The current Subaru Legacy has been on sale since 2014, and nearly every one of its competitors has received a refresh or redesign in the intervening years. For Subaru’s 2018 update, the name Legacy is especially apt because this family sedan carries on without any major eye-opening changes. The 2018 update does bring small alterations to both exterior and interior appearance, claimed improvements in refinement, added technology, and bolstered safety content. The Legacy finally now has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
On the outside, the Legacy gets revised front and rear fascias. While not revolutionary, the look is handsome and falls in line with other recent Subaru products, like the recently released 2017 Impreza. While the 175-hp 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder engine and the 256-hp 3.6-liter boxer six-cylinder carry over, Subaru tweaked the tuning of the transmission to provide a little more response. A CVT is the only available transmission with either engine. As always, power is sent to all four wheels. Active torque vectoring is standard across the board.
Subaru revised the suspension, brakes, and electronic power steering for 2018. The changes are intended to make the Legacy more engaging to drive, but we can't say for sure until we get behind the wheel. Some changes to the transmission, mirrors, and cabin were done to help improve the car's noise, harshness, and vibrations. In sum, the 2018 Legacy sees a comprehensive array of small changes. But given that the Legacy just came off another year of rising sales, one could argue that it didn’t need much more.