Subaru has come up with the slogan "Symmetrical AWD" to describe the handling and traction of the new Legacy range, and that just about sums things up, except for questions from the School of the Bleeding Obvious about how all-wheel drive could possibly be asymmetrical.

Four-wheel drive, boxer engines, a low centre of gravity and various suspension changes all combine to give the latest Legacy saloons and Sports Tourer estates the kind of all-roads all-weather cornering capabilities you just don't get anywhere else in their class from FWD and RWD rivals.

Well, yes, fine, OK - but we've been along this way before. What's different about the 2004 model-year cars is that Subaru has finally realised it needed a styling shake-up, much better interiors, improved economy and lower emissions, all things it had tended to put low down on its list of priorities.

I can hardly believe I'm writing this, but as well as coming up with a sleeker bodyshell which is also lighter and wider than the previous type, Subaru has given the new Legacy an interior in which certain elements make you think: some rival design teams should take a look at this, to see how it ought to be done.

One example is the very stylish treatment of the front door pulls and armrests. It may be quite a small thing, but when you glance around the cabin, and see how much attention has been paid to details like this, you realise that Subaru has really got the message. Trim materials, textures, better instrumentation, and the whole interior styling "line" - the 2004 Legacy is in a different league from all the previous versions, and is worth considering against some rival cars which have been regarded up till now as out of its class.

Price And Performance

At prices from £15,750 to £26,750, the saloon and estate (pictured) versions come in two-litre and 2.5-litre manual and automatic forms, with an auto-only flat-six 3.0R at the top of each range.

With either body style, this is a model which combines strong performance - 0-60mph in 7.9 seconds for the saloon (note that Subaru doesn't quote the usual 0-62mph figure) and a tenth more for the estate, plus a maximum speed of 147mph - with top class handling, although where it gives some ground to the competition, like other models in the Legacy catalogue, is in ride quality on minor roads. The weight of the four-wheel drive transmission may be spread out and low-set, but it's there all the same.

Of course, there's also the Outback estate, which has a higher ground clearance - higher still, in the new models - and is sold only with the two larger engines, at prices from £20,000 to £28,000. The longer-roofed Outbacks and Sports Tourers have room for a two-piece sunroof, while the saloons, except for the entry-level cars, have a single glass panel.

In the saloon and Sports Tourer ranges, the entry-level car isn't too sparsely equipped, but the S models add a sunroof and curtain airbags. Available only with the 2.5-litre engine, the SE specification brings in leather trim, and this is something else which looks much better in the 2004 range. The SEn tag means that satellite navigation is added to all of that, while there's a choice of three-litre types: the 3.0R automatic and the 3.0Rn automatic with satnav.

The Outback comes in standard 2.5, 2.5 SE, 3.0R and 3.0Rn specifications, and you get manual transmission only with the smaller engine.

Up front, the new cars are roomy and very well presented. In the rear, they don't provide quite as much kneeroom as it might seem from the outside, although I had no real complaints when trying the "sitting behind myself" routine which is so difficult to do when you're driving solo. As far as luggage space in the saloons and load space in the estates is concerned, you have to make allowances for the fact that these are four-wheel drive cars which need to accommodate a diff and a driven axle under the rear floor, but with either body style the compartments are suitably wide and long.

Extra Power, Lower CO2

The two-litre and 2.5-litre engines are more powerful, lower-friction units with much improved CO2 emissions - to the point where Subaru can now compare the Legacy's benefit-in-kind figures with some other cars it preferred not to mention before.

There are always "boxer" sound effects, although they're discreet at cruising speeds, and I didn't hear enough difference from the earlier engines to catch the "new, sweeter-sounding boxer 'burble' from the 'constant pulsation' exhaust system" Subaru likes to mention.

The automatic transmissions used are five-speed affairs with a manual selector to the right of the gate. Taking a 3.0R out along some Pennine B-roads, with all their dips, brows and sudden corners, I thought how sure-footedly the car handled, with slick manual changes which confirmed my perhaps reactionary opinion that paddles are for boats - and then there was the satnav screen.

Showing the map at a suitable scale, this acts like a series of silent pace notes, because a quick glance down, in advance, indicates exactly what the road does over every brow and round every corner - it doesn't show the wildlife, of course, which in many districts at this time of the year consists largely of pheasants wondering which vehicle to run in front of next.

Fast and sure-footed, the Legacy is the kind of car whose excellent traction isn't just for brisk summer or autumn driving, but offers benefits on slippery winter roads too.

Most break off, though. I'm back on one of those Pennine B-roads - or in an imaginary Tour of Corsica - and there's another Subaru looming up in my rear-view mirror. I'll slip down a couple of gears, fling it through the next S-bend, and keep that young Solberg fellow behind for a while longer.

A Tale From The Forest
by David Finlay (14 Oct 03)

When I got back into the Outback, I couldn't put the seat belt on because the mechanism seemed to be jammed. This was not a problem at any other point during the test, and I think I know what happened - a sensor somewhere must have decided that the car had been involved in a terrible accident and had locked the belt mechanism.

I could see its point. Clambering in and out of the car was made perilous by the fact that the door was more above me than beside me. An onlooker, if there had been any in the forest with me, would have decided that I had lost control of the Outback and landed in a ditch.

Well, I had, as a matter of fact, though I should point out that this was part of a deliberate policy. In fact, it was Subaru's idea. The off-road test route mostly consisted of fairly smooth tracks, but there were occasional detours where we were invited to drive with two wheels on the "road" and two in the ditch. There were no instructions to stop, but I thought I would, just to see what happened.

I scrambled out and looked at the Outback in its new and undignified position. Apart from the complete lack of body damage it certainly gave every impression of having been well stuffed, but at the same time the articulation of the rear wheels inspired confidence that it knew what to do about this.

Sure enough, I climbed aboard (somehow managing to avoid slicing my right leg in half as the driver's door was hauled into position by the force of gravity), started up the engine and drove back on to the track, with no fuss, no wheelspin, and not the slightest hint of anything expensive coming into contact with the ground underneath. I tried the seat belt again and it worked perfectly. Satisfaction was complete.