Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer Road Test

Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer

Sport Sharp is sheer madness. Just a scrunch of the toes on the aluminium accelerator pedal launches the car at seemingly ballistic speeds and the kick-down on automatic models produces an almost instantaneous response.

It doesn't take long to work out that the Sport mode is best for cruising and with a quick flick of the dial to S#, quick getaways and safe overtakes are assured. Naturally, Sport Sharp is also a thirsty mode and the figures for the test car of 20.5 mpg, 38.2 mpg and 28.8 mpg for the urban, extra-urban and combined respectively, go out of the window, completely. However, the exhilaration of a 0-62mph time of 8.4 seconds and the top speed of 147mph (where legal) makes up for it. On the other hand, the more restrained driver can keep an eye on their fuel consumption with the ECO gauge, which is basically a plus to minus, 'swingometer' showing the instant fuel economy.

I mentioned earlier that the test car was an automatic and as well as the fully automatic function it features a sequential manual shift. Further to this, all 3.0-litre Legacy's now have long, steering wheel-mounted, shift paddles, which are great for fast, twisting roads as there is more control over the gearing while the automatic 'throttle blipping' function makes for smoother gear changes. So, the driver is spoilt for choice with three engine settings and three ways to change gear.

Underpinning, the performance is Subaru's celebrated AWD system with active torque split front and rear, a rear limited slip differential and, on the automatics, the Subaru Vehicle Dynamics Control system or SVDC for short.

Steering, handling and ride comfort have been uprated too. The rear suspension is slightly different now and the body has more rigidity. The 3.0-litre engine cars also benefit from extra strengthening between the A-pillars and in the door sills.

Also new for the 2007 Legacy models is EBA - a mechanical emergency brake assist, while ABS with EBD comes as standard across the range as do front, side and curtain airbags, just in case.

I enjoyed my weekend in the Dales - the Legacy Spec B Sports Tourer exploited the roads well even when it was raining. I have to say that I made the right choice - it was the right vehicle for the job and the SI-Drive makes it a car for all reasons.