2015 & 2016 Subaru Legacy 2.5 Review and Road Test - DETAILED in 4K 

Great job with this review. I'm still driving my basic 2015 legacy with absolutely ZERO issues. This car is a beast in the SNOW! ❄☃️

An update on my 2017 Subaru 2.5i, base model. We did not need all the extra bells and whistles, but we upgraded the interior with a Katzkin leather kit for about $400, 17" aftermarket rims, door panel guards, mud flaps, Homelink mirror, and a set of optional fog lights. Our total upgrades was about $1,200, which put the total cost around $22,000 before taxes. This was a much better option than buying the Premium model for $25,000 that had a lot of options we just don't want or really need, and still don't get a leather interior. Well, we are pleasantly surprised at how well the car runs and drives. The new chain driven CVT is much better than I thought it would be. For all of our normal driving, the acceleration is more than sufficient. In fact at only 3,000rpm, the car accelerates much faster than most normal driving we do. Initial acceleration from a dead stop does have a slight lag. However, it's mid to high acceleration band from say 20-80mph is pretty impressive. Once the CVT is locked up, it will take you from 20mph on a highway on-ramp to 70mph lickety-split. In fact it seems to accelerate onto the highway much faster and feels more stable than the Camry we test drove. The handling feels much better than a Camry, and is more inline with a Mazda 6. It is a very flat and sporty drive, yet the interior noise is very low, like a Camry. Cornering is very good, especially when you hit the accelerator on a corner, you can just feel the rear drive kicking in to push you around a corner vs plowing around a corner in a FWD only car. It is also a deceptively fast car. Because the interior is so quiet, the first time I hit the highway, I accelerated into the left lane, and found myself passing the right lane quite handily. I then realized I was going 85mph, and the car barely felt like it was going 60mph, because it such a smooth and quiet car. Part of that is the 17" rims, instead of the 18" rims on the sport models. I did notice from test driving the 17" rimmed cars do drive quieter and slightly smoother. Overall MPG is around 29-30mpg for us. On the highway alone it easily does 36mpg for those long flat road trips. Also, oil consumption is very low, which is a known issue with boxer engines. After 5,0000 miles, we did lose a little oil, but did not need to add any between oil changes. Looks like about 1/4qt loss at the most. And that is on a brand new engine that is still breaking in. As time has gone on, oil consumption appears to be less, and overall MPG's are slowly going up as the piston rings get seasoned and seat properly. So far, I would say I really recommend this car for anyone who wants an AWD family car, or just an all around good car to drive everyday.

I like that you give dB numbers in your reviews.

I really really like your reviews! They are sooo detailed & you always hit all those points other reviewers doesn't talk about! Thank you!

You do the best car reviews I've seen on youtube ...But then I haven't seen them all and, that's no knock on you Alex !

Excellent car,driving a 2016 legacy now,changed oil regularly,have 241000 K with very few issues,still drives like a dream!!

Alex during the rear seat segment you said that there are no vents for rear passengers, but the 2.5i Limited has rear vents as well as rear seat-warmers.

Wow. You are the ultimate car review guy! Really great job. I appreciate your knowledge and thoroughness. I wish every car review was like yours.

best review video I've seen. thorough, honest, unbiased.

Watch as an alien ship appears on the upper right hand corner at 3:10, and then disappear completely from view at 3:21. We are not alone, LOL. 👽

I love your reviews Alex and I'm enjoying the humor in this one

You have the best reviews of any! Keep up the good work!

Center console by the cup holders, the button is not downhill control. It is to keep you from rolling backwards.

excellent review!!! I just picked up my Legacy this past Friday.

Great review! Very helpful.

Terrific review. Head and shoulders over anything I've seen so far. Easy to follow, yet very comprehensive. Great job. I'm on the verge of buying this model, and your review will likely push me over the edge. Give you the deposit???

To those researching EyeSight and collision avoidance, my auto insurance dropped about $20th/month after picking up the 2016 2.5i Limited which over the life of my loan (60 months) pays for itself almost to the dollar. So if you're on the fence be sure to check what your insurance premium will be with EyeSight because it might end up saving you money in the long run.

