Cars.com's Kelsey Mays takes a look at the 2010 Subaru Legacy.
Transcript
<v Announcer>Cars.com: Auto Review. Hi, I'm Kelsey Mays for cars.com. The redesigned 2010 Subaru Legacy's been the subject of a lot of debate around the offices. Some editors really like it, others like me, aren't so crazy about it.
In our other video, when the car was introduced to the auto shows, we talked about some of its styling and interior elements. Here we're going to go over driving and seating aspects and talk about why, if you need all wheel drive, this car really is a good car for you, but if you don't, it might not be quite as appealing. Our car has the base four-cylinder engine. There's also an optional turbocharged four-cylinder, as well as, a six cylinder engine. For a four cylinder power isn't that bad. The stick shift kind of requires you to wind out each gear but I actually think the optional continuously variable automatic transmission is a better fit. The seats we've tested out both cloth and leather ones. Obviously these are cloth seats, not as supportive as they actually look. I'm sliding a lot back and forth in corners and on longer trips I wish I could have a little more thigh support down here. The leather seats obviously optional again, not quite as higher end feeling as the seats in the Accord and the Camry, some of those other cars you get in the segment. Cargo volume about 14 and a half cubic feet, plenty of room for a day at the golf course, and fairly competitive with the segment. Gas mileage with the automatic 23/31 city highway. That's really good considering all wheel drive is standard and typically all wheel drive systems reduce mileage a bit. In the Ford Fusion, you'd have to get the V6 to get all wheel drive, and that knocks mileage down quite a bit. So not a bad setup. Still, if you're shopping against front wheel drive cars, some of these competitors, the Fusion, the Malibu, these get 33/34 miles per gallon highway. So Subaru doesn't make you pay a big price to get all wheel drive, but don't be mistaken, you do pay a certain price for it. If you need all wheel drive, this Subaru makes a great choice. And by the looks of it, I think more shoppers are figuring that out because Subaru sales are actually up right now, that's pretty amazing given our current economic climate. Still, I can't really find a compelling reason beyond that, that this car would make a greater choice than a Camry, or an Accord, or a Fusion, or a Malibu. So if you need its capabilities, great, it might be a slam dunk for you. If not, some of those other cars, might be a better fit at the end of the day. (upbeat music) <v Announcer>For more car related news, go to cars.com or our blog, kickingtires.net.
