2010 Subaru Legacy, sedan and Outback

I’m pretty sure that these are the first non-show, non-media pictures of Subaru’s new 2010 Legacy.  And just look at those pictures*… More details and hi-res when you click…

Subaru really wants to appeal to the tree-huger and family types, displaying these new cars at Earth Day in Boston. Their biggest market is New England followed by Colorado and northwestern states, so that makes sense. Throw in a number of other niche Subaru markets (think stereotypes) and you see why Subarus seem a bit different. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I actually applaud Subaru for being original and having excellent PR and advertising group. The new models are said to be getting better gas mileage and they’re really peddling that PZEV2.5i engine which, once you find out what it is, is nothing really special. Historically, however, their cars are not the most economical as the AWD system kills any possibility of a decent gas mileage, so I see it more as marketing than anything else really.

Some 2010 Legacy information:

Three engines will be offered:

• 2.5L naturally aspirated SOHC horizontally opposed 4-cylinder with  adjustable valve timing rated 170HP @ 5600rpm and 170torques at 4000rpm.
• 2.5L Turbo DOHC horizontally opposed 4-cylinder. It features a bigger turbo, now mounted under the engine, allegedly for faster spool up, lower emissions (think time to heat up) and “to  help lower the center of gravity” (seriously?).265HP and 256 torques (+22hp, +17lbs/tq over 2009MY)
• New horizontally opposed 3.6L DOHC 6-cylinder with 256HP and 247 lb.-ft torques.

Transmissions:

• N/A 4-cylinder models will come standard with a 6-speed manual transmissions.
• N/A 4-cylinders are available with a chain-type CVT transmission with optional paddle shifters. Ha, isn’t that funny? Especially since further on the press release says “CVT provides infinite variability between the highest and lowest available ratios with no discernable steps or shifts“; so which one is it?
• All turbo models  get a all-new 6-speed manual transmission as the only choice. It happens to be 50 pounds lighter than last year’s trans, and hopefully stronger.
• The H6 comes exclusively with a 5-speed automatic.

Trim levels:

• 2.5i (stripper), 2.5i Premium (sunroof n’ stuff) and 2.5i Limited (CVT-only, leather)
• 2.5GT Premium (nice radio, sunroof, etc) and 2.5GT Limited (leather, power heated seats, higher price tag)
• 3.6R, 3.6R Premium and 3.6R Limited, same as 2.5i but with H6 motor

The trim levels make all the sense in the world to me. Want more power than the 2.5i? Get the H6 which now comes in all flavors as opposed to just being top-of-the-line model like before. The Turbo models seem to be totally enthusiast focused with no stripper model and no auto transmission; and I am really glad about that, other makes should follow suit. GPS is available on Limited models only.

My honest opinion:

Usually I’m not big on looks, but I just  don’t like how they look; they seem massive, heavy and bloated. The Legacy is suppose to be Subaru big premium car, but it has grown to be something between an SUV and car… something like the original Forester was, except bigger and uglier. I’m trying to be fair here, but this Legacy makes the bug-eyed ’02-04-and ’03 Impreza look good. The previous generation Legacy looks like a marathon runner who does modeling on weekends, compared to this. Sorry. I’ll try to schedule a test drive anyway, perhaps they will grow on me but…

Official Subaru links:

• Specifications
• Press Release
• Brochure
• 1024×768 Wallpaper

*had I known that these were not officially out yet, I would have taken more pictures.