In the world of automobiles, you’ll find the well-known top dogs, a handful of just plain dogs and, at the bottom of the heap, you’ll find the underdogs: The unexpected, often overlooked and sometimes scrappy contenders that won’t meet the sales acclaim of the top dogs but rather revel in enthusiasm from the lucky few who “get it.” The Subaru Legacy has long been one of those underdogs. Subaru will no doubt never sell 200,000 Legacys, but is this sedan with all the right credentials a compelling underdog choice? We wanted to find out.

Leftlane decided to sample a 2009 Legacy 2.5GT Limited sedan to see if Subaru’s undeniable performance heritage was enough to make the Legacy continue to cater to the fortunate few seeking something a little out-of-the-ordinary. With the exception of a handful of locales – places like New England, Denver, Santa Fe and Portland, the Legacy most certainly isn’t a mainstream choice. Yet it competes directly with the best-selling cars in th United States, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. What is it about this sedan that has made it stand out from its rather plebeian competitors?

What is it?
At its core, the Legacy is a four-door sedan aimed at the heart of the midsize sedan market in North America. No longer offered in its unique wagon bodystyle (that’s now reserved for the tall-riding Outback instead), the Legacy is a standard three-box sedan with three engine and four transmission choices. The current Legacy was introduced for the 2005 model year in North America and was mildly refreshed for 2008. The Lafayette, Indiana-built Legacy is scheduled to be replaced for 2010 or 2011.

Subaru provided us with a mid-to-upper level 2.5GT Limited equipped with the optional five-speed automatic with manual control paddles. Subaru doesn’t offer much in the way of options, so the Limited came loaded with leather seats, automatic climate control, a Harman/Kardon audio system (new for 2009), heated seats and windshield wipers and a power moonroof. Below the 2.5GT Limited, Subaru offers a trio of naturally-aspirated 2.5 models and above the 2.5GT Limited, you’ll find the enthusiast-oriented and oddly named 2.5GT spec.B as well as a pair of six-cylinder 3.0R models.

The 2.5GT comes with Subaru’s boxer four-cylinder engine putting out 243 horsepower and 241 lb-ft. of torque. That’s not phenomenal for the class anymore like it once was, but it’s still impressive power from a small motor.

What’s it up against?
Though the Camry and Accord take top sales honors in the class, we’d pit the Legacy 2.5GT Limited up against the redesigned Mazda Mazda6 and Nissan Altima simply because those two have a dose of sport in them that the Accord and especially the Camry lack. With its standard all-wheel-drive, the Legacy can go up against all-wheel-drive versions of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan, but the Subaru feels much more sporting than those twins from Dearborn.

Given its smaller interior dimensions and upscale accommodations – more on those later – the Legacy also could compete for shoppers’ hearts against like-priced, four-cylinder Audi A4s and Saab 9-3s, the latter of which we recently reviewed.

Any breakthroughs?
Subaru’s SI-Drive (Super Intelligent Drive) system was added for 2007 and continues for 2009. It features an iDrive-esque rotary knob in the center console (which is fortunately far simpler for simple-minded auto scribes to comprehend than the BMW knob) that alters the throttle for more responsiveness under accceleration and can reduce power for increased efficiency. Its three modes, Intelligent, Sport and SportSharp offer varying degrees of power and flexibility.

In Intelligent, the system focuses on fuel efficiency, cutting back power a bit. In Sport, the Legacy feels like… well, a turbocharged Legacy, delivering good power while returning at least acceptable fuel economy. In Sport Sharp, the Legacy stays in gear longer and throttle responses is noticeably quickened. At first, you’ll jerk your passengers’ heads back, but you’ll get used to the unique throttle modulation.

Like every Subaru sold in North America, the Legacy benefits from the automaker’s symmetrical all-wheel-drive, which gives it a leg up, handling and winter weather-wise, on most of its front-wheel-drive competition.

How does it look?
After a mild update last year, the Legacy manages to look both sporty and upscale, though it’s hardly a style-leader. Subarus have rarely been sold for their sexy lines, but the Legacy’s refined appearance looks half a class above the midsize norm. It has more European taut, tailored lines with no excess sheetmetal like you’ll see on the Accord.

A beak-like snout with beady headlights is accented by a functional hoodscoop, giving you bragging rights over your friends while still managing to look relatively responsible. Our Legacy 2.5GT wasn’t equipped with the optional spoiler, giving it a clean and conservative appearance overall.

The Legacy sits low and, with a roof line about two inches lower than most of its competition, manages to look and feel much smaller than it is, further emphasizing its sporting attributes. Like a lithe sprinter, the Legacy always manages to look hunkered down and ready to go. That’s high praise by all means, especially in this class.

