2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited with Eyesight : Something Old, Something New

Subaru is a company with a built-in customer base, one which is incredibly loyal and willing to embrace the quirkier design aspects that have long identified the automaker's products. The danger of enjoying such a devoted following is that a company can be tempted to ignore certain industry trends and instead continue to play to its strengths. The 2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited with Eyesight is a vehicle that illustrates a mix of forward-thinking design and backward-looking tradition that ultimately creates a competent mid-size sedan package- with a few caveats.

Updated Looks, New Technologies

The 2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited with Eyesight has been given a visual refresh that sharpens the sedan's sporty looks up front while preserving enough respectability to make it a plausible choice for family buyers and those seeking a mid-size commuter. A new front fascia (consisting of updated headlights, bumper, and grille) is the biggest change, and inside the car a small number of subtler tweaks have been made to the equipment and trim list. The Legacy 3.6R Limited is one of the more attractive cars in its class, striking a balance mid-way between fashion plates like the Ford Fusion and wallflowers such as the Toyota Camry.

The biggest difference between the 2013 Legacy and the previous year's model is the availability of the Eyesight safety system. Subaru Eyesight consists of a two cameras that generate a stereoscopic image of the area immediately in front of the car, which in turn allows for the system to provide features such as adaptive cruise control, collision warning, automatic braking, and lane departure warning. Although the camera housings are bulky - something we hope will be gradually fixed as the technology miniaturizes - the system works remarkably well, and even offers novel prompts such as a beep that alerts you if you don't move the car forward at a red light once the vehicle ahead of you has driven away.

Snow and ice - or anything that obscures the cameras, such as fog or dimly-lit roads with older, non-reflective paint - can disable the system, in which case a warning appears on the dash until it is once again ready for action. Subaru chose cameras over radar for cost reasons, which is why a relatively inexpensive car like the Legacy is capable of featuring such an advanced technology.

Plenty Of Room

The 3.6R Limited with Eyesight is the top trim level available with the mid-size sedan, and as such it is loaded with features and has access to a respectable number of options. Our test vehicle came with a moonroof, a touchscreen navigation and entertainment system, heated leather seats, and wood trim. We were on the whole pleased with the materials used throughout the car, minus a few cheap-feeling trim bits, and although we were occasionally befuddled by the stereo system's user interface it provided some of the best-sounding reproductions of recorded music we had heard in quite a long time. Passengers throughout the vehicle will be happy with the amount of room provided by the Legacy, which offers generous leg and shoulder space front and rear.

Traditional Subaru Driving Dynamics

The ride provided by the 2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited with Eyesight is quite a comfortable one, informed by the automobile's full-time all-wheel drive and 256 horsepower, 3.6-liter flat-six engine. The vehicle's five-speed automatic transmission shifted quickly and with authority, and although response to the steering wheel-mounted paddles wasn't as quick as it might be, our only real complaint with the gearbox was the lack of a sixth gear. This seriously impacts fuel economy: the 3.6-liter engine provides a city rating of 11.8 litres/100 km and a highway rating of 8.2 litres / 100 km, which is well belong the segment average. The four-cylinder version of the Legacy manages to turn in much more respectable figures thanks to the inclusion of a continuously-variable automatic transmission the mitigates the efficiency impact of all-wheel drive.

Fortunately for Subaru, the Legacy's all-wheel drive system is its saving grace in the wintry Canadian climate, where drivers cling tenaciously to all the traction they can muster during the winter months. The 3.6R Limited with Eyesight model that we drove in the wet displayed only a hint of understeer and offered solid acceleration, and we very much enjoyed the sedan on the highway where the large-displacement motor never felt like it was working hard.

Compromise, Thy Name Is Legacy

As we mentioned in the opening paragraph, the 2013 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited with Eyesight is an intriguing mix of the old and the new. There's no denying that the Eyesight safety system is a cutting edge feature that has been brought to the masses thanks to careful cost-engineering on the part of Subaru, and the Legacy also offers compelling ride and a more interesting visual palette than many of its competitors.

However, by sticking with a big six-cylinder engine and a five-speed autobox, Subaru hasn't fully dealt with the fuel efficiency penalty associated with its excellent all-wheel drive system. Give us a turbocharged four-cylinder that offers the same power as the six, mated to a transmission with six forward cogs, and we might see at least competitive fuel economy from the mid-size sedan. Until then, the Legacy is likely to be passed over by families for whom the price paid at the pump as a Subaru owner is just too dear.