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"Those of us who watch too much video entertainment have come to think of Subaru as the Gene Hackman of the auto world: handicapped by a face only a mother could love, seeking a broader audience but mostly getting cultlike idolization from eccentrics who live in cabins. Still, whenever Hackman is called on to perform, under any conditions, it's nothing but aces. The only glamour puss ever seen exiting a Subaru assembly line was the SVX, an exotic GT coupe in the 200-hp range that suffered through four unloved years in the first half of the 1990s. Add it all up, and total sales never rose above five digits. Maybe some folks just didn't want a car whose windows appeared to have weld seams running through the middle of them. Being eccentric ourselves, we of course loved it. Hearing this recently, a Subaru executive responded, \"Everyone loved the SVX as soon as we discontinued it.\" So now the Legacy, which has competed as a sober-faced all-wheel-drive sedan and wagon and carried the burden of being the corporate flagship since it was introduced in 1989, has been given leading-man looks and some GT firepower that the SVX would have, well, died for. The Legacy seen here was introduced to the Japanese market last June, but it won't show up on these shores until May or June 2004, as a 2005 model. If you're used to the nondescript fleet-car look of past Legacy sedans, and the droll, slab-sided ordinariness of the wagon line (the Outback has been separated from the herd and is now a stand-alone model, or maybe even a division), the new cars won't be recognizable as Subarus. Design homage appears to have been paid to the Europeans, particularly BMW in the tail treatment and Audi in the profile of the sedan. The brass at Subaru wanted this car to look slick inside and out. It should be, a top executive said, \"a pleasure to be in, even if you aren't going anywhere.\" Exterior chrome has been reduced to a minimum, appearing only on the grille and tail. It's sharp. The length of the sedan has been pared by two inches and the wagon by three, while the wheelbase has grown an inch to 105.1. The numbers show that interior head- and legroom are up slightly. Both models have generous room for four, although it's a tight fit for three in back. It certainly is comfy inside, and top-quality materials such as the nylon headliner, the pliable grained dash, and the patterned pewter trim add a substantial helping of style. Open the wagon's rear door, and there's a switch that powers the rear seatbacks up or down. To its credit, Subaru has lopped off 200 pounds by its use of aluminum in the hood, bumpers, and sunroof pieces, bringing the spread for both models to 3000 to 3200 pounds. The top-of-the-line performance model in Japan has a DOHC 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that puts out a raucous 280 horsepower—a quantum leap of 115 over the previous Legacy's 165-hp engine sold here—that is mated to either a five-speed automatic or five-speed manual, the latter featuring short throws and no shifting through oatmeal. (Interestingly, in Japan the turbo model with an automatic loses 20 horsepower, to 260.) For the U.S. market, that four-cylinder horizontally opposed engine that mounts low in the chassis will likely be a reworked version of the 2.5-liter engine now working in the Forester and current Legacy. The base model should carry the SOHC engine that won't produce too much over the current 165-hp output, with a four-speed automatic or five-speed manual gearbox. The U.S.-market 250-hp turbo, at 2.5 liters in displacement, is down about 30 horsepower from the Japanese-market 2.0-liter turbo at 280 hp. The optional engine will be a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter flat-six, also making 250 horses, a reworking of the six currently employed in the Outback. The turbo model has a paddle-shifting option on the five-speed automatic and should come with 17-inch wheels mounted on rubber measuring 215/45, with 16-inchers on the base cars. We spent a day at Fuji Raceway trying to make these cars cry. The turbo model claims a 0-to-62-mph time of 5.8 seconds, and it gets there with a vibrant, singing exhaust note. It has great balance, steering that is light and progressive, and an absence of oversteer owing to the all-wheel drive. It was great fun to toss around. It should cause concern for a lot of pricier cars, and we think the U.S. car's power sacrifice shouldn't dissuade anyone. With any luck, the turbo car should sell in the $27,000-to-$29,000 range, with the blown wagon going for $3000 more."
<https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15134637/2005-subaru-legacy-car-news/>