Overall rating:

Space, comfort and reliability are all good in the Subaru Legacy Tourer, but its quality just isn't up to scratch at the price being charged. In addition to that, its poor running costs, average refinement and unremarkable performance make you wonder why the company bothered developing a boxer diesel. It's by no means bad, but the Legacy is too expensive and ultimately forgettable.

Key Facts

Model driven: Subaru Legacy Tourer 2.0D SE
Pricing: £27,070 (as at April 2011)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbodiesel boxer four-cylinder
Transmission: six-speed manual, four-wheel drive
Body style: five-door estate
Rivals: Audi A4 Avant, BMW 3 Series Touring, Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate
CO₂ emissions: 168g/km
Combined economy: 44.1mpg
Top speed: 120mph
0-62mph: 9.6 seconds
Power: 148bhp at 3,600rpm
Torque: 258lb.ft at 1,800 - 2,400rpm

Inside & Out:

Immediately apparent is that the Legacy has a big cabin, spacious in every which way, and it's accompanied by a vast, flat-floored boot. The suspension encroaches into it a little, but this is at least one Billy bookcase bigger than the average lifestyle estate. The cabin instantly perpetuates the Legacy's long-held reputation as a do-it-all utility wagon.

The general ambience isn't so impressive, though, and nor is the styling, which, while an improvement over the outgoing car, just isn't that memorable. Our SE spec test car had leather upholstery and (optional) satellite navigation, so it feels a lot of car, but also slightly dour. Subaru has, true to form, fashioned a cabin that's busy in the detailing but none too intuitive and with trim that's in parts worthy of a CD case.

Ride & Handling:

Bumpkins and distant nobility aside, most drive a Subaru - any Subaru - with some sort of three-letter acronym in the back of their minds. Be it WRX, STI or WRC, RB5 or even JDM, Subaru is inexorably linked to its rally heritage.

It's unfair, probably, to do that in a modern Legacy, but irresistible. The engine and gearbox don't really scream rallying, but its four-wheel drive system does evoke something of the company's mastery. This is a car designed to travail steep and uneven terrain, rather than to cling onto the tarmac, but that means there's plenty of suspension travel and thus comfort.

But it does grip well too, its all-wheel drive system sending power where needed so that the car turns convincingly even with lots of throttle and steering lock. It's eager to change direction.

Engine & Transmission:

The Legacy's USP is, as confirmed by the badge on the tailgate, its utilisation of the only production boxer diesel engine in the UK. The boxer configuration, which places four cylinders flat and opposite each other in pairs, makes for a uniquely smooth sort of diesel chatter, but it's not noticeably quieter than an in-line four.

The arrangement doesn't seem to do economy any favours either (more of which later) and in any event it's stifled somewhat by a long-throw gearchange that's just too sloppy. You'll be using it plenty too, because the 148bhp diesel unit needs a good revving to wring the best from.

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:

There's a script to conform to with Japanese cars, and while the Legacy doesn't fluff its lines (it has lots of standard equipment), it's ultimately a low budget performer trying to command a big budget fee. You'll pay around £30,000 for our SE spec test car furnished with satellite navigation, which is well into German lifestyle estate territory.

Also consider that an equivalent German, the BMW 318d SE Touring (similar basic price and performance) delivers 62.8mpg and 120g/km, compared to the Subaru's 44.1mpg and 168g/km.