2022 Subaru Legacy

With a few select updates made for 2022, pricing for the Subaru Legacy in the USA has increased on some trims while remaining unchanged on others. At the base end of the spectrum, the Legacy has an MSRP of $22,995 excluding a destination and handling charge of $960 in most US states. It's followed by the Premium at $25,245 while the Sport sees one of the biggest price increases at $28,790. The Limited has a cost of $29,945 while opting for the turbocharged engine will set you back either $34,495 in Limited XT guise or $36,195 in Touring XT form.

With such dull exterior styling, we expected the Legacy to drive like a retirement home on wheels. This is not the case. Subaru tuned the steering with surprising accuracy, making the driver feel connected to the experience. The suspension feels supple, absorbing impacts like an old-school luxury car. This might be the most comfortable mainstream mid-size sedan on the market today. Combined with the highly-insulated cabin, the Legacy wouldn't seem out of place in a luxury automaker's lineup. It's no WRX, but the Legacy can hustle through corners, especially with the grip from the Symmetrical AWD system. That same system comes into play during winter driving, where the AWD will keep the Legacy going when competing sedans will be left at the bottom of icy hills. There is no specific sport or snow mode, but you can take control of the transmission using wheel-mounted paddle shifters. However, we felt it best to leave the Legacy to its own devices, and enjoy the comfort.

While driving, Subaru's Driver Monitoring System watches to make sure you keep your eyes on the road using a sensor mounted on the dash. For those who see this as an invasion of privacy, you can put a piece of tape over it to stop it from functioning. The system commits to its job, beeping at the slightest sign of distracted driving. Parents will love this feature for their teen drivers, but owners who hate the annoyance of incessant beeps may hate the Legacy. All of the safety features feel a bit overbearing, like a helicopter mom wrapping their child in bubble wrap to go down a playground slide. Most of the systems can be turned off or changed to a less intrusive setting, but it's nice to know they are there.

Without the selling point of being the only all-wheel-drive option in its segment, some of the appeal has been taken away from the Subaru Legacy. Subaru must now lean on its excellent safety features and cushy ride comfort as key drivers to get customers in the door. These might suffice for some, but others may get turned off by the Legacy's bland styling, especially in an era when even the Toyota Camry looks exciting by comparison.

The Legacy struggles to jump off the page in any eye-popping way, but it does everything competently while quietly beating most of its competitors in comfort and refinement. Nissan and Toyota may finally offer AWD on the Altima and Camry, but if you like your grip to come with more than just basic power, the Subaru Legacy remains your only option. We wish Subaru would have taken some bigger risks with the Legacy, particularly in the styling front, but it ends up being a competent cruiser that we'd still highly recommend, even if other rivals are more exciting.

We're suckers for a more powerful engine, which is why we wouldn't stop until we reached either the Limited XT or Touring XT trim levels, both of which include a turbocharger. Less than $2,000 separates the top Touring XT trim level from the Limited XT we tested, so we'd recommend going all out if you are already willing to spend up for the turbocharged options. The Limited XT includes all of the Legacy's key features, plus some opulent options such as Nappa leather, ventilated front seats, and a front-facing camera. With no further packages to add, you'll be in for just over $36,000.

Starting at just $18,795 for the base model, the Subaru Impreza is a smaller sedan than the Legacy yet retains the symmetrical all-wheel-drive system as standard. Sadly, the Impreza is saddled with an underpowered 152-hp 2.0-liter engine that doesn't allow the driver to exploit the car's agile chassis. It's not nearly as plush and refined inside as the Legacy, either. That said, it does offer the choice of a manual transmission. With a trunk capacity of just 12.8 cubic feet and three inches less rear legroom, the Impreza isn't as practical of a sedan for a large family. It also lacks the technology that's present in the Legacy, such as that expansive 11.6-inch touchscreen. If it were up to us, we'd prefer a low-spec Legacy to a range-topping Impreza, especially considering they go for similar prices.

The 2022 Honda Accord hasn't changed dramatically from last year's model and it remains one of the top contenders in the class. It now benefits from a standard eight-inch touchscreen display across the lineup, though. Two turbocharged engines do duty in the Accord range and the smaller of these units is peppier than the Legacy's base engine. Although Honda has dropped the manual gearbox from the Accord range, it does offer a smooth 10-speed automatic that is better than the Legacy's CVT. The Accord has a bigger trunk, is more enjoyable to drive, and is expected to be more reliable than the Legacy. However, whereas the Subaru has standard AWD across the range, the Honda doesn't offer this option at all. Partially due to this, the Accord is consequently quite a bit lighter than the Legacy and more fuel-efficient, too. The latest Legacy is a car that Subaru can be proud of, but the Accord is a more complete midsize sedan.