Love your videos!

just a comment on 3.6R engine power.. I currently own an ‘07 300C w/a 5.7L Hemi RWD. The 3.6R makes roughly 80 less HP and over 100 less ft lbs torque. That said- when I drove the 3.6R in an ‘18 Outback, it pulled very nicely to 70 MPH and I wasn’t hammering it. Is the 3.6R a road burner engine- no, but with the majority of Subie owners opting for the 2.5L, they aren’t looking for one. The 3.6R has decent enough power to get you promptly up to highway speeds and cruising at 80 MPH was easy. If you want a road burner, don’t buy a Subie. If you want reliable, safe, AWD security- a 3.6R is right up your alley!

Another fine review, thanks Alex.

I don't think you gave this car enough enough positive feedback, I just bought one and the car is an absolute luxury ride which is similar to my older 2012 A4

incredible review! thanks!

Great review

Alex thank you for all the quality car reviews. I purchased my CPO 2016 legacy with eyesight yesterday and I am loving it !! better gas mileage and my insurance went down !

Note: Boxer engines are horizontally opposed, not horizontally meeting. ;)

You do a great job!

great review alex please do the 2016 outlander gt

Hi Alex, thanks a bunch for clarifying AWD only lets you get out if you are stuck in snow and not brake better or better turning in snowy condition. I am a new fan :)

Please review the Outback as well.

Great review!!! Again!!! When will you get hand on the new accord? Looking forward to that review.

Great review! Just a note: Some trim levels DO have vents in the rear, located in back of the front center console. Has nothing to do with drive train. Keep up the good work!

Thank you, Alex...for two things. First, for the thorough and real-world assessment you provided. And second, for addressing our next car need by reporting on the Legacy. It sounds like the Legacy at that trim level would be a great choice in Bozeman, MT.

Hey Alex. There is an error in your video, the button next to electronic parking break is not hill descend assist. It is the automatic hill start hold. best

This is the best presentation so far! All the driving test scoring is now on the same chart which makes sense in logistics for people who just want to get the scores without having to go through every section. Suggestion: considering adding the public safety rating for completeness.

Another pro-test done by you. btw I Wonder why there are numerous test channels in PL whereas you are [almost]the only one in America. Nevertheless it is not a pity,because you are the best !

Great review Alex, one correction, air vents are standard on Limited trim models... Would you go for a 2.5i Premium with the Eyesight or the 2.5i Limited without additional options?

I just bought mine used. I love it! Works great! And I got the 3.6 l engine fast very fast

Regarding Cabin Noise. While shopping I noticed all the Legacy's in my area come with Goodyear tires. I think Michelin tires would reduce the cabin noise. Thanks for another very well done comprehensive review.

If you get your hands on Impreza, would be interesting to see that review too

Love my 2015 Legacy! Great review Alex!

I have been driving the premium model of this Subaru. I have to say my two complaints are they do not come with license plate Brackets, but most cars don't and the Paint is soft. Overall though the handling on this car is great and I also got the under body sprayed which reduces noise. I have noticed no road noise since doing this. I am going to get an automatic start in this car and want to get door ding protection. This car has it all with features and if I had to do it over again I would of purchased the fully upgraded model of this car with the 4 cylinder engine not the 6 Cylinder. I bought this car for winter handling and AWD provides better handling all around. This car has a ton of features and I would purchase another like this in the future. I want to see more sensors on this model to tell you if there is someone in your blind spot on the side of you. This is also a large car with lots of room and it looks classy.

Looks like Forester is the only one left with a stick of the grown up Subies.

Please do a review on the Mazda CX-3.

Best review on line I am seriously considering buying a new car (my current car has 96k miles) this reviewer may have just sold me a Legacy.

i really wished you had done the review with the 3.6r trying to decide between this and the optima i'm still leading towards the subaru

I wasn't going to read through all the comments to see if this was addressed but, the "hill assist" button is so if you're at a red light or something that is on a steeper grade, the car won't drift back when you let off the brake to accelerate thus avoiding bouncing off the car behind you. If you have the button engaged it may affect something a little bit going down a hill...but I don't think that's what "hill assist" was intended for. Good review...I love mine so far!

Excellent. I think you should start adding Safety as a key component to all your reviews. Some manufacturers make much more effort than others to produce safe cars....which talks to purely profit driven or profit driven but appreciate the value of human lives

Can you shoot a review for 2015 Outback please.... Thanks

Hi Alex. Why was the Kia Optima and Mazda6 left off your mid-size, mpg ranking list? Thanks.

