CTC Review: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited

[Jaeger]

Styling is a bit bland, but the availability ofa 6 speed manual with the turbo 4 would put it on my shopping list.

Jaeger

[Ontariodriver]

I had an extended trip with a Nissan Altima 2.5 CVT. I would have never known it was any different. The car went, stopped and cornered very well and it got more than decent fuel economy.

Nissan seem to have CVT's down pat.

[Trainman]

Nice enough car... but it's too "Toyota" and not enough "Subaru" for my liking. Wow--I'm really starting to sound old.

Subaru going "more Toyota" does not seem to be hurting them, both the re-designed Impreza and Forester are selling much better than the models they replaced.  Unfortunately for Subaru to survive, they needed to go a bit more mainstream.

Next time my Forester is at the dealer, I will need to ask for a test drive of the CVT and form my own opinion.

[carsncars]

Nice enough car... but it's too "Toyota" and not enough "Subaru" for my liking. Wow--I'm really starting to sound old.

Subaru going "more Toyota" does not seem to be hurting them, both the re-designed Impreza and Forester are selling much better than the models they replaced.  Unfortunately for Subaru to survive, they needed to go a bit more mainstream.

Next time my Forester is at the dealer, I will need to ask for a test drive of the CVT and form my own opinion.

Oh, I agree--this makes total business sense for them, and they must do this to survive. I'll just miss the loss of the quirky Subaru (frameless windows, low beltline, etc.) that I grew up (well, for all 19 years of my life) with. I suppose those quirks might've turned people off them, so Toyota-esque mass-appeal should help sales. All is not lost, though. Boxer engine and symmetrical AWD are still there.

Kind of like the new XJ. It's a nice car, logically better than the old one in every way, and Jaguar had to do it to remain competitive... but I'll really miss the old one.

[Trainman]

Nice enough car... but it's too "Toyota" and not enough "Subaru" for my liking. Wow--I'm really starting to sound old.

Subaru going "more Toyota" does not seem to be hurting them, both the re-designed Impreza and Forester are selling much better than the models they replaced.  Unfortunately for Subaru to survive, they needed to go a bit more mainstream.

Next time my Forester is at the dealer, I will need to ask for a test drive of the CVT and form my own opinion.

Oh, I agree--this makes total business sense for them, and they must do this to survive. I'll just miss the loss of the quirky Subaru (frameless windows, low beltline, etc.) that I grew up (well, for all 19 years of my life) with. I suppose those quirks might've turned people off them, so Toyota-esque mass-appeal should help sales. All is not lost, though. Boxer engine and symmetrical AWD are still there.

Kind of like the new XJ. It's a nice car, logically better than the old one in every way, and Jaguar had to do it to remain competitive... but I'll really miss the old one.

I totally agree, with both your Subaru and Jaguar observations.

[Bradster]

Well I have a 2008 Legacy Wagon and it has the 4sp auto. I find a 5th gear would be really nice in the mountains as it flips back and forth from OD to 4th all the time and it is not a smooth shift either.
Fantastic ar all around. Love it.
Would I buy one with a CVT - FORGET IT.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Nice enough car... but it's too "Toyota" and not enough "Subaru" for my liking. Wow--I'm really starting to sound old.

Any hopes of cars like the old swoopy GLF, XT, Brat and Baja ever returning - or at least unique cars like them - are effectively DOA.

When does the Subaru Venz-tour show up?   

[Minou]

I bought a new Subaru GLF hardtop in 1981 with the then "more powerful" 1.8 liter 71 HP motor...

Sure was underpowered!

"Cheap and built to stay that way" was the company's PR line in car mag ads at the time!

[06 Leggy GT]

I have a 2006 Leggy 2.5GT.  I think it's a great car.  Fit and finish is pretty good.  Although you know there is more weight in the car that per say a Honda Accord as over really rough terrain you can feel the suspension working each corner of the car.  It's not a bad feel feeling overall though.  It keeps you more communicative with the road surface which I believe is a great thing.  I'm running Bridgestone RE760 Sports on now.  Great combination.  I will definitely miss the sportiness of the old Subaru's when compared with the new ones.  It's just starting to look too chunky, but not in a good muscular way.  I do understand why they have gone this route as the objective of all companies is to generate maximum revenue and profit.  I love my 2006 Legacy, but I am not sure if I am swayed to replace it with this new model.  It doesn't appeal to be.  Maybe I'll upgrade to a S4 Avante, or a older E39 M5.  I really do miss the purposeful and unique designs of the cars from yester-years.  Geez do I sound old now...

