When the 2012 Subaru Legacy pulled into our driveway last week, a proud parental feeling welled up inside. As owners of a 2011 Subaru Forester, I felt a kind of nepotism, “must write exceptional review about this family member vehicle.”

Well, fate had other plans.  The first foul-up was that I locked the keys in the car. I won’t go into details, but let’s just say, not my finest hour.  The good news is that I did actually get to drive the car. The unfortunate part is that the car became inaccessible due to my own stupidity before I really had the chance to study it. (The press fleet has extra keys and could not abate my rescue in time.)
Then in an effort to complete my due diligence, I asked my overworked husband to kindly forward the Subaru media website to me so I could research the car, read the press release, really prepare for this groundbreaking piece I was about to write.   Here is where the real trouble started. Whatever link he sent me was evidently corrupted, infected or damaged.  Such corruption, infection and/or damage was then inflicted upon my iMac….. bringing my ambitious journalistic efforts to an abrupt halt.  Forty-nine dollars and twenty-four hours later, my iMac has been restored to its humble functioning.  However I am a bit gun-shy about approaching this Subaru website link ever again. I’ve been assured it’s fine…..but far to traumatized to jump back on the internet horse. Thus my research is left undone….bringing back memories of college…another delve into psychology better left for another session)

So my review of the Subaru Legacy sedan is as follows…there is much more to this car than meets the eye.  I went out for an errand on a rainy, dreary New England Monday morning and this car cheered me up.  The version I drove was the 3.6L 6-cylinder engine with an automatic transmission.  A more pricey, loaded version to the basic 2.5 L, CVT transmission which has not received high accolades in the driving department with its heavy, road-gripping feeling.  While the exterior styling looks very sedan vanilla, to me the driving was anything but.  The 3.6R was sporty, aggressive, and had solid brakes.  And as a New Englander, the all wheel drive capability on this car gets bonus points.  With Don Henley’s “End of the Innocence” resounding warmly through the Harman Kardon speakers, I enjoyed my brief, playful visit with this very sporty sedan.

For baby carrying, the interior is fantastic.  Lots of space.  However, one interior feature calling for further investigation was the back seats.  They’re positioned at an angle, resembling a bucket-seat look….which concerned me when installing a rear facing car seat.  It looked like there’d be trouble resting the carseat flat and sturdy.  However, the latches looked well positioned and easily accessible, much like the Forester.  And Subarus are known for their safety.

So the 2012 Subaru Legacy does receive high marks in my book.  But as is often the case, ‘family’ visits can be stressful.

Some Basics on the 3.6R
MSRP:  $25,095 – $31,595
Engine: flat 6 cyl. 3.6L
hp/torque: 256 hp / 247 ft-lbs.
drivetrain: AWD
Fuel Economy: 18 city / 25 hwy
IIHS Rating:  Good.  Top Safety Pick

39NZ6VWT5AUR