Alex, thank you for always giving us in-depth reviews. you have provided us with informative knowledge about cars. If I may ask, in your opinion which midsize sedan is the quietest in the class? I am about to purchase one next month.

Alex, yet another superb review. Please refresh my memory; what average mileage did you get when you tested the Mazda 6? I'm averaging 35.3 mpg over 40K miles so far on mine; my city / highway mile distribution is about 40 / 60. Thanks again.

The main differences between the 2015 and 2016 I see from the video are in the eyesight system. have you noticed much else about those two model years? I'm looking to get either the base or premium 2.5L trims.

Did you post a video of car seats in the Legacy?

Any chance of reviewing the new Maxima?

Great review Alex. I think you have to admit that Subaru is still a good generation, maybe two, behind their closest peers in terms of industrial design. Look at the top air vents, the door trim design - it all early 2000s design conventions. Look at the New Camry and Accord, never mind what Europe gets with the brand new Mondeo and Passat - they all collectively make this Subaru look down market and borderline cheap.

Funny the Subie dissin your exclusive trunk comfort index.

Alex, how do you measure cabin noise? I test drove a Mazda Cx 5 which you gave a B+ and I felt there was very little difference between it and my 2016 Legacy Premium. I just ask because cabin noise ratings are one of the key things I look at. Keep up the good work. Thanks

Lol this is a great presentation

Does it have power for a period of time after shutting off the ignition? Mine does not, never has. I think the dealer may have disabled it when the made a modification for a security feature when starting the car.

Safety. Old, retiree people like me prefer front collision avoidance, lane wandering that Subaru offers. Can these be added via third party items to other cars?

Alex, links in video description are dead FYI

Hi Alex. I have the rear lid hinges on my 1er similar to this vehicle you reviewed here. I think all cars should have this vs the space intrusive hockey stick arms. Is this a manufacturing production consideration? Wondering your thoughts on this... Thanks!

Not sure if you're aware but there is a RU-vid subscriber by the name of TheR0ckin that is using your exact same video of this review on their channel.

@ 3:35 dodge doesn't even put an insert there to cover the hole on the Charger.

hmm..I'd like to see braking, handling, acceleration etc scores on roads with (light) snow. After all, you don't buy AWD in places it'll never snow (notwithstanding minor & mild off-roading).

Hi Alex, Thank you for posting the review ahead of schedule. Now I can have my weekly fix on Monday:) Would you please comment on how you measure the noise level. Do you always use the same strip of road? In your review of the RAV4 you measured 68db, and mentioned that it is not much different from the previous generation "mini-truck" RAV4. I happen to own one, and can tell that on concrete or other rough pavement, it is a racket. I can only imagine what 73db is like. But maybe you measured the RAV4 noise when on a smooth asphalt? 73db for the Legacy is especially interesting given the CR describe it as "very quiet" for its class. I also noticed that you didn't give the Legacy's front seats high scores. Your opinions of the seat comfort are often close to how I find them (e.g., I agree with you that Volvo's seats are among the most comfortable). Thanks, Evgueni

gas is cheap and I live in the mountains, this Suby AWD is great in all weather, I don't have to use my 4x4 truck much, this car is excellent all the way around, i have a 3.6r limited, love that power and comfort, I'll take it all day long at a 1.90 a gallon (premium)

Alex, I thought the legacy had hill assist to prevent you from rolling backwards. Does it really have a hill decent feature?

For my first car I'm thinking of the Legacy I would be the first person in my family to own a subaru it's weird that I can't find the v6 version in my area

Your Subaru Legacy review didn't mention your test-car's trim ( unless I missed it ). I'm curious to know if the Limited-trim car with it's 18" wheels would handle significantly better than the lower-trim cars that come with 17" wheels. I understand that the Limited model also has a slightly different ( softer ) suspension set-up compared to lower trims.

Do you think the 3.6r is a worth buy? Not sure if i should get it or just the 2.5

I was seriously considering this car in the 3.6 to be my next car...until I sat inside one at the NY Auto Show...just like sitting on a park bench...except less comfortable.

You don't need to trade low friction/high gas milage for increased oil consumption. Using the correct ring material and correct surface finish on the liners as well as correct oil viscosity and following a proper break-in will fix that...Unless Subaru cheaped out and used a larger clearance between the rings and the bore and then you could use something like 5W40 european spec like most WRX enthusiasts use.

