The current Legacy, Subaru’s all-wheel-drive answer to the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion, chugs into its fifth model year for 2014, but it appears a redesign is just around the corner. Subaru announced plans to show a 2015 Legacy Concept at next week’s 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. Subaru says the 2015 Legacy Concept, which arrives at the Legacy’s 25th anniversary, “provides a look at the styling cues for future Legacy models.”
Subaru says all-wheel drive is standard; the concept’s roofline peaks just ahead of the B-pillars, giving the car a cab-forward profile and coupe-like rear quarters. Expect the eventual production car to forego the concept’s 21-inch wheels for something more ordinary.
If the past is any indication, the concept should closely preview the production Legacy. The Japanese automaker is no stranger to thinly veiled production cars. Subaru presaged the current Legacy in concept form at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and the current Impreza hails from an Impreza Design Concept shown at the 2010 L.A. Auto Show. We don’t know if the next Impreza WRX — slated for introduction at next week’s show — will follow the WRX Concept shown at last spring’s 2013 New York International Auto Show, but given Subaru’s track record and its WRX teaser shot, the smart money says it will.
Shoppers bought 36,441 new Legacy sedans through October, a flyspeck compared to the 300,000-plus sales for the Camry and Accord apiece. Shoppers also prefer the related Outback wagon by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio.
Stay tuned for more details on the 2015 Legacy Concept at next week’s show.