"B" as in "Bitchin'!
Subaru are highly favoured by two types of buyers in particular: those that live in the North and those that participate frequently in motorsports. If you have ever been in a snowy area with a Subaru, you can really appreciate Subaru's acclaimed Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system.
One of my fondest memories at the wheel of a Subaru was during the course of the 2005-06 winter where one morning, I opened the garage door to find that over 40 cm of snow had fallen overnight. My Blizzak WS-50 equipped WRX, the wife and I casually trekked on to work without incident (except for driving around those 2WD vehicles with 4-season tires...). That morning cemented my love and admiration for AWD.
A Legacy
The Legacy can to us as a midsize family car in the late 80s. On the outside, it was plain and could certainly have passed for any other Japanese car. But, it was different in the sense that it was available with AWD and sported a horizontally-opposed 4-cylinder engine. Those that had already caught the Subaru bug were happy to be able to upgrade from their Loyale to something larger and plusher.
Turbocharging was popular back then and a very short while after the covers were lifted off the Legacy, a Turbo version was introduced. Subaru dropped forced induction for North America during the latter part of the 90s only to return in force in 2001 with the 2002 Impreza WRX. The response from Subaru fans was mind-blowing. They were essentially saying: bring back the almighty turbo! Subaru acquiesced.
The latest addition to Subaru growing line of performance AWD cars is the Legacy 2.5GT Spec.B. This might seem like many words for a single car's name but the Spec.B is a lot of car. Essentially, the Spec.B starts off as a regular 2.5GT and is then given the once over. Under the bonnet is the same turbocharged 2.5L flat-4 as the GT which bear 243 hp and 241 lb/ft of torque. Where the mechanicals really differ is between the AWD system and the engine as well as with what keeps the wheels in contact with the tarmac.
Subaru are highly favoured by two types of buyers in particular: those that live in the North and those that participate frequently in motorsports. If you have ever been in a snowy area with a Subaru, you can really appreciate Subaru's acclaimed Symmetrical All-Wheel-Drive system.
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| A Subaru in its element. |
One of my fondest memories at the wheel of a Subaru was during the course of the 2005-06 winter where one morning, I opened the garage door to find that over 40 cm of snow had fallen overnight. My Blizzak WS-50 equipped WRX, the wife and I casually trekked on to work without incident (except for driving around those 2WD vehicles with 4-season tires...). That morning cemented my love and admiration for AWD.
A Legacy
The Legacy can to us as a midsize family car in the late 80s. On the outside, it was plain and could certainly have passed for any other Japanese car. But, it was different in the sense that it was available with AWD and sported a horizontally-opposed 4-cylinder engine. Those that had already caught the Subaru bug were happy to be able to upgrade from their Loyale to something larger and plusher.
Turbocharging was popular back then and a very short while after the covers were lifted off the Legacy, a Turbo version was introduced. Subaru dropped forced induction for North America during the latter part of the 90s only to return in force in 2001 with the 2002 Impreza WRX. The response from Subaru fans was mind-blowing. They were essentially saying: bring back the almighty turbo! Subaru acquiesced.
The latest addition to Subaru growing line of performance AWD cars is the Legacy 2.5GT Spec.B. This might seem like many words for a single car's name but the Spec.B is a lot of car. Essentially, the Spec.B starts off as a regular 2.5GT and is then given the once over. Under the bonnet is the same turbocharged 2.5L flat-4 as the GT which bear 243 hp and 241 lb/ft of torque. Where the mechanicals really differ is between the AWD system and the engine as well as with what keeps the wheels in contact with the tarmac.
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| This turbocharged boxer engine offers plenty of oomph. |