Should You Buy a 2019 Subaru Legacy?

The Subaru Legacy has always been one of the handful of AWD sedans. Despite offering this once unique piece of equipment, the car has never met its full potential. Should you not buy a Legacy then?

Living in the Outback and Forester’s shadow has been difficult for the 2019 Subaru Legacy. Both are enormously successful but in spite of that, it carries on as the brand’s midsize sedan which has nothing to envy from its stable mates other than the love they get, and the hatch.

Consumers and the media seldomly think about this car. The 2019 Subaru Legacy is like the other, other, other Japanese midsize sedan and registers but a faint blip on the still large sedan buyer’s radar. In my mind, the Legacy survived if mostly because of Subaru’s undying devotion to AWD and the car company’s loyal followers, which were once enough.

In order to gain more traction in the segment, Subaru diluted much of its DNA in favour of a broader appeal. This strategy has done the car as much good as it has harm. In the end however, should the Legacy find itself among the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, and Hyundai Sonata on your list?

Read on.

2019 Subaru Legacy Interior | Photo: Matt St-Pierre

Why you should buy a 2019 Subaru Legacy

For $24,995, the 2019 Subaru Legacy 2.5i is the least expensive way to get behind the wheel of an AWD midsize sedan.
The Legacy is a supremely competent vehicle to drive. It favours poise, control and comfort at all times.
For just under $30,000, a well-appointed 2.5i Touring with EyeSight driver assist technology is a good value.
The large cabin is well put together with spot-on ergonomics, nice displays and careful attention to detail.
The 2.5-litre 4-cylinder and the associated Lineartronic CVT transmission enable the car to average barely more than 8.5L of fuel per 100 km.
The top-line 3.6R Limited is among the very last to feature a 6-cylinder engine. Its power and responsiveness are creamy-smooth.

Why you should not buy a 2019 Subaru Legacy

The new 2019 Nissan Altima. Everything about this car screams dynamic, modern and younger. The Legacy is something of a bore by comparison.
If active safety features like forward collision warning and intelligent emergency braking are a must, know that they are standard on the $27,998 Altima and only offered on the $29,795 Touring with EyeSight (among many other features).
The 2.5-litre 4-cylinder can become buzzy and drone under mild to hard acceleration.
If the 3.6R Limited tickles your desire for more oomph, know that $3,000 premium for the H6 over the H4 Limited and marginally larger front discs is far too much money.

Conclusion

Truth be told, there are no real good reasons not to buy a 2019 Subaru Legacy, well other than the tested 3.6R. The latter is still a decent deal at $36,795 but the smoothness comes not only with this price increase but with a thirst for fuel that is 15-20% greater than the 2.5i cars.

It’s crazy to think that only now are some car manufacturers picking up on the fact that millions of consumers want AWD. For the longest time, the Subaru Legacy was one of the very few (Ford Fusion and that’s it) to offer it. And yet this was never enough to raise the car’s profile, or desirability factor even though the car’s always been a standout performer.

The 2019 model year will bring with it the end of the 6^th generation of the Legacy. We’ve seen 2020 Subaru Legacy styling and although it will look like nothing more than an upgraded 2019, here’s what important to remember: 1- It will be built on Subaru’s excellent Global Platform. 2- The cabin’s received a complete facelift and will be available with a superb 11.6-inch multimedia infotainment system. 3- And best of all, the Turbo is back, baby!

Unfortunately, these updates will more than likely have little to no effect on sales despite the fact that the new will without a doubt be the best Legacy ever.

Should you buy a Legacy? No, but you won’t regret it if you do. You might even love it.