2020 Subaru Legacy Premium Quick Drive Review
All-new Subaru Legacy proves to be the practical, pragmatic choice that fits the needs of many buyers.
Despite news reports constantly indicating that the conventional sedan is dead and that utility vehicles of all shapes and sizes are the only things selling on dealers’ lots, the family sedan is very much alive. Sales have dwindled, but this fight is far from over. On the contrary, the mid-size sedan segment, in particular, has never been more hotly contested, with new and newly refreshed models springing up every year.
One of those new models for 2020 is the Subaru Legacy, which has now entered its seventh generation, a clear testament to its staying power in the market.
What’s new? For starters, it rolls on different underpinnings courtesy of the new Subaru Global Platform, which, the brand says, makes it more rigid, better able to quell undue cabin vibrations and, interestingly, more fun behind the wheel.
More practically, those new bones give the Legacy a 1.6-inch growth spurt lengthwise, which improves passenger space in the cabin. The Legacy feels enormous inside, easily capable of seating five, six-foot-plus-tall adults with ease. At 6’1” I had ample adjustability left in the driver’s seat, and, in my seating position, even more leg and knee room in the back seat. For the basketball coaches and future LaVar Ball’s of the world, Legacy is your ride.
Exterior-wise, opting for the Premium trim adds in upgraded 17-inch wheels, versus steel wheels and hub caps on the Base car. Visually, Legacy is a somewhat handsome, but boxy ride that loses the curbside appeal game to rivals like the Honda Accord, or Insight. That upright posture may not be as outwardly attractive as models like the aforementioned Honda or the Toyota Camry, but the additional headroom and in-cabin space makes it a practical, and worthwhile trade-off.
This Legacy Premium model, one step above the Base trim, also features a massive Subaru Starlink 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration. This behemoth screen is bright, clear and refreshingly simple to use, with big chunky buttons that can be discerned with a quick glance while driving. Subaru Starlink is clearly among the best in the mid-size sedan segment for both visual appeal and ease of use.
While Legacy comes standard with two 2.1-amp quick-charging USB ports up front, the Premium trim adds two more in the back for rear seat occupants. The Premium trim also adds in heated front seats, as part of an all-weather pack which also throws in heated mirrors and windshield wiper de-icer, making it a must-have for those in cold weather climates.
The Premium trim costs an extra $2,250 and seems well worth the extra cash. The Subaru Legacy Premium costs $25,895 all-in, including the $900 destination charge.
On the Road
For 2020, Legacy also gets some under-the-hood tuning upgrades to its 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder engine. A big time bump in compression ratio, from 10:1 to 12.:1, and the addition of direct-fuel injection improve fuel efficiency and offer a notable power bump, adding an additional 12 horses, now up to 182 horsepower and 176 pound-feet of torque.
Power is sent to all four wheels via a Lineartronic continuously variable automatic transmission. Like all Subaru models, excluding the BRZ sports car, Legacy comes standard with the brand’s Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system. For many buyers this alone is what will sell them, as no other mid-size sedan offers all-wheel drive as standard equipment, and most don’t even have the option for it, at all.
The Boxer four comes across as sounding a bit agricultural, especially with the CVT wringing its neck to make it go, and the neck wringing is a requirement to make the 3,500 pound family hauler get up to speed. Acceleration is pokey, with 0-60 mph happening in about nine seconds. The trade-off is commendable fuel economy, because despite the AWD system, which typically saps a bit of efficiency, the Legacy is rated at 27 mpg city, and 35 mpg highway.
The leisurely acceleration is matched by the Legacy’s ride and handling, which is geared towards softness and isolation rather than the rough and ready road-holding offered by its WRX stablemate. The Legacy doesn’t encourage speediness, nor does it reward it, which is absolutely fine for an inexpensive, practical, all-wheel drive family sedan.
For the speed demons with kids out there, a turbocharged Legacy XT model, with 260 horsepower and a sportier ride, is also available but it’s almost a $10,000 jump in price and gets worse fuel economy, making it a tough sell for most.
The 2020 Subaru Legacy Premium comes across as the practical, pragmatic choice. It’s fuel efficient, spacious and inexpensive. That it comes standard with all-wheel drive means that for some buyers it will be the only new car in contention for their cash.
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