Subaru Legacy concept (2013) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew

First Official Pictures

15 November 2013 16:45

This is the new Subaru Legacy concept car, which will be displayed at the Los Angeles motor show later in November 2013. Usually, we’re pretty wary of styling concepts, given how much poetic license they allow designers, before their sexy, swooping designs are diluted to meet crash and aerodynamic benchmarks.

This Legacy’s design theme is its trademark ‘Symmetrical All-wheel drive’ system. So, the bold wheelarches and butch stance are supposed to end an air of well-planted stability, emphasised by the swooping coupe-like roofline that does absolutely nothing for rear headroom. Like the Subaru WRX concept seen at the 2013 Geneva motor show, the Legacy concept is actually a four-door, posing as a Mercedes CLS/BMW Gran Coupe-style coupe-cum-saloon.

The prominent hexagonal front grille and angular LED front and rear light units are headed for the next generation of production Subarus. Do you like the styling cues – and is it enough to drag Subaru out of its post-WRC doldrums? Add your thoughts in the comments below.

Good question. Subaru has made some big claims about the bells-and-whistles-festooned  interior, said to be inspired by smartphone design, with the ‘sporty, driver focused layout’ picked out with brown leather and blue accents. However, the marque hasn’t yet released any images of the interior, in sketch or photograph form. Given that the cabin design was one of the major causes for concern in our recent Outback and Forester drives, Subaru needs to nail the design brief for this crucial new concept.

Unsurprisingly, the concept model will have all-wheel drive, a horizontally-opposed boxer engine, and the brand’s ‘EyeSight’ hazard monitoring system which alerts the driver to obstacles or pedestrians in the roadway. However, there’s no word on when we’ll see a production version of the stocky ‘Scooby’ Legacy concept – or if UK buyers will even get a chance to put a deposit on one.

Over to you, commenters: should Subaru be bringing the new Legacy to the UK? Or does this concept not go far enough to reverse the brand’s decline to anonymity? After the somewhat vitriolic reader response received by the Outback in CAR’s recent review, we look forward to your comments.

By Ollie Kew