Our Legacy Outdoor Wagon was powered by a 2.2-liter, four-cylinder engine that moved us from 0 to 45 mph quickly. This hinted at the possibility of some truly responsive highway passing, but unfortunately that extra oomph never quite materialized.Going down expressway ramps, we tried merging across two lanes and experienced only slight acceleration. And at 60 mph in fourth gear, our driver had his foot to the floor. Responsiveness was much better in lower gears, though: We quickly darted around a stalled car while in second gear. Despite this wagon's lack of overall power, our drive was quiet and pleasing. The Legacy Outdoor Wagon's five-speed manual transmission shifted smooth and the four-wheel independent suspension provided a firm, sure ride. Our test vehicle came with an adjustable air suspension feature. We used it, along with the standard four-wheel drive, to successfully tackle snowy terrain. Our Legacy Outdoor Wagon was touted as a sporty vehicle, and its impressively small turning diameter gave proof to that claim. Our driver used just one finger to turn the vehicle in a relatively tight circle. Visibility on the whole was good, but because the passenger-side windshield wiper extended so far onto the driver's side, we think there could be problems due to streaking if the wipers ever got excessively dirty.
|