Subaru Says Goodbye To The All-New Legacy In Australia - Will The US Be Next?

After a long run of 31 years, Subaru decided to drop the Legacy (Liberty) mid-size sedan in Australia. The Japanese automaker cites slow sales for the past two years as the reason. It's no surprise the Forester, Outback, and Crosstrek (XV) are selling well. The Legacy could only muster a combined total of 2,441 models delivered to customers, compared to Outback's sales of 13,844.

Subaru Australia will now push the 2021 Impreza to customers wanting a sedan. The automaker says, "We remind them that the current generation Impreza closely mimics the physical size of third-generation Liberty sedan and, of course, offers the same symmetrical all-wheel drive attributes." The Impreza compact sedan and hatchback also offers improve fuel-efficiency.

Will Subaru discontinue the Legacy in North America?

Subaru of America (SOA) sold 35,063 Subaru Legacy sedans last year, and the car dropped 27.7 percent to 17,211 moved off retailers' lots through August 2020. But all nameplates are down this year due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, except for the hot Forester. At the current pace, SOA will still deliver around 26,000 Legacy models to customers in 2020.

The 2021 Subaru Legacy and Outback are joined at the hip, sharing the same powertrain and chassis and made at the Subaru plant in Lafayette, Indiana. It shares two identical engines, the 2.5-liter Boxer four-cylinder normally-aspirated engine, and the new 2.4-liter turbocharged direct-injection engine.

Not everyone needs a bigger SUV. If you don't have a family to haul around or use your vehicle for weekend adventures, you don't need that extra space. A sedan's advantage over the stablemate Outback is that it is lighter, more aerodynamic, and offers better performance than the equally energetic Outback.

Ride quality for four passengers will be better than the higher-riding SUV. For 2020 Legacy's stiffened platform and strengthened suspension lowers the center of gravity, providing more responsive steering and handling and a smoother, quieter ride.

The 2021 Subaru Legacy is the only sedan in North America that offers all-wheel-drive as standard equipment. Even though the shift around the globe is to SUVs and crossover models, not everyone wants one. The sedan provides better fuel mileage (27/35 city/highway and 30 combined mpg) than an SUV and is still an attractive choice for many consumers in North America. Subaru of America won't be dropping the sedan anytime soon.

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Denis Flierl has invested over 30 years in the automotive industry in a consulting role working with every major car brand. He is an accredited member of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press and the founder of Subaru Report where he covers all of the Japanese automaker's models. More stories can be found on the Torque News Subaru page. Follow Denis on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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