Subaru Legacy’s optimal design

It combines the rational and emotional like no other performance middleweight for optimal design and engineering.

Under its aluminium bonnet is the most refined version of the 3.6-litre H6 Boxer engine yet, feeding its 191kW and 350Nm to Subaru’s Lineartronic CVT, which now features an updated shift control system.

The third side of the triangle, and arguably the most characteristic Subaru feature, is the symmetrical all-wheel-drive (AWD), which distributes power front and back via an electronically-controlled centre differential, ensuring each wheel gets what it needs, when it needs it.

Legacy has long been popular with drivers who have appreciated performance with a serving of brainpower, and all-wheel-drive has been the

key. It translates into a real-world dynamic advantage, whether you’re exploring the upper reaches of its traction and roadholding ability, or having to steer around someone else’s wet weather recklessness.

The new Subaru Legacy. Picture: Supplied

For the sixth generation – launched 25 years after the first – Subaru took a long hard look at the marketplace and addressed the two things the market said Legacy needed: more style to please the eye and more emotion in the driving experience.

There’s sophistication aplenty on the inside – the cabin somehow managing to feel both spacious and intimate, with a list of standard features of epic proportions. The important fact, though, is these are ultimately about meeting the driver’s needs. This is a driver’s car, but the good news is there’s plenty to surprise and delight anyone else who happens to be in a leather-clad seat.

More sumptuous seating and standard features – like a sunroof, reverse camera, dual-zone climate control and comprehensive steering wheel controls – all make for a vehicle which promises much and delivers even more.

Pricing for the Legacy 3.6R-S is R529 000, including a three-year/ 75 000km full maintenance plan and a three-year/100 000km factory warranty.