There is a hidden gem in every automotive segment - in the playing fields where the Mazda 6 2.5 R Luxury and the Toyota Camry 2.5 have dominated for the past couple of years, the Subaru Legacy 2.5i-S is one.
About a decade ago, the fourth generation Legacy was a great compromise for people who wanted an executive or mid-sized sedan, but also one which was sporty and had tons of tuning potential.
But as automotive safety and technology slowly supersedes power and driving fun, the Subaru Legacy slowly lost its standing to the aforementioned competition.
Today, Subaru is rewriting the Legacy's future because it has updated the car by throwing in a few driver-favourable and active safety features, which buyers in this segment will appreciate.
Up close and Personal
Design-wise, the Legacy hasn't changed one bit and that's not a bad thing. It remains conventionally appealing, nicely proportioned, nicely detailed and runs a set of sporty 18-inch rims.
Inside, the interior follows the exterior's handsome, functional median - a clean, quiet and spacious cabin that's finished in soft, black materials and trims.
As before, the Legacy's neatly laid-out controls are easy to work. Its plush seats offer great support and comfort, while having a 506-litre boot means that grocery hauls, foldable bikes and travel bags should fit without drama.
In terms of safety, the car's rear view mirror, which auto-dims when it senses head light glare, makes night driving safer.
For mobile usage on the go, the 7.0-inch infotainment system now has Siri Eyes Free, an iOS-centric feature, which links your iPhone to the car's voice-control system, allowing you to make hands-free calls, play your music, check important mails and search the web.
The Drive
While the Legacy isn't a particularly fun or fast car, the 173bhp and 235Nm of torque from its 2.5-litre, four-cylinder DOHC Boxer engine have enough chirp for you to cruise around town comfortably.
This engine is mated to Subaru's Lineartronic CVT and though we aren't big fans of this, Subaru does make some of the best in the market - its simulated 'shifts' imitate that of a conventional automatic and provide the petrol savings of a CVT.
Wanting to prove Subaru's haters wrong, we even managed to clock an averaged fuel economy reading of 11km/L, which isn't bad for a car of this aspiration, capacity and drivetrain.
Plus, the car's Vehicle Dynamics Control System and Active Torque Vectoring help make turns sharper and more precise, meaning that you can drive the Legacy in a more spirited fashion than you'd ordinarily do in an executive sedan.
More importantly, the Legacy now has more on-road, active safety features.
When driving at night, in low-light conditions, the High Beam Assist feature switches your head lights from high to low based on the driving conditions such as speed and oncoming traffic, enhancing visibility for the driver, and keeping other drivers from being blinded.
The other safety systems include Blind-Spot Detection, Lane Change Assist and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, which detect and alert you when there's something or someone in your blind spots, neighbouring lanes or around your rear quarters when reversing.
Conclusion
The Subaru Legacy is a car that has grown to become safer, more mature and surprisingly refined. We'd even go as far to say that the Legacy is the best-handling one in its segment and has a cabin design that other manufacturers should emulate.
But the Legacy 2.5i-S' trump card is ultimately its modest $127,800 (as of 22nd July 2016) price tag, which is considerably lower than the Mazda 6 2.5 R Luxury and the Toyota Camry 2.5, making it quite the Japanese value proposition.