[BernardP]

Until a month ago, I was the owner of a 2005 legacy 2.5i with 5 speed manual. I didn't want to get a bigger car. The new Legacy doesn't do it for me. I find the Impreza unattactive inside and out. Got myself a 2010 Kia Forte SX 6 speed manual on a 3 year lease.

[carsncars]

Nice enough car... but it's too "Toyota" and not enough "Subaru" for my liking. Wow--I'm really starting to sound old.

Any hopes of cars like the old swoopy GLF, XT, Brat and Baja ever returning - or at least unique cars like them - are effectively DOA.

When does the Subaru Venz-tour show up?   

Have you seen the new Legacy Outback? It's like a Venza wearing a fishing vest and hiking boots. The resemblance is even eerier in person, as it's quite tall:

[nsmyhte]

The profile and front looks just like an Infiniti G. Those huge fender flares look stupid though.

[Trainman]

.... Those huge fender flares look stupid though.

It looks like they took them right off the Forester   

[Mozeby]

Bland Legacy as usual, although the last gen. Spec B was a kinda cool looking car.  I really don't trust CVTs though, especially with the problems I've heard with the Nissan units out there.  THere's not much history with them, and you can only service them with the dealers, and even then, how well are the mechanics going to know them when they've only existed a few years.
With 6 speed auto the norm now, a cvt really doesn't have an advantage.

[safristi]

It's my understanding that NISSAN were the the only Co. that nailed the CVT's.........when they licensed it out to Jeep Patriots et al ...."something" was lost in translation...........can u show us different....................where these Nissan CVT's were crap............ ........not fond of them personally tho' but that is only from 2 test drives in a Versa SL...so pure hearsay on my part........but Muranos etc  have been buzzing around for a while..........

[Eric R.]

Some people are saying the Legacy is bland looking.

Well I think it is better looking then the main 3 Japenese competitors even though the only really really bland looking car is the Camry.

I would say "clean looking", not bland.

[Mike]

Odd number generation of legacys are ugly and this is no exception.

[DKaz]

Why couldn't have Subaru gone with DSG instead? CVT sucks.

And why didn't you guys test with a manual transmission? An automatic Subaru is wrong to begin with.

[Mitlov]

When does the Subaru Venz-tour show up?   

You mean a lifted five-door hatch with an impractically-sloped rear window?  What's the Outback Sport?

[Sival]

The problem with CVTs is that people aren't used to them. People are used to gauge their acceleration from the rising crescendo from the engine as it climbs up the revs with an upshift here and then. But a CVT's engine climbs up quickly then stays up as the car accelerates, this means that a lot of noise is produced while people don't have the impression they're going any faster even if they're accelerating pretty fast. So we end up with people saying that the Lancer CVT is slow when it's probably the fastest compact with a base engine and automatic available right now (in a Motortrend comparo, it beat the Elantra by 1 second to 60 mph and the Civic by 0,5 seconds, the Sentra CVT was just a tad slower).

This can be partially corrected through programming of the transmission so as to make the engine climb slower, so you have the impression that you have one long first gear when accelerating from 0 to highway speeds. That's what Nissans do BTW, just check acceleration videos on youtube. This gives a better impression of power from the car... even if it should actually slow it down a bit.

I don't know how the Subaru CVT is programmed though.

One nitpick with the article is the part where the author claims that Subaru's past relatively poor fuel economy may have been due to the 4-speed automatic used precedently. I think that claim is wrong and can be proved wrong by looking at the relative performance of the manual versions which weren't significantly more fuel-efficient than the old 4-speed automatic. Even for 2010, the CVT does a lot better than the previous 4-speed, but the new manual does worse than the previous manual version.