The Subaru Legacy has always been a solid but quirky choice among midsize family cars. It’s also the oddball on the Subaru lot.
Stacked against Toyota Camrys and Honda Accords, the Legacy’s standard all-wheel drive and low-mounted boxer engine give it standout handling and all-weather surefootedness. But its continuously variable transmission (the only choice) and somewhat dowdy styling limit its appeal.
But the rest of the Subaru lineup looks decidedly outdoorsy. The Legacy, with its just-a-normal-car looks, always seems a little out of place next to Outbacks and Foresters. It’s an avid outdoorsman dressed in khakis and a button-down that isn’t plaid, feeling awkward.
A styling refresh for 2023 helps fix that.
Subaru hasn’t announced pricing for the 2023 Legacy. The 2022 model starts at $23,495, plus a $995 destination fee. The 2023 Legacy goes on sale this fall.
New Front Fascia A Big Improvement
This isn’t a wheels-up redesign. It’s what the auto industry calls a mid-cycle refresh – an update to a car that’s still too new to need a complete rethink.
On paper, the visual changes sound small. But they have a big impact on the impression the car makes. The grille is wider. The headlights are narrower. A new chrome trim piece stretches the width of the front fascia and brings the lights and grille together. And reworked body lines around the lower air dam and fog lights seem to snug the car closer to the ground even though ground clearance is unchanged.
That’s it for exterior changes. The profile and rear view are completely the same. The side mirrors get a darker shade of gray. It isn’t much of an update, but somehow it solves the car’s aesthetic awkwardness.
New Safety Tech, Improved Navigation
Inside, the changes are so subtle we’d call them refinements. Models equipped with the 11.6-inch central touchscreen get standard Android Auto and Apple CarPlay – both wireless. The heated steering wheel is now heated all the way around instead of just in the spots where Subaru guesses you’d place your hands. And, like other Subies, the navigation system now uses what3words tech, which helps provide directions to specific locations that lack a physical address, like trailheads and scenic overlooks.
The Legacy picks up the latest version of Subaru’s EyeSight driver assistance suite, with a new electric brake booster and a wider field of view for cross-traffic alerts.
The Sport model is finally sportier, getting the more powerful turbocharged engine previously limited to the Limited XT and Touring XT editions.
