CARS & GADGETS: Subaru’s Legacy is a sporty sedan

Did you know that conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) owns Subaru? Well now you know. The large star in the logo represents Fuji Heavy Industries, and the five smaller stars represent the current five companies that are united under the FHI group.

Did you know that conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) owns Subaru? Well now you know. The large star in the logo represents Fuji Heavy Industries, and the five smaller stars represent the current five companies that are united under the FHI group.

So, getting right into it, Subaru in many Ugandan’s minds is particularly associated with rally driving with the distinctive blue and yellow colour scheme in addition to the exhaust roar, at least up until Kayihura pulled a fast one with those Chogm police cars. I now more than ever applaud the police for their choice. Furthermore, the Subarus we were all accustomed to were the Impreza and Legacy; no one really cares about the confused-looking Forrester.

There’s a new breed of Subarus on Kampala roads. If you’ve noticed, they all look sleek and extremely sporty. For anyone who loves Subaru but wants a car that will pass as a sedan with a sporty look, this is the one. I’m talking the Subaru Legacy B4, the third generation Subaru Legacy. Kayihura’s machines are fourth generation.

The B4 carries over from the second generation and is a sedan-only model. It’s quite unfortunate that Subaru is no longer competing in the World Rally Championships due to issues with the current global economic crisis, combined with the prospect of a car which still needed development for the 2009 season and a change in regulations for the 2010 season.

The B4 has a semi-automatic transmission that allows the driver to push the automatic gearshift selector to the left, and then allow the driver to shift the automatic like a manual transmission. This actually is a trend in many new cars. All models are equipped with standard, symmetrical all wheel drive (AWD). The Legacy B4 is the only vehicle in this class that provides AWD as standard equipment. Under the hood, there’s the familiar twin-turbo 2L rated 280 horsepower engine with manual transmission. The auto is a little weaker with 265 horsepower.

Subaru interiors are generally well built but rarely blessed with any sort of design flair. And while the look of the Legacy’s interior isn’t that inspiring, the quality of the materials including soft leather and aluminium-style gives Subaru a well deserved plus. The interior is quite big, especially in the back, which more often than not is cramped for any sporty car. Aesthetically there’s no muddling up the B4 origin with rally inspired bloodlines together with the 17-inch low profile tires, bonnet scoop and twin exhausts.

Make no mistake, just like the Impreza, there isn’t much life to the steering in a Subaru, but once you gain confidence, the B4 will rapidly accelerate to wherever you want it to go. With the exhaust roar and beefy engine, it’s definitely bound to wake that race driver spirit deep inside you.

Of course on the down side, with all that flooring of the pedal, you’ll be making the Arabs richer at the pump. Spare parts might be hard to find and quite expensive. Nonetheless, this is the kind of car that shall appeal to the person who likes sporty driving and Subaru as a car manufacturer.