The best way to get to the very heart of the new Legacy 3.0R spec.B is to drive it back to back with its mad little brother, the Impreza WRX Sti. In the latter, you'll emerge with all the symptoms of automotive adrenalin overload, a heartbeat off the scale and ears ringing from the pummelling they've had from that flat-six's thrashy roar. It's a raw and totally inspiring experience.

Hop into the Legacy 3.0R spec.B immediately afterward, and