This is Subaru‘s first diesel-engined car in UK spec.
Rather than take the easy option and buying an engine from another manufacturer, it has put great efforts into developing a smooth driving, remarkably quiet cruiser that is still capable of 0-60mph in 8.5secs – all for £19,795 in entry trim level ‘R’.
Permanent four-wheel drive prevents CO2 figures dropping lower than an admittedly impressive 151g/km, but it makes for a great cornering grip.
The only slight downside is a lack of torque at the lower end of the rev range, which led to a couple of embarrassing stalling instances when attempting to move in traffic in second gear.
Building its own diesel could have been a big success or a big disappointment for Subaru. This is definitely the former.
Verdict: New diesel makes the Legacy so good we’ve ordered one for our long-term fleet
