Never the needs, just the aspirations Raffy David Philippine Daily Inquirer
November 03, 2009
(Ed’s Note: We are offering local motorists the opportunity to be read and heard through Front Seat. Reviews of a car model, travel memories, reports on road conditions or anything related to motoring are most welcome. Please e-mail motoring@inquirer.com.ph )
SUBARU CARS ARE TECHNOLOGIcal marvels that boast of features like “symmetrical all-wheel drive” and horizontally-opposed engine configurations that greatly reduce engine vibration and lower the car’s center of gravity.
Subaru has been popular participant in motorsports at a global level. It has been a pillar of the World Rally Championship since the 90s and is the current Asia-Pacific Rally Championship season winner.
How important is this for the average motorist anyway? Most of us putter along under 80 kph for most of our time behind the wheel and rarely test the handling capabilities of the cars we drive.
Subaru makes its cars not with our needs in mind but to serve our aspirations.
The new Legacy is for the executive with a passion for motoring.
The new Subaru Legacy GT was designed to heighten the driver’s pleasure behind the wheel. All aspects of the driving experience were improved. More power (265hp), better handling (Bilstein suspension), a 5 speed AT with paddle shifters. Multi-way adjustable power seats are just a few of the significant details that the new car possesses.
Many aftermarket goodies are said to be on the verge of retail availability. Legacy owners probably will have to wait no further than the Tokyo Auto Salon in January to get their hands on mods for this car. Oh, but since this is a Suby, there are many parts that can be shared across other Subaru Models such as aftemarket wheels and other Suby-spec upgrades.
Some interesting bits about the new car are its 18-inch wheels and wider tires for more traction and a handsome profile, maximum torque of 350NM (this means that this pulls seriously 0-100 kph is 6.2 seconds) and average fuel consumption of 10.6 l/100kms.
Unlike the US model which gets a CVT (like a 2nd gen Honda City), we get the beefy 5-speed AT; the Legacy finally gets Subaru’s superb SI-Drive system that allows the user to select the responsiveness of the car’s performance settings. Three settings are available like in the Impreza STI model (Intelligent, Sport and Sport Sharp) Feature creatures will love the Auto sensing headlights and wipers. There is the hill hold feature from the Impreza— this holds the car from sliding backwards when on an incline and 2 – memory power leather seats are standard.
If it can be called a bonus at all, Legacy GTs come with a Sunroof. The new Legacy is bigger in all dimensions than the previous model. It dwarfs the previous gen Leggy when parked alongside it. More hip, leg, shoulder and headroom abound.
The previous Legacy rarely came up as a conversation topic among Subaru-fans as it was just so sensible. The styling was nice, in fact it had the most symmetry among the different Subaru vehicles but it just didn’t stand out. Looking at a previous generation Legacy just made me want to get one since it looked so well balanced but as I neared the purchase decision, I turned to something else in the showroom that was less sensible (that’s how I ended up with the 2007 STI and the 2009 Forester Turbo).
Neither was it powerful. The previous Legacy came with a 2.0 liter naturally aspirated engine mated to 4 speed AT.
Don’t buy the new Legacy if you don’t enjoy motoring and you care more about what your stuck up relatives think. This car is for real men (and women) and those who dare take the plunge into the Subaru world will be rewarded with years of driving pleasure and an indescribable feeling of pride.
Just a word of caution to anti-social car buyers, new Subaru cars come with new Subaru friends. Visit www.subaruclub.ph to find out why at the Subaru Club of the Philippines, “All we’ll drive is All-wheel drive!”.
Raffy David is the director of Pilipinas TeleServe. He is an active member of the Subaru Club, owning a 2007 STI and a 2009 Forester Turbo.