Love Subies although I have never owned one. A friend of mine years ago in the 90's had a legacy with air suspension and turbo with that digital turbo gauge it was way ahead of it's time

you mention oil usage (burning)...can you expand on that? was it only a quart per 3k miles?

why don't you review Subaru Outback?

Alex, the Chrysler 200 is larger than the American NMS Volkswagen Passat? How can that be? We're u using Europe's B8 MQB Passat as a reference by mistake?

Accord don't offer AWD now even Acura requires another 10k to get AWD

Tell me he didn't say a Chrysler 200 was $29K 8 years ago?! They're worth maybe 1.5K now!!

Getting the Suby over the Passat is a no brainer if you are goong to keep the car more than 3 years. Vw are (still) terrible in the long term reliability dptment (please no hate).

I've heard that the overall quality and consistency of the Legacy and Outback models has dropped drastically with this new model....Lots of problems especially electronics and the gadgetry like eye sight. The price is good for an AWD model but I have my doubts about long term reliability. Instead of quality the car makers are stuffing the cars with gadgetry and skimping on quality hard parts. The car makers like to claim that many buyers want this stuff, but many do NOT, especially when asked which is more important when buying, lots of electronic crap, or quality hard parts for long term durability? One of the biggest problems on these two models is a defective windshield which is very susceptible to cracking from stress. There is a national backorder for replacement OEM windshields.

sonata and 200 had a kid

Alex, thanks for the review! Actually, I need to say Legacy has a much larger cabin than Chrysler 200. So, kind curious why 200 is larger than all mid-size sedan in your chart.

OEM Tires: 225-55R/17

outback please

Is this lockpockinglawyer?

Wondering if the infamous head gasket still plagues the current models!

I don't know. I don't feel this car for some reason. I'm leaning towards the Mazda6 or the Passat to replace my current ride.

You want a glass of water?

I like all the features and awd but im still not feeling the overall design

The oil consumption thing is interesting, and it represents another "story" that automotive journalism will drop the ball on. For years, people have whipped GM because they say burning 1 qt per 1000 miles is acceptable in the small blocks. Yet Consumer Reports has just come out with a big "story" about how certain BMW and Subaru engines burn a qt in as little as 750 miles. The average soccer mom owner of these cars isn't going to be able to handle that kind of maintenance (the BMW doesn't even have a dipstick to check!) so I assume they will be blowing up engines every 5k or so. But the REAL story is that the reason for this whole thing is Consumer Reports themselves! People buy cars based on their recommendations, so any car that doesn't have a dipstick or says it goes 20,000 miles between oil changes will sell more units. Manufacturers spec the maintenance with CR in mind. Want proof? Remember about 10 years ago when Dodge put an unlimited mileage warranty on the trucks. 300,000 miles, still under drivetrain warranty. Why did they do that? Because being able to advertise such a great warranty would sell more trucks and make more money that the warranty claims would cost on the back end. So BMW and Subaru use light tension rings and low viscosity synthetic oil for mileage reasons, knowing full well that the things will burn oil and eventually blow engines. I guarantee you they aren't very generous when it comes time for an warranty engine replace due to low oil level. But overall, it's CRs fault for promoting the idea of maintenance free cars, and encouraging people to buy them.

Once again...love your work. Why AWD in a daily driver sedan? I guess it is me, but how many people need AWD in the daily driver? I grew up in Chicago. We had RWD and once FWD came...99.9% of any slipping was addressed. How many folks drive on the loose gravel or up n down dirt hills and require AWD? This is no performer that requires that RWD. FWD is simply the better option. I just don't get the AWD as a plus. So...IF AWD is really unnecessary, wouldn't the built in quality of the Honda or Fords be easily better even on the low end cars? And the Mazda 6 would be the best bargain of all...at any level IF the engine was a 4.

34mpg on hwy

Passat 4motion?

Some people say that MirrorLink works but with few phones with old version of mirror link support. Check out this thread. www.subaruoutback.org/forums/138-gen-5-2015-present/175481-mirrorlink-works-fine-proof.html

Legacy limited is quieter

That thing got way too heavy.

Legacy : Passat 1:0

Ruined by CVT!

You are right. You keep repeating yourself. You say the same things over and over. It becomes tedious listening to you. This is typical of all your reviews