Subaru Streamlines Outback, Legacy for 2008

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There’s no more confusion for Subaru wagon or sedan shoppers. For 2008, Subaru has trimmed its lineup so the Outback is sold only as a wagon and the Legacy only as a sedan. The move should clear up potential confusion for anyone unfamiliar with Subaru’s lineup, which has included sedan and wagon variants of both cars since 2000.

Consider the complications: When fellow staffer David Thomas blogged his experience cross-shopping the Outback with its competitors, one reader asked why he didn’t consider a Legacy wagon. Had this been last year, he just might have – the Outback wagon shares the Legacy’s gene pool, and you’ll have a hard time picking an Outback sedan from a Legacy four-door. The similarly named Outback Sport, meanwhile, is something entirely different. Confused yet?

Things should clear up from here on out. Subaru says the move to streamline both models made sense from a differentiation standpoint, and we couldn’t agree more. Now to do something about the Outback Sport; Subaru says a new one will arrive soon, sharing a platform with the redesigned 2008 Impreza. We don’t know why it’s called an Outback, either.

Source: Subaru

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Whaa?

Jul 13, 2007 4:06:01 PM

I can't even understand the article. I guess that means Subaru really needs to get it straight.

Jul 13, 2007 9:11:53 PM

How hard is it to understand?
Legacy is a car/wagon
Outback is a higher road clearance car/wagon(A.K.A. Crossover)
For people who love the Legacy Wagon, Canada still offers them in 2008. (Especially the Turbocharged ones are just like a wolf in a sheep's skin)

Jul 14, 2007 9:26:23 AM

Yeah...cull it down.

andrew

Jul 15, 2007 6:56:19 PM

We own a 2005 Legacy GT wagon with a manual and absolutely love it. We were sad to see the manual go away that car in 2006/2007 Legacy Wagon. And the final kick in the pants was dropping the wagon.

Chris

Jul 16, 2007 6:58:48 AM

We also own a 2005 Legacy GT Wagon and it fits our young families needs perfectly. 25 MPG+ on the highway with great utility and it's fun to drive.
The vehicle design, value and the available manual transmission brought us to Subaru for the first time. We are disappointed to see the combination no longer available.