The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Standard all-wheel drive
- Decently thrifty at the pump
- Vast interior
- Smooth ride
- Excellent safety scores
Dislikes
- Bigger touchscreen can get washed out
- Turbo engine should be smoother
- Dull personality
- Expensive in top trims
- No hybrid option
Buying tip
features & specs
Don’t overlook the 2025 Subaru Legacy, which offers luxury-like comfort in an understated and affordable package.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Subaru Legacy? What does it compare to?
Few midsize sedans remain on the market, and the 2025 Subaru Legacy marks the last year of production for the affordable all-wheel-drive offering. Competitors include the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.
Is the 2025 Subaru Legacy a good car?
Yes. The Subaru Legacy isn’t exciting, or even particularly interesting, but it’s a smart pick with great all-weather capability and plenty of standard features. It earns a TCC Rating of 6.7 out of 10 points. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Subaru Legacy?
The Limited trim now comes standard with a power moonroof, a 360-degree heated steering wheel, navigation, and driver-attention monitoring. Otherwise, the Legacy carries over unchanged.
This Subaru features a sedan’s traditional three-box profile and styling, but shares plenty underneath with the much more rugged Subaru Outback crossover. The Legacy’s exterior styling is conventional and simple, and gives way to a more impressive cabin. Inside, the centerpiece is an 11.6-inch vertically-mounted touchscreen, which comes standard on all but the base trim. Although the display could be sharper, the overall look is neat.
The base engine is a flat-4 with 182 hp, adequate acceleration, and fuel economy ratings of 30 mpg combined, which is great for an all-wheel-drive car. In Legacy XT configuration, power comes from a 260-hp turbo flat-4. Both get a CVT. The ride is smooth and comfortable with both engines.
The cabin features plenty of wide open space, appealing design, and comfortable front seats. The optional bigger touchscreen features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, though it’s hard to see in sunlight.
The Legacy is an excellent pick for safety. It boasts great crash-test ratings and Subaru supplies standard adaptive cruise control, active lane control, and automatic emergency braking. Blind-spot monitors are widely available.
How much does the 2025 Subaru Legacy cost?
Subaru holds the Legacy’s base price steady for 2025. It starts at $26,040, including a $1,145 destination charge. That’s a competitive value, though we’d spend $28,340 for the Premium, which adds the bigger touchscreen, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, and heated front seats.
Where is the 2025 Subaru Legacy made?
The Legacy is built at Subaru’s Lafayette, Indiana production facility.
2025 Subaru Legacy Styling
The Subaru Legacy is as basic as they come, especially its exterior styling.
Is the Subaru Legacy a good-looking car?
Yes, though it’s not at all stylish. It’s a 5, with a point deducted for its bland exterior and earned back thanks to its thoughtfully designed cabin.
The 2025 Subaru Legacy is dowdy, especially compared to sleeker, sportier-looking rivals. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, though. The Sport trim does get some dress-up bits, but they’re subtle.
The cabin shares a lot with the rowdier Outback, and has more personality as a result. The base trim gets a chintzy pair of 7.0-inch screens, though all other models have a modern-looking 11.6-inch touchscreen that’s a big improvement overall, but doesn’t work well in direct light.
2025 Subaru Legacy Performance
A supple ride gives the 2025 Subaru Legacy plenty of appeal.
The Legacy provides a luxury-like ride and is available with a peppy turbo engine. It’s a 6, with a point awarded for its ability to smooth out even the bumpiest pavement.
Is the Subaru Legacy 4WD?
It is. Subaru’s standard full-time all-wheel-drive system is perhaps the best argument in the Legacy’s favor.
How fast is the Subaru Legacy?
In base form, it’s not. The 2.5-liter flat-four engine makes just 182 hp, perfectly competent but not at all eager. Legacy Sport and Legacy Touring XT trims get expensive, but upgrade to a 2.4-liter turbo-4 with a much more engaging 260 hp.
Subaru’s CVT feels too snappy at times, and while both versions can struggle to find a smooth start, it’s more pronounced with the turbo engine.
The Legacy has precise but light steering, good for maneuverability and stable on the highway. The chassis is balanced, though the comfortable ride will never give way to WRX-like levels of hustle.
2025 Subaru Legacy Comfort & Quality
With a vast cabin, there’s plenty of room to stretch out in the Legacy.
The 2025 Subaru Legacy racks up points for its generous legroom in both rows, as well as a trunk that’s bigger than average. It’s an 8 for quality.
The base Legacy comes standard with cloth upholstery, which is upgraded to leather upholstery for the top Limited and Touring XT models. All versions beyond the base model get a 10-way power-adjustable driver’s seat, and the Touring XT features adjustable thigh support.
Rear passengers enjoy roughly 40 inches of legroom, and the bench is well padded. Most trims get rear vents for climate control. The trunk measures 15.1 cubic feet, with a generous opening and mostly flat floor.
2025 Subaru Legacy Safety
If safety is a priority, it’s hard to go wrong with the 2025 Subaru Legacy.
How safe is the Subaru Legacy?
It’s a great pick in this area, with a five-star NHTSA rating, an IIHS Top Safety Pick rating, good outward vision, and plenty of driver-assistance features. It’s a 9 on our scale, with the only missing point from a lack of hands-free driving features.
For 2025, Subaru adds a driver-attention monitor called DriverFocus on the Limited trim. Sport trims and higher get blind-spot monitors, which are optional for the Premium trim. Touring XT has more sophisticated crash-avoidance tech with better pedestrian and cyclist detection.
2025 Subaru Legacy Features
Stay out of the deep end and the 2025 Legacy presents a competitive value.
The 2025 Subaru Legacy is available in five trim levels, with option packages available on two. The Legacy is a good value on the low end, from the $28,000 to $33,000 price points. It’s an 8, with points for the big touchscreen, good safety tech, and competitive overall value.
The 3-year/36,000-mile warranty is just average.
The base 2025 Legacy starts at $26,040, including a $1,145 destination charge. That makes it the most affordable midsize sedan on the market, but aside from the good standard safety equipment, it only comes with the basics such as cloth upholstery, a pair of 7.0-inch touchscreens, and 17-inch wheels.
Which Subaru Legacy should I buy?
The Premium, at $28,340, adds the 11.6-inch touchscreen, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and additional USB ports. That’s worth the upcharge. For another $1,000, Subaru will bundle LED fog lights, keyless entry, and blind-spot monitors. From there, it’s tempting to jump to the $35,150 Limited, which adds leather upholstery, heated rear seats, and some other amenities.
How much is a fully loaded Subaru Legacy?
It’s $39,340 for the Touring XT, with the turbocharged engine, cooled front seats, premium leather upholstery, Harman Kardon stereo, and driver-attention monitoring.
2025 Subaru Legacy Fuel Economy
Among all-wheel-drive sedans, the 2025 Subaru Legacy is fairly thrifty.
Is the Subaru Legacy good on gas?
Yes, compared to other all-wheel-drive sedans, and that goes even with the uprated turbo engine. The Legacy is a 4, based on the entry-level engine’s ratings of 27 mpg city, 35 highway, 30 combined.
With the turbo engine, those numbers drop to 23/31/26 mpg. Both engines use regular fuel.
