Handling Matches Power
by Ross Finlay (20 Nov 04)

If you want a saloon in the £25,000 to £30,000 price range with miserly economy and a low CO2 rating, start scattering garlic around. But if what you're after is vivid performance and the kind of all-roads handling which leaves the fancier-badged opposition trailing, then this is definitely the place.

Late last year, Subaru greatly improved the appeal of the Legacy - in saloon and Sports Tourer estate forms - but there was a curiosity in that the latest and most powerful 241bhp engine was offered only with automatic transmission, a situation which had some critics almost chewing the carpet.

That's all sorted. The impressive power unit is now available with a six-speed manual transmission, similar to the one in the Impreza WRX STi but with half the internals modified, a lighter and longer-throw change, and less abrupt clutch operation, in the rather eccentrically labelled Legacy 3.0R spec.B.

Intended to appeal to a quite different market from the racier models in the Impreza range, the Legacy continues with the four-wheel drive and flat-six engine layout which give it excellent traction and a lower centre of gravity than any of its direct rivals. Other manufacturers may have Sport models which rely on lowered suspension and low profile tyres to justify the name, but this Legacy is different. It's a genuine sports saloon all the way through, and it doesn't take long on winding roads to make that crystal clear.

The suspension is modified in more ways than just being lowered, with inverted front struts and Bilstein dampers all round. Dark metallic seven-spoke alloy wheels are fitted, uprated to 18x8" size, but it's the 4WD traction and that unbeatably (by the car's rivals) low centre of gravity which remain the most significant features in the handling. It's difficult to see how any other car in its class and price range could beat the Subaru for accurate cornering and general composure at really brisk speeds.

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