• Pros

• Subaru has a well-deserved reputation for building practical, pretty reliable, all-wheel-drive cars that are durable, and get around well in lousy weather. The Legacy sedan should do all that.
• Impressive safety features for our test car, which listed for about 25 grand. Not only can you get all-wheel-drive, but you get a rear view camera, blind spot monitoring, cross traffic alert, and Subaru’s EyeSight system, which is an automatic emergency braking system. That’s unusual on a car that costs as little as this one does.
• Combined 30MPG is impressive for an all-wheel-drive car. EPA says 26 city, 36 highway.

• Cons

• The tuning of the CVT (continuously variable transmission) makes the gas pedal very touchy when starting off. Subaru obviously wants to emphasize that the car is plenty quick, but instead it comes off as annoying, as it’s hard to start off from a stop without jolting the car and its passengers.
• The manual shift mode in this car is not even worth playing with.
• Now that the Camry has updated, modern styling for 2015, the Legacy sedan takes over the top spot as the industry’s most nondescript car.
• Funny, but from the driver’s seat, the way the hood is shaped, with pointy ridges at both edges, is reminiscent of the old Dodge Dart. And that’s an apt comparison for the Legacy sedan: Practical, reliable, and homely.
• It’s hard to come up with a really good reason why someone would buy this car, among all of the options available today. It’s perfectly adequate. Good, even. But unless you’re a Subaru fan who wants a sedan instead of a more useful wagon or hatchback, why would you buy a Legacy sedan? Not for the looks. Not for luxury. Not for sporty handling. Perhaps because of the value of the all-wheel-drive and optional safety equipment. But if you’re that driven by practicality, why wouldn’t you buy the wagon version?

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