1997 Subaru Legacy Reviews, Pricing & Specs

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.

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 height

This is a great little car and handsomely priced in used car market as everyone warns Honda or Toyota. It's super reliable and it plows snows like a truck. The all wheel drive system is great and maintenance is very inexpensive

This is a great car bought it with 171000 miles on it and am now at 255000. It is not great to look at but with 2 kids and a dog (boxer) it moves the whole family, and then some

perfect first car. goes quick, looks good, reliable, and easy on gas.

very nice car, great space in the back for daily stuff yet puts up great power with the twin turbo flat four. the all wheel drive system makes it good for handling and keeps it on its toes. over all a great car!

great car, quick acceleration. dosent break, good track reccord. could rev up faster, just need light flywheel, and light crank pullie. AWD is awesome for winter fun!!! love the car and dont plan on sellling it for a long time!

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).

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.

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.