Subaru Legacy (1994 - 1999) Reviews, Pricing & Specs

With the birth of my first child early this year I realized that my 2-door Civic SI just wasn't gonna cut it anymore. I found the Subaru by accident--paid $3k for a Legacy L Wagon with 155k on the clock. I am the second owner--the first was a mechanic with a successful shop in town and a pilot--the car was kept in an aircraft hangar its whole life and was driven when the owner flew in. So it has NO rust. The mechanic replaced the trans 12k miles ago and the t-belt/pulleys/water pump at 105k. It's my first Subaru and I am DARN impressed. TONS of little touches that make driving it fun. With this vehicle I can honestly say that I will own nothing but Subarus for LIFE...it's that good. If you find one at a really good price do NOT hesitate--have a mechanic look at it and BUY IT. That being said, once the summer is truly over (the Subie has great A/C) I will be using my Honda to get to work and back...the fuel economy of the Honda is FAR better. I'll let my wife have the Subie to cart my son around.Sep 07, 2013

living in scotland with the scottish weather the way it is and the very poor road conditons, my subaru (big baby) i feel is the safest and most practical car to own.the poor mpg goes out the window when the winter hits and i can still get to work everyday,when outhers that rely on public transport have to take time of. overall car looks and drives great.Feb 12, 2012

good power for a 4 cylinder and AWD, I'm not too excited about the fuel economy of it but it is a AWD. It looks pretty cool, the big fog lights in front and the hood scoop, but it's a fake (for now). i just got it so the parts aren't too bad but I had to bring up the maintenance up to standards. back seats I don't know yet. handles well. front seats are great, there heated cloth. over all it's fun, being 5 spd standard, it's good.Dec 17, 2011

The car was beyond wonderful otherwise I wouldnt still be crying inside each time I see its picture :p Performance - acceleration-great for a non turbo car, braking-superb, handling-superb Build Quality - has it needed repairs? Only changed the rack ends Appearance - both interior and exterior styling were great, all I added was 100% black tint :p Cost of Ownership - gas mileage manageable as long as you are light on the loud pedal. The mileage on gas was impressive being that it had an after market 4inch exhaust, maintenance costs too were manageable coz I treated this car like a jewel :) Fun Factor - is this car fun to drive? YES, ABSOLUTE FUN especially with the dropped ride heightDec 15, 2011

i love everything about this car its awesome, dependable and fun. its fast and handles anything ive thrown at it. rides very comfortably and can fit alot of stuff in it. it gets good mileage, not great good and as with any car you either get fun or good mileage and this car provides a happy medium. i have owned it for a couple of years and have only had to do the brakesAug 14, 2009

I have always been a fan of Subaru, but now that I own one I am thrilled and will always consider them when I make future car purchases. The exterior is clean lines and simply elegant even for a car that is 11 years old. The interior is cloth, making it easy to clean, the controls are well laid out, but I wish the cup holders were in a different spot and adjustable. When you want to use it, it blocks the radio controls and won't hold anything larger than a soda can. The mileage is decent. I get about 21mpg, and I have a heavy foot. When you step on it it pulls well until you hit about 5500 rpm, and considering it redlines at 6500 rpm, its pretty good. One thing I didn't expect was how well it handles, I know its AWD, but even with generic tires, it holds the road like a kitty kat stuck on velcro. On dirt, if you push it hard, you can brake the tires loose, but you have to have some skill to get'em loose. All in all, I would buy this car again, and would recommend it to a friend. Its damn impressive for a wagon. Dec 22, 2008

My first car purchase ever. I was just finishing up my freshman year of college and I told myself that if I made enough money I could spend half of it on a car purchase. My parents always told me that I had to earn things and throughout high school I would just borrow my dad's car but I never felt like it was my own. So as soon as I had the money I wanted to buy a car that fit my lifestyle at the time. Well I was shopping for a car for a few months and I finally came across an ad for a Subaru Outback for only $3600. I immediately thought of all the cool stuff I could transport in it: my bikes and sports equipment, computers and hardware for my job, DJ equipment on the weekends, suitcases and bags for road trips with my friends... What I didn't even think of was how cool it was to rally race the legacy after I put rally shock absorbers and tweaked the transmission. The 5 speed manual was able to reach 60 in 7.9 seconds but thanks to a flywheel and intercooler addition I was able to get a station wagon up to 60 in 6.8 seconds and half the time I was doing it in knee deep mud. Towing capacity was great on the Outback and at one point I had 9 bikes folded up inside the car with the seats flat, 2 more on the roof and 3 hanging from the trunk, truly an amazing car. During move in and move out days I was the only non SUV that was able to move their entire dorm in one trip. Speaking of SUVs, the Legacy handled perfectly, with the AWD and the Goodyear extra grip tires I was able to hold 45 on a tight turn before hitting a puddle and losing grip on one wheel at 50 mph. Took the cheapest gas I could find and got pretty good fuel economy for an AWD 160 hp car. Appearance was a tough call, I myself love the look of a wagon, and when you compare the 98 Legacy Wagon with other 98 wagons it looks much better than the Volvo V70, Ford Taurus and a lot of SUVs. The Audi, Mercedes and BMW wagons might look a little better but they cost twice if not three times as much and not all of them have AWD. It was a really really really fun car, took everything I threw at it.Sep 12, 2008

Performance - Almost unstoppable in the snow with winter tires on. Great ground clearance - better than most SUVs. AWD system up to most challenges, though not quite up to Audi Quattro standards. Quality - With 144K we're starting to see more frequent repairs - up to 100K was fairly trouble free. One repair under warranty - replaced the transfer case. Appearance - Just starting to see rust LR wheel well. Fun - This car is practical and functional - I won't describe it as fun.Aug 12, 2008

The first thing you need to know about this car is that it handles beautifully. It's a little heavy but the AWD, even though it's a 10-year-old system, does a great job. Its ABS is sharp; and even with an AT, and though it was the last year the Legacy didn't get a turbo, it still has plenty of pop. The build quality is very solid -- almost 110,000 miles and all it's needed has been basic brake, engine and wheel maintenance. It's only just begun to make a rattle, and when I checked the source of the noise the part was actually snug -- just a resonant frequency thing, I guess, seeing as it always rattles when the engine reaches the same RPM. It's a beautiful car. While Subaru makes fantastic cars and always has, it's increasingly been missing the styling mark in the past few years. This car has a classic, timeless look and it looks great in its candy-red paint with still showroom-quality black leather interior. Its mileage is good -- it generally gets nearer 30 mpg than 20. Maintenance is practically free, since as I mentioned, it barely needs anything but a fluid and tire pressure check every so often. It's got nice perks such as very quick heating and A/C, easily adjustable mirrors, limited blind spots and great windshield visibility and driver position. The fold-down rear seats are nice as well, though not very unusual these days. As I mentioned, the interior is very nice. Both room and comfortable, the leather looks great on everything and the layout is very accessible. The only major drawback (and the only thing I dislike about this car) is poorly-constructed pop-out cupholders. The best part is probably its poor-condition driving. This car is glue in the rain, and in more than two feet of snow I regularly drive my little red sport sedan past spun-out Explorers on the side of the road! If you're looking for a fun, safe, reliable and great-looking sedan to go churning around mountain passes or pick up groceries, in rain or shine, this car is a steal.Jun 25, 2008

Purchased it used with 93,000km on it, left it at the dealer 6.5 years later with 410,000km on the odometer. Butt warmers, all wheel drive, and hoodscoup. Fun and comfortable car to drive. For four years i travelled the 144 between Timmins and Sudbury - any weather any time, this machine will go. On that little highway people dispise because of it's narrow, curvy road, rock cliff, moose, and lack of fellow drivers to help you in case of need, i would set the cruise control betwee 105-110km and let it ride for 3 hours to Timmins like i was going through the desert. Later i did the North Bay -Timmins run - not as exciting but stil some challenges. I sadly left this car at the dealer to purchase a new Imprezza (same car but smaller and even more fun to drive).Apr 03, 2008

This car is very fun to drive, 5spd H4 2.5L. It sounds amazing and actually has coupe performance unlike other GT's. If you're going to pick on up however; make sure the cylinder heads have been done. If not the don't buy it unless you're paying $2,000 or less becasue it's a $3,000 job and you WILL have to do it. Overall very practical and very sporty, the best mix of two worlds.Mar 28, 2008