Subaru is finding ways to couch its practicality in appealing forms. Will likely sell as well as always

While far from being a one-car manufacturer, Subaru is inextricably associated with the Impreza - the car that took it to the big time, much as Audi's A4 did for its own marque back in 1994.

Where Subaru was once the choice of stand-outs, the Impreza breathed a new image of mystique in conventional clothing - a secret for those in-the-know, if you will - into the Japanese automaker. Impreza attracted a whole new set of buyers, and personified Subaru as the quiet Japanese automaker.

This has been, of course, a double-edged sword that has placed every Subaru since the Impreza under that car's shadow. No model has suffered more than the Legacy sedan. With neither the Impreza's power nor the practicality offered by Subaru's wagons, it has received only the negative connotations of that image: you're no Impreza.

In contrast, the wagons have continued to attract a separate following (although we have talked to more than one Forester buyer who somehow expected sportier handling - surefooted though the Forester may be - from their car).

The Legacy sedan has never been a bad car; merely overlooked by those shopping in the category. While the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry have a history of playing in the category, Legacy was shadowed first by its wagon stablemate; then rendered superfluous because it did not match the Impreza, and finally perceived as saggy when it - paradoxically - mirrored the Impreza's blob-like styling.

Thankfully, the Impreza has been corrected for 2004; now, it is the Legacy's turn.

With the 2005 Legacy, Subaru's task was to offer more than just a larger Impreza. The new arrival would have to be a sedan that had been allowed to develop its own personality, yet one which retained the Impreza's boy-racer spirit; a vehicle which did not require the Impreza to justify itself, but which could bask in the Impreza's glory, and a sedan which retained the Impreza's slot-car visual effect but yet acknowledged that its greater girth would require some tweaking to the Impreza formula.

The task would not be easy. However, the final result shows some true re-examination of Subaru's design techniques as they relate to larger vehicles.

We have a sharper Legacy which starts as a box with a roofline parallel to its waist (see slot-car), yet tweaks the ends for aggression and visual weight management. Slot-car? Check. Purposeful stance? Check. Quiet elegance as expected of a large, Japanese sedan? Check.

Softer surrounds frame detailing which is far more defined than the current car's. The headlamps are more precise; the grille is less dejected, and - for once - this car no longer looks like a large Impreza with bits and pieces tacked-on for good measure.

While the new model flaunts a longish overhang, Subaru has realized the importance of reigning it in on a larger car: the rear slants toward the front (though not nearly as much as the C-pillar, no doubt for fear of alienating conservative buyers). The outward spoiler lip releases a little of the ensuing tension.

Inside, the improvement continues. The interior is sporty without compromising its layout - note the clear, white dial markings, then the tinges of red and blue that shade them as if harbingers of the Impreza heritage within. Certainly, it is a much more focused cabin than that which the Legacy is saddled with now.

The Legacy driver will likely prefer a distinctive powerplant to all-out power, considering the intended 180hp DOHC normally aspirated Boxer engines we have heard bandied about. The 260hp Turbo 2.0-liter may feature. Dynamically, the real news is that  Subaru is said to have added some pizzazz to its traditionally secure AWD handling (à la Impreza).

2005 Legacy is a grown-up Subaru (not an easy attitude to justify in the Impreza era), and succeeds in offending few while offering, to those willing to look closer, some characteristic traits here, some aggression there, and generally pleasant lines.

Anyone who reads these columns with regularity must by now be wondering why we have not commented on the bland flanks. Frankly, after much consideration, we decided that they just might compliment Subaru's practicality. In truth, they do not seem to jut too badly with the rest of the car - thank the restraint of Subaru's designers, even though a mild flaring inward toward the middle would have been welcome (and would have complimented the curved taillights).

Essentially, things are good in that this new Legacy comes across as relatively distinctive (the grille helps) without trying too hard. That seems to be a difficult request for the Japanese industry these days, what with the 2004 Nissan Maxima (see article) running around - and we have not heard from too many people who honestly love the styling of the 2003 U.S. Honda Accord, either (we are usually regaled with tales of its interior quality, and its engines).

Indeed, Legacy manages to combine the quiet elegance favored by the Japanese in the '90s with the brand-management-gone-wild philosophies in the later part of that decade, and adds a touch of sport for good measure without severing its traditional ties to practicality. That is a long list of priorities to adhere to, yet we would suggest they have done it.

If the 2005 Legacy drives well - and there is no reason to suspect it will not - we fully expect it to sell to those who realize that their favorite models (Accord and Maxima, in particular) have long visually abandoned what they stood for.