Subaru Legacy Sports Tourer Review

Put yourself in my position - I'm off to my son's wedding, some 230 miles away in Emmerdale country. I need to transport four people in comfort along with their luggage, in a smart-looking car (it's a posh do) that will eat up the motorway miles and take advantage of the amazing roads in that part of the country. Well, the choice of car was easy - it had to be a Subaru. The choice of hat took a little longer!

The new Legacy Sports Tourer Spec B was perfect for the job. The Spec B Legacy first appeared as a show-car at the Geneva International Motor Show in 2004 and was designed with 'driver-focused enhancements' such as front and rear Bilstein suspension with rally car-like inverted struts for tauter high-speed control and a torque-sensing rear limited-slip differential for sharper cornering turn-in and more throttle-adjustable handling.

For 2007, the Legacy range has received a makeover. It now sports a new front grille, redesigned front wings and a crease line that makes the 'hawkeye' headlight clusters look almost menacing. There are also new bumpers - those on the Spec B Saloon and Sports Tourer are flicked-out at the front corners. The back end of the estate version features new light clusters, which extend across the tailgate to complete either end of the chrome strip detailing. As the car squats low on 18-inch alloys, the whole effect is one of barely-disguised fun in sensible clothing.

Inside, the new Legacy benefits from lots of soft-touch surfaces and, in the Spec B, an abundance of leather, not only covering the seats but also on the gear knob, rake and reach adjustable, multifunctional steering wheel and door panels as well. The dark interior would have felt confining but for the twin electric sunroofs (single in the saloon), which make the cabin quite airy.

As befits the name Sports Tourer, the front seats are well contoured, while those at the back are not quite so shapely but are nonetheless, comfortable. The rear seats in the Tourer have the usual split and fold function, which increases the load capacity from 459 to 1,628-litres.