A Value Sedan With A Ticking Clock

There is something refreshing about the 2025 Subaru Legacy, in a way that’s unlikely to get car enthusiasts motivated. At a time when each new car is pitched, not just as transportation, but as a four-wheeled lifestyle, a sensible sedan like the Legacy manages to very nearly stand out just by not chasing trends. 

Advertisement

Even the most generous of observers might find it tricky to get excited about the Legacy’s styling. It’s not a bad looking sedan, just a generic one. Even the paint seems determined to blend in, Cosmic Blue Peal here struggling to look much more dramatic than battleship gray. There’ll soon be even less reason to spot one on the road, too, with Subaru confirming that Legacy sales will end after the 2025 model year.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Black 17-inch alloy wheels are standard on the Base (from $24,895) and Premium (from $27,195) trims; Limited (from $34,005), Sport (from $34,495), and Touring XT ($38,195) get gray 18-inch versions. LED headlamps are standard across the board, though only the Touring XT gets power-folding side mirrors. A moonroof is optional on the Premium, and standard from Limited up.

Advertisement

Subaru offers two engines with the 2025 Legacy. Base, Premium, and Limited trims get a 2.5-liter four-cylinder, with 182 horsepower and 176 lb-ft of torque. The Sport and Touring XT swap that for a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, with 260 horsepower and 277 lb-ft of torque. Either way, power is routed via a CVT to the standard all-wheel drive.

Advertisement

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Though it had the more potent of the two engines, the Legacy Touring XT you see here was far from a sporty experience from behind the wheel. It’s smooth, and reasonably refined, and not slow, but there’s really no encouragement to push hard. Subaru doesn’t offer a ‘sport’ mode — this is no WRX tS, after all — and the transmission slurs with a casualness that dissuades pushing hard.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Not every sedan needs to be aggressive, mind, and there’s a time and place for something comfortably-sprung and with the winter reassurance of all-wheel drive. Subaru’s economy estimates proved accurate, too. The automaker says you could see 23 mpg in the city, 31 mpg on the highway, and 26 mpg combined from the turbo-four (the non-turbo is rated at 27, 35, and 30 mpg, respectively); sure enough, my own, mixed driving saw it land at 26 mpg.

Advertisement

The cloth, manually-adjusted seats of the Base trim get power-adjustment and — with the All-Weather package — heating on the Premium. The Limited and Touring XT have heated rear seats; they and the Sport get a heated steering wheel. Only the Touring XT has ventilated front seats, along with its Nappa leather; the Limited has regular hide.

Advertisement

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Automatic climate control is standard — single zone on the Base, dual zone on the rest — and the cheapest Legacy gets two 7-inch displays in its dashboard. All the others switch to the 11.6-inch Starlink touchscreen, with baked-in 4G LTE, and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Navigation is standard on the Limited and Touring XT, while the latter is one of the few new cars available today with a CD player.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Subaru’s infotainment system isn’t my favorite. It’s a big touchscreen — and the Legacy gets points for having dedicated physical buttons for the key HVAC controls, plus a volume knob — but the UI is busy, and the screen itself can be sluggish to respond. All trims bar the Base get a USB-A and USB-C in the front, and another pair in the rear; the Base makes do with a single USB-A in the front.

Advertisement

A paucity of ports isn’t the only reason to skip the cheapest Legacy. Subaru’s EyeSight suite of — often heavy-handed — active safety systems is standard on all trims: that includes adaptive cruise control with lane-centering, pre-collision braking, lane departure warnings and lane-keep assist, and automatic emergency steering.

Advertisement

Chris Davies/SlashGear

However, blind spot warnings (with lane-change assist and rear cross-traffic alerts) are only standard on Limited up, and optional (from $1,000) on the Premium. Reverse automatic braking — which applies the brakes if an obstacle behind the Legacy is detected — is standard on the Limited up. Subaru doesn’t offer a 360-degree camera at all, though the Touring XT has a 180-degree camera covering the front.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Generally, the Legacy’s cabin is decently spacious for adults in both rows. The 15.1 cu-ft trunk expands courtesy of a 60/40 split rear bench. Even the Nappa leather in the flagship trim feels sturdy enough to live up to Subaru’s reputation for workaday transportation.

That sense of resolute focus encapsulates the 2025 Legacy well. Even within the fairly sensible realm of Subaru’s line-up, the sedan feels preternaturally stolid. If it brings excitement, then it’s the same sort of thrill that you’d get from a perfectly-organized cutlery drawer, or from maxing out your Roth IRA.

Advertisement

To those of us immersed in the auto world, for whom a car is not just an appliance but an aspirational thing, that clarity of purpose could well be considered boring. The truth of it, though, is that there are plenty of people who want, and need, nothing more of their car than the knowledge it’ll be reliable and on their driveway each morning.

Chris Davies/SlashGear

Even to those rational drivers, I’d advise skipping the Base trim; the sacrifices for its diminutive price feel too great. The turbo engine, meanwhile, is nice, but — while I’d lean toward spending more for it elsewhere in Subaru’s line-up — the cheaper non-turbo is just fine for these purposes. The 2025 Legacy Premium with blind-spot alerts added still comes in under $30k including destination, and that’s impressive even if it’s not exciting. 

Advertisement