And on the inside?
The Legacy’s upscale, sporty theme continues to its rather compact interior. If rear seat room is your priority, stop reading now and scratch the Legacy off of your list. Like a BMW 3-Series or Audi A4, the Legacy puts a low-slung driving position, low door sills and heavily bolstered seats ahead of rear passenger foot room.

A dashboard canted towards the driver puts a thick, three-spoke steering wheel loaded with buttons at your disposal. Behind the wheel sits a pair of metal paddles that look like they were sourced from Ferrari’s parts bin. And so does the handbrake lever, which tilts towards the driver as though begging to be used for Italian Job-style cornering moves (To our friends at Subaru: We were gentle with your Legacy).

An easy-to-use radio lacks RDS capability, so you’ll have to guess which Britney song that was you just heard through the Harman/Kardon audio system. Fortunately, everyone else will be guessing with you since the stereo is crystal clear and has nice, tight bass. Kudos to Subaru for including it as standard on all but the cheapest Legacy.

With convincing fake wood, attractive plastics and perforated leather sports seats, the Legacy’s interior is a pleasant place to spend time. By forcing you to sit low to the ground with your legs outstretched a bit, the Legacy gives you the feel of a custom-tailored sports sedan.

But does it go?
If it looks like a sports sedan and it feels like a sports sedan, does it drive like one once you’ve turned the key?

You betcha.

The Legacy’s turbocharged boxer four fires up and settles into a quiet thrum that’s a little more noticeable through the seats and steering wheel than some of its competitors’ six-cylinders. Left in Intelligent mode, the Subaru lopes about town with no sense of urgency, but has no problem accelerating to speed.

Switch over to Sport and the Legacy 2.5GT feels like it should: It accelerates quickly away from a stop and has ample passing power on the highway. Flip the knob one more time to Sport Sharp and you’ll be rewarded with crisp, high-RPM shifts, urgent “give me power now” throttle response and, also inevitably, a drop in fuel consumption.

We spent a day throwing the Legacy through our favorite twisty mountain roads and came away thrilled with the power and control offered by the flexible boxer four and the five-speed automatic transmission, which almost made us stop wishing for a manual gearbox thanks to the rapid-fire paddle shifters. But even more impressive was the Legacy’s phenomenal grip afforded by sticky Bridgestone tires and linear, direct steering.

Behind the Legacy’s wheel, you appreciate the communicative steering and limited lean in corners when the going gets curvy. With all wheel drive and only a slight front-end weight balance, the Legacy corners predictably and neutrally, exhibiting none of the over or understeer you’d see in a car motivated by just a pair of wheels. It’s virtually impossible to unseat the Legacy on dry pavements at anything approximating road-legal speeds. For fun, we plowed down a dirt road in the Legacy to do our best impression of a World Rally star. Needless to say, the Legacy excelled, though the stiff suspension did jiggle our teeth around a little. Those WRC champs must share dentists with hockey players.

That suspension that gives up so little in curves turns a bit too harsh on bad pavement. It provides a cosseting ride with few jitters on lightly pockmarked terrain, but when the going got really rough, the Legacy’s suspension would seemingly bottom out. A stiff body structure makes suspension movement more obvious, so we’d recommend Subaru dial back the Legacy’s stiff suspension tuning just a bit for real-world driving.

However, there’s no question that the Legacy stands on its own in its segment. A taut chassis and well-tuned suspension combine with communicative, well-weighted steering to make the most of Subaru’s all-wheel-drive.

A small disappointment was the Legacy’s mediocre fuel economy. Even left in Intelligent mode, we barely eked out 18 mpg in city driving and hovered around 25 on the highway. Given the turbocharged four’s requirement for premium fuel, the Legacy GT will hit your pocketbook a little more than its rivals. That’s a small price to pay for performance, however.

Why you would buy it:
You’re an individualist looking for a bit more performance while still staying with a low-profile brand. The Legacy rewards its driver with terrific driving dynamics and an upscale interior but doesn’t stand out in a parking lot like a BMW or Audi.

Why you wouldn’t:
You need lots of rear seat room for teenagers or adults. Or, you require something with a more prestigious badge on the hood because you’re that image-conscious.

Leftlane’s bottom line
The Legacy stands as potentially the most underrated automobile on the market today. Largely ignored by mainstream consumers, it exists for a small cadre of devoted enthusiasts who understand that driving a “sensible” sedan need not mean giving up twisty road tenacity. Priced competitively against similarly-equipped Mazda Mazda6s and Nissan Altimas, the Legacy is an easy underdog to root for.

2009 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT Limited base price, $28,895. As tested, $31,060.
Automatic transmission and stability control, $1,500; Destination, $665.

Words and photos by Andrew Ganz.

    Print This Post