The Subaru Legacy Is Being Discontinued After 36 Years
Mark the demise of another sedan—America must have its SUVs. A long Legacy is all that’s left.
The 2025 Subaru Legacy will be the last of its line. After six generations, the U.S.-built sedan's run is coming to an end. After next year, all that it'll leave behind is, well—you get the idea.
The Legacy first dropped in 1989, but it's probably better known as "the non-off-roady Outback." The Outback of course came out later, in the mid-'90s, but feels more culturally significant today as the harbinger of the cladded and adventurous aesthetic that the whole car scene is currently steeped in.
The Legacy sedan was and is significant in its own right too, though. The early 1990s were a pivotal time for Subaru, and the original Legacy's quality was an important piece of the brand's establishment in our market. Four-wheel disc brakes and full-time all-wheel drive were not so commonplace in '89; the Legacy was an all-weather beast out of the gate, as it quickly proved on the rally stage.
As a quick sidebar, if you clicked on this story, you might enjoy a book called Where the Suckers Moon. It's about Subaru's ad campaigning in the early '90s, particularly the wacky ad agency that the automaker worked with. However, it does paint a picture of the chaotic corporate environment that the Legacy was launched in.
Cool versions of the U.S.-market Legacy were limited, but they did exist. The 2.5GT spec.B model with 250 horsepower and a giant hood scoop that lasted from 2006 to 2009 was particularly sweet—it was kind of like the light-luxe plus-sized WRX of its day. You're unlikely to get a deal on one today, though. They were rare when new, and like many modern-classic turbo cars, they have now mostly blown up—either in price, or as the result of a popped head gasket.
Later we got a model called the 3.6R, which was also mildly spicy. I'll be curious to see if anybody shares memories of owning or modding any of those in the comments.
Anyway, back to the present. The meat of Subaru's official announcement on the Legacy's conclusion reads as follows:
Since its debut, Legacy models sold in the U.S. have been assembled at Subaru of Indiana in Lafayette, Indiana. In total, the six generations of the Subaru Legacy have racked up over 1.3 million sales in the U.S. Though the Legacy is the longest-running Subaru model line, its discontinuation reflects market shifts from passenger cars to SUVs and crossovers and Subaru’s transition to electrified and fully electric vehicles.
All American-market Legacys (Legacies? Legaci?) were made at Subaru's facility in Indiana. The sedan was also built at the company's Yajima Plant in Gunma, Japan, but critically only through the previous sixth generation. The Legacy hasn't actually been sold in Subaru's home market since 2020, so when it leaves the U.S. after this year, it'll be leaving roads the world over, for good. That's right—a passenger car is being killed off in America last. How many times in modern automotive history has that happened?
In any case, Subaru's written it clear as day right there: another car dead at the hands of the insatiable American lust for SUVs. Pour one out for the four-door sedans, friends.
The base 2025 model-year Legacy will start at $24,895, which is the same as the 2024 model. Destination charges are $1,120 for this year so I'd expect the cheapest 2025 Legacy to be $26,000 and change. That model's got a 182-hp four-banger with a CVT and all-wheel drive. The nicest Subaru Legacy you can spec out for 2024 would be the Touring XT, which rings up at $39,315 with destination and delivery fees. That gets you a range of interior amenities, and most importantly a direct-injection turbo engine claiming 260 hp. There are five Legacy trims in total, which you can configure on Subie's site here if you're suddenly keen to buy one now that you know they're going off the market.
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