About 15 years ago, Japanese automakers Subaru and Mitsubishi were in similar positions. Both were struggling small manufacturers going head to head with names like Toyota, Honda and Nissan, but with much smaller and lesser known products. Exactly how these two car companies made their decisions is a story for another time, but the short version is that Mitsubishi more or less doubled down on the try-to-out-Toyota-Toyota bet, while Subaru decided to make a niche for itself by equipping everything it builds with all-wheel drive.
A quick glance at sales charts shows that Subaru made the right call, and after a week behind the wheel of the 2012 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited–its flagship sedan–it’s not hard to see why. Imagine all the outright competence of a Toyota Camry, the luxury of a Lexus, and the all-weather, all-wheel drive sure-footedness of, well, a Subaru. That’s the 2012 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited, a car so overwhelmingly sound it made our reviewer, Jason Davis, wonder whether the Legacy was more Camry than Camry.
But even though the Legacy is a vastly improved vehicle, it’s not all roses. For the full story, you’ll have to hop over to the review.
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