Hooray - a Legacy with real muscle

A Subaru in full cry has always been an instrument of sheer joy.

The Legacy had been dumbed-down with softer suspension, more cabin space, a gentler, greener engine and the, yawn, family-saloon car looks that the Americans like so much.

To Subaru it clearly made sense to dance to the Yankee-doodle-da tune because outside of Japan the American market is where most of this iconic brand's products are sold.

Better, hotter…

And it worked. The Americans loved the smoothed down Legacy right from day one. But, unfortunately it hasn't been the same fairy-tale story in South Africa.

Here Subaru has always been a niche product fancied by a hard core of dedicated fans who love the brand for its maverick character, street cred and muscle-flexing looks, so the fans were not sold on the Legacy's transformation from ballsy fun saloon to a rather grey competitor for the Honda Accords and VW Passats of this world.

This is no ordinary family saloon.

However, being the clued up enthusiast drivers they are, the Subaru aficionados must have known for some time that something better and hotter was coming this way.

Moreover, they were quite right because Subaru has just unwrapped its new Legacy GT - and it is an absolute scorcher.

The sporty 18-inch alloys, gaping air scoop on the bonnet, the reworked sports front bumper and grille assembly and twin bazookas at the back scream the message out loud and clear - this is no ordinary family saloon.

Unleash hell

Press the starter button, release the electronic handbrake and stomp the drilled-metal pedal to the floor and all kinds of hell breaks loose.

The gentle purring under the bonnet immediately turns into a deep, menacing growl as the turbocharged, double overhead cam power factory goes into full production, blasting out 195kW and 350 Nm.

The 100km/h pops up in just a fraction over six seconds and from there it seamlessly barrels on until its starts running out of steam just before the 250 km/h mark.

OK, you don't want this to happen in real life, but should it, testing has ensured that you have a good chance of surviving it.

To achieve this, the clever guys with the thick glasses in Subaru's engineering department did some masterful tweaking to create a turbocharged, double overhead cam version of the familiar 2,5-litre boxer engine.

To get the extra blast-off power they reworked the intercooler, compacted the exhaust system, revised the turbo intake system and created a new exhaust Active Valve Control System (AVCS) with a new cam profile that produces better performance, fuel efficiency and reduced exhaust gas emissions.

The ‘flappies' make it easy

Power, as always, is transferred to the road by Subaru's race-proven all-wheel drive system, only this time round it's linked to a new five-speed SportshiftTM Automatic transmission with the option of manual changes via paddle shifts.

Progress is seamless and quick, even when using the “flappies” on the steering wheel.

Much time and effort has gone into the design of the frame.

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I spent two days in the company of the GT exploring the interesting patch of countryside of Africa's most southerly region.

The run into the country-side took Her Majesty and I over mountain passes and long stretches of tar and gravel on a route which included Caledon, Bredasdorp, Cape Agulhas, Struisbaai, Arniston, Elim, Die Dam, Pearly Beach, Hermanus and the lovely coastal road back to the N2 via Gordon's Bay and home to Hout Bay.

We were knocked out by the space and comfort of the cabin, the huge boot, good sound system and the GT's confident ride.
Even on rough patches of gravel the car not once became even slightly unsteady even though I was pushing hard at times along deserted back roads.

An instrument of pure joy

Overtaking in the GT is sheer pleasure; to such an extent that I got the lazy eye on more than one occasion when I kept my foot flat on the floor long after the car we had overtaken had disappeared from the rear view mirror.

A comfortable cabin and an equally comfortable ride, but a pity about the boot!

But then a Subaru in full cry has always been an instrument of sheer joy - and to add to the pleasure the GT is equipped with what the manufacturer calls Subaru Intelligent Drive (SI-Drive). This offers three different driving experiences at the twitch of a switch - click once for a wild ride, twice for an even wilder ride and the third time for cruising and city gliding.

Needless to say I spent most of the time in wild ride mode, flicking the flappies with the setting at Sport Sharp.

There are more airbags than pillows for a dorm pillowfight.

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Because I had the whip out quite often our fuel consumption figures got nowhere near the manufacturer's claims, but then, in fairness, Subaru has a bit of a reputation for being a little optimistic with its fuel figures.

We were particularly impressed by the interior build quality of the car with not a squeak or rattle to be heard.

What was a little disconcerting was the tendency of the bonnet to shiver and quiver quite noticeably at times, to such an extent that I stopped twice to make sure it was securely closed.

Pity about the boot

Our test model also had a sneaky electronic gremlin, so that we couldn't start the car after the first few stops (but this seemed to sort itself out) and occasionally the doors and boot wouldn't unlock and the windows also twice froze in semi-open position.

The pushbutton park brake takes all the effort out of starting to roll.

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And while we are muttering, the boot sounds really cheap and tinny when you slam it shut. (It's quite big, so easing it closed is not easy).

But none of these irritations were enough to spoil the journey and we had plenty of time and opportunity to appreciate the GT's swish features such as the electric-adjustable leather seats, windscreen wipers and headlights which activate automatically, the electric sunroof, Xenon HID headlights and dual-zone climate control with separate rear vents.

Have your ‘communicator' close at hand

Also quite nifty is the smart keyless access and a push button start system, with the driver able to unlock the car and start the engine as long as the “communicator” (ignition key in lesser cars) is close by.

The dual climate control helps ensure those in the back are just as comfortable as those in the front.

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In line with the GT's increased space for passengers and luggage, and its mightier punch under the bonnet, safety equipment have also been upgraded to seven airbags.

The Legacy GT is a real family pleaser; big enough for the school zoo run, smart enough for Mom's “coffee with the girls” parking spot outside the restaurant, and with more than enough fun and safety features to keep daddies smiling and the neighbours envious.

Subaru doesn't do cheap cars and the Legacy 2.5 GT Premium is no exception with its smoking price tag of R439 000.

A lot of money, but then the GT is a lot of car and it does come with a three-year/100 000km warranty and a three-year/63 000km maintenance plan which can be extended to five-years or 200 000km.