Remember the old Subaru Legacy?  The one sold around a decade or so ago with that ho-hum exterior, anemic engine and pathetic interior trim?  In a time when its rivals sold like hotcakes, it remained glued to the showroom floor unappreciated by everyone except those who can’t afford a Honda Accord.  Being a wagon didn’t seem to help things either.  Everyone perhaps our family shunned one and plopped down on a CR-V instead.  It represented pretty much everything that went wrong with Subaru in those days.

Fast forward to 2007 and we’re behind the wheel of a Legacy…a Legacy Wagon.  You can’t imagine how excited we are ever since Subaru got their act together.  Its design alone is leagues ahead of its doldrums appearance of the old one.  It’s sharp and athletic with nice proportionate lines and masculine detailing—and we’re talking about a darn wagon here!  It’s hunkered lower than say, the Toyota Camry and the aggressively profiled 215/45 R 17 tires fill the wheel arches quite well.  There’s an absence of shiny bits, which is just as good since the new Legacy Wagon wants to present a sporting character.  The side mirrors are proportionately large too, again must-have ingredients in an enthusiast car.  Perhaps our only complaint is with the door handles: they look like they were taken straight out of the Chevrolet Optra.

The enthusiast-biased nature of the Legacy Wagon is evident in its black-on-black color scheme with silver highlights.  There are some nice detailing such as the curving metallic trim on the doors and front cup holders.  Like something straight out of a sports car, the gauges are large and easy to read with small graduations for added accuracy.  There’s nothing to complain about the major controls too—the steering wheel, shifter and hand brake all fall in the right places for that perfect driving position right off the box.  Overall, the interior’s pretty solid but there are some hard plastic surfaces such as on the dash bin and the sunglass holder.

Perhaps of larger concern is the comfort of the Legacy’s seats.  Although they move in every conceivable direction (including lumbar support), they don’t offer much support as we would have wanted.  The seat cushion’s dimensions are somewhat lacking so there’s a bit of concern for those with large bums and sensitive backs.  The same can be said with the rear occupants where the cushion length is too short for a comfortable long drive.  That said, the Legacy Wagon is commendable since they’ve included ISO-FIX and LATCH child seat anchors as standard.

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