Road Test: 2009 Subaru Legacy 3.0R Limited car review; The colors of gray

What is it about Subaru and gray cars anyway? First there’s the Subaru Legacy GT Spec.B, in 2007 available only in a medium gray (even if expanded to include a dark gray for 2008 and five colors for 2009). And now there’s the gentleman’s Subaru sports sedan, the 2008 Subaru Legacy 3.0R Limited.

 

Our test vehicle was Quartz Silver Metallic, or what most people would call medium gray. Three other colors are available: Obsidian Black Pearl (black), Deep Bronze Metallic (antique bronze), and Newport Blue Pearl (replacing last year’s Harvest Gold Metallic—didn’t we leave that in the Seventies anyway?). Literally not all gray, of course, but spiritually gray, or as gray as one can get without actually being gray.

 

So when we approached our test Legacy 3.0R Limited, we weren’t expecting much in the way of performance. Security, sure. Comfort, typical mid-size mid-price sedan, of course. Roominess, access, good core value, naturally.

 

However the first time we romped on the throttle we were promptly disabused of that notion. The 3.0R Limited whooshed, and whooshed hard. Two-hundred and forty-five horses will do that in a 3545 lb car. Actually, it felt as if Subaru had estimated on the low side. The Japanese carmaker had been rebuked several years back for doing the opposite. It’s better, one supposes, to let the car do the speaking than brag through the spec chart.

 

And the Legacy 3.0R Limited can sure talk.

 

The Subaru Legacy 3.0R Limited was a new model for 2008, top of the Legacy line that includes new for 2009 the Legacy 3.0R (not Limited), plus the sporty 2.5 GT Spec.B, premium 2.5 GT Limited, and continuing downward, the 2.5i Limited, 2.5i Special Edition and at the bottom, the $20,495 base priced Legacy 2.5i. All, of course, with all-wheel drive, a Subaru prerequisite, and all except the 3.0R, Limited or not, have horizontally-opposed (“boxer”) four-cylinder engines. The top model has Subaru’s 3.0-liter horizontally-opposed six.

 

It’s the engine that defines the 3.0R Limited. It is the most powerful engine ever in a Legacy sold in the U.S.—if by only two ponies more than the turbo 2.5-liter turbo engine of the 2.5 Limited and 2.5 GT Spec.B, and it’s not the torquiest. See the aforementioned 2.5-liter turbo four for that.

 

But the 3.0-liter six is creamily smooth compared to the shake-free but gravelly-throated four, turbocharged or not, its acceleration a magic carpet ride into velocity. It’s a bit slow off the mark, however, as if geared for higher speed operations or a torque converter with a too-low stall speed.

 

Unlike the Spec.B which has a six-speed automatic, the 3.0R has a 5-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel paddles for manual shifting. The paddles don’t turn with the steering wheel, however, but are mounted on the steering column. They’re quite large—somewhere a steamboat isn’t going anywhere—and hard to miss even if the steering wheel isn’t straight.

 

The transmission also features “rev-matching downshift blipping control,” as Subaru calls it. The engine control system matches engine speed with the transmission for smooth downshifts, imitating the heel-and-toe technique of a skilled driver. It’s essential for performance driving on gollywiggling roads.

 

Those winding back roads are where the Subaru 3.0R Limited shines even more, in many ways, than the Spec.B. Like its turbocharged sibling, the 3.0R has Bilstein Sport suspension with inverted front struts (the shock body is mounted to the car body rather than the suspension arm for improved roadholding on bumpy pavement) though suspension components aren’t aluminum as on the Spec.B. The 3.0R also has 215/45R18 Bridgestone Potenza RE050A summer performance tires; wheels are 18 x 7-inch seven-spoke alloy. The 3.0R lacks the Spec.B’s Torsen torque-sensing limited limited-slip rear differential (it has a conventional limited slip rear end. Both have Subaru’s VDC stability control system. Torque bias is to the rear, also, providing a better handling balance than with front bias or front-wheel drive.

 

The suspension is not so much soft as it is smooth. It’s well damped so that there is obvious suspension travel, but when it goes down it doesn’t bounce up again and vice versa. Period.

 

The 3.0R Limited is, like the Spec.B, equipped with Subaru’s SI-Drive, which controls the aggressiveness of the drive-by-wire throttle plus the shifting of automatic transmission. The default mode is “Intelligent,” with dials back the throttle for a more relaxed opening, plus limits overall horsepower and torque. Sport allows full throttle and opens quicker. Sport Sharp is the other extreme from Intelligent, providing more power sooner. Guess where we turned the console-mounted knob every time we fired up the car.

 

Around town and on the highway, where most Legacy 3.0R Limited will spend most of their lives, the engine is responsive, the transmission smooth and we’ll rate road noise a five out of ten while wind noise isn’t perceptible.

 

The interior has been reshuffled in 2008, though it would have taken an owner of the earlier car to know the difference. Soft-touch surfaces abound. Even the dash has a lightly padded feel. Top models including the 3.0R have electroluminescent dials. The audio system was annoying, replacing the tuner knob with a band selector, then leaving channel selection to a four-way toggle. Not unlearnable, but why reinvent the radio? The dual automatic temperature controls worked well after we discovered that for comfort the temperature needed to be set cooler than it seemed it should be.

 

The Legacy 3.0R Limited has sport bolstered seat for support in cornering, though not so radical it impedes everyday entry and exit. Rear seat comfort is typical for this class of car as is the trunk.

 

The 2008 Legacy line has a new grille, all-new front sheet metal, front and rear bumper covers and new headlights and taillights. Like the interior, the difference is hard to tell except for those who are familiar with the earlier model. If that means the Legacy is a bit on the bland side, so much the better for Subaru stylists who have been struggling for a coherent look with the Impreza and Tribeca.

 

Price is a matter with this Subaru, however. We’re not going to list alternatives because in this market there are many, but the $29,895 base price for the Legacy 3.0R Limited is a long way from the base Legacy at $20,795 (but down from 2008’s $31,295, but with no navigation system). Half again as much, to be precise. Subaru is trying to cover a lot of ground with the Legacy, unlike some brands that have another model for every ten feet of the price spectrum.

 

So while the 3.0R is a wholly delightful car, it doesn’t look all that much different from the base model in the next parking space, and while personal gratification from its intrinsic value is important, it can’t do everything for the Legacy owner who just might want the neighbors he bought a car just shy of $30k.. We’re not suggesting giant stripes over the 3.0R. That cheap trick works for Mustang as an attention getter, but it’s hardly appropriate for the Legacy.

 

Maybe the understated gray is its own distinguishing feature.

 

But Volkswagen thought it would get by with “understatement” as a selling point with the Phaeton and we know what happened there.

 

Our test 2008 Subaru Legacy 3.0R Limited came equipped with Popular Equipment Group 1a, which includes an autodimming mirror/compass ($165) and an upgraded security system for $95, and XM satellite radio, priced at $398. Navigation was included last year, now optional at $2,000. Adding a destination fee of $665 brought the total price to $33,218 (similarly equipped for 2008: $32,700).

 

At that price it’s hardly short on features. Heated front seats, mirrors and windshield wiper parking deicer are standard, as are power driver and passenger seats, moonroof, in-dash 6-disc CD changer.

 

One final comment: When carmakers cite an engine size, such as “3.0 liters,” the actual displacement in cubic centimeters usually isn’t exactly that. It’s really “more or less three liters.” Except for the Subaru’s 3.0 liter six. Exact displacement? 2999cc. Can’t get much closer than that.

 

And about those colors. The 2009 Subaru Legacy 3.0R Limited will shortly have more colors added to its palate. They’ll still be gray at heart, however. But hey, it looks good on guided missile cruisers.