New Legacy Sports Tourer goes on sale

A new Legacy Sports Tourer goes on sale from December 1, with a bold new look, increased space and comfort for all occupants. Subaru promises that the new model will also feature improved dynamics and refinement and enhanced safety.

The Legacy Sports Tourer offers the combination of Horizontally-Opposed ‘Boxer’ diesel engine and Symmetrical AWD (All-Wheel-Drive).  This well-proven set-up, further refined by Subaru’s engineers for the fifth-generation car, has made successive generations of Legacy Tourer the preferred choice for motorists seeking a practical family car that delivers rewarding yet secure handling in all weather conditions.

The Legacy Sports Tourer exudes on-road presence thanks to a bold front-end design and an increase in overall dimensions: the car is wider (by 50mm), taller (by 65mm) and longer (by 55mm).

The new grille (complete with ‘wing motif’) flanked by elongated headlights is both modern and instantly recognisable as a Subaru.  Prominent wheel-arches hint at the impressive power running through the Symmetrical AWD system, while the strong belt line and a chrome-rimmed glass-house give the Legacy Sports Tourer a premium feel.

The luxurious and spacious interior has been completely redesigned to give occupants more room and to improve comfort levels.  For example, front headroom has risen by 21mm over the previous model, and legroom for rear-seat passengers increases by 99mm, aided by an 80mm increase in wheelbase.

Key to the Legacy’s sustained appeal over the years has been the practicality it offers buyers, and the latest incarnation is no different.  Boasting a generous 526 litres of stowage capacity with the 60/40 split rear seats in place, the new model offers an additional 67 litres over its predecessor.  Fold the rear pews flat, and a cavernous 1,677-litre cargo hold is created.

Subaru has adopted a revised MacPherson strut front suspension design, with the lower arm mounted on the sub-frame for greater stability and refinement.  The thickness of the stabiliser (anti-roll) bar has also been increased, improving roll resistance and offering even greater agility.

Underneath the ‘new-look’ styling, the New Legacy Sports Tourer has a completely re-engineered all-steel unitary structure that delivers the highest crash safety performance.  The vehicle was recently awarded a 5-Star Euro NCAP crash safety rating.

Legacy’s loyal customer base of over 3.6 million buyers worldwide has come to expect high levels of standard specification, and the latest version will not disappoint.  Standard features include 18” alloy wheels, tilt-and-slide sunroof, leather interior, heated front seats, six CD tuner with RDS and six speakers, dual-zone automatic air-conditioning, cruise control, Bluetooth connectivity, and automatic activation for wipers and headlights.

The Legacy Sports Tourer features dual-zone, fully automatic air-conditioning with an anti-dust filter and heating ducts to the rear passenger footwells.  A premium audio system, with a radio/CD player, six speakers (including two tweeters) and steering wheel-mounted remote controls, is standard.  For the New Legacy Sports Tourer, radio reception has been significantly improved by the fitting of two high performance antennas within the rear window glass.

The audio systems are MP3 compatible and a Bluetooth hands-free system is fitted as standard.  Voice activation from the hands-free microphone allows users to make phone calls, specify navigation destinations and operate the audio appliances.

New front and rear suspension

For the new Legacy Sports Tourer, Subaru has adopted a revised MacPherson strut front suspension, with the lower arm mounted on the sub-frame for greater stability.  Steering response is enhanced, and quietness is increased by reducing vibrations.  The thickness of the stabiliser (anti-roll) bar is increased, improving roll stiffness without requiring a change to the main spring rates.  Road-holding during cornering is enhanced (thanks in part to a wider track), while smooth ride comfort is retained with extended wheel travel and optimised geometry.

At the rear, new ‘short height’ compact double-wishbone suspension is used to minimise intrusion into the cabin or cargo space.  For maximum refinement, all the suspension links and the rear differential are installed on a new sub-frame.  Large bushes are used between the sub-frame and the bodyshell to minimise transfer of NVH.

To achieve an ideal ride/handling balance, Bilstein dampers are fitted, front and rear.  These dampers are tuned exclusively to match the characteristics of the standard 18-inch wheels and tyres, (225/45R18 tyres) ensuring a sense of ‘solidity and stability’ in fast driving, without loss of smoothness.

New electronic parking brake and hill-hold function

The all-disc braking system, with ABS and EBD (Electric Brake-force Distribution) as standard, has a linear feel with retardation corresponding closely to applied brake pedal pressure.  A redesigned master cylinder gives a 30% faster response to driver inputs on the brake pedal.

Brake Assist is also standard, developing maximum stopping power automatically when the system detects emergency application of the brakes.

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For the new Legacy Sports Tourer, an innovative electronic parking brake is used.  Controlled by a dashboard mounted switch, the new system does away with the traditional hand brake, freeing up cabin space and allowing a cleaner, less cluttered centre console design.  If the doors are closed and the driver’s seatbelt is fastened then the parking brake will automatically release when the driver operates the accelerator pedal.

The new braking system also introduces a ‘Hill-Hold’ function.  When the vehicle is stopped on a slope of 5% or more this feature will hold the vehicle on the brakes for one second after the driver removes their foot from the clutch – long enough to move it to the accelerator without rolling back; a feature that is particularly useful when towing.

The new Lancer Sports Tourer is available from December 2010, retailing at €41,995 (£35,752).

Author: Faye Sunderland, November 19th, 2010
Filed under: Subaru | No Comments »