New vs old Subaru Legacy: what are top 3 differences?

The Legacy was last updated in SA in February 2018 and updates included higher safety specification levels, improved refinement, as well as interior and exterior tweaks.

Farzana Chaumoo

13 Dec 2019 · 12:38Buying a Car

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1. EyeSight®Driver Assistance

Subaru uses class-leading safety as a key selling point and it was no different with the 2018 Subaru Legacy. Subaru had improved the Legacy’s safety immensely and also introduced the EyeSight® Driver Assist technology for the first time in SA.

EyeSight® is Subaru’s award-winning system that makes use of stereo cameras that scan the road ahead and then act in a number of ways to mitigate or reduce the damage of collisions. EyeSight® features include Adaptive Cruise Control, Pre-Collision Braking, Pre-Collision Throttle Management, and Vehicle Lane Departure and Sway Warning.

2. New Safety Technologies

Other new safety technologies on the 2018 Subaru Legacy include:

Steering Responsive Headlights (SRH)
The Blind Spot Detection and Rear Cross Traffic Alert indicator lamps are larger and have now been moved more prominently to the side of the newly designed side mirrors
The Legacy now sports a Front View Camera and Side View Camera in addition to the Rear-View Camera for better vision directly in front and to the left side of the car

All these new safety features are in addition to the already impressive list of safety features packed into all Subaru vehicles: Vehicle Dynamics Control; 7 Airbags; ISOFIX child-seat anchors; the use of high-tensile steel in strategic areas around the body structure and more.

3. Driver-Focused Performance

In addition to the other extra features Subaru has added to the 2018 Legacy, its engineers have also improved the overall driver feel of the car. The electric steering has been improved to be more direct and offer better communication to the driver.

The dampers have been retuned for better absorption of bumps in the road as well as more stability in corners.

The brake pedal feel has been improved too and these changes all contribute to more driver-focussed and more compliant drive, whether driving enthusiastically or just elegantly cruising.

Only one model was made available locally which was the Subaru Legacy 3.6R-S ES. It is powered by a DOHC, six-cylinder 3.6-litre Boxer® engine that puts out maximum power of 191 kW at 6000 rpm and peak torque of 350 Nm at 4400 rpm. The EZ36 engine has been paired to a smoother and more fluid Lineartronic CVT gearbox. Throttle response has also been improved and this, together with the Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive™ system and Active Torque Vectoring technology, make the Legacy a powerful performance sedan with sporty agility and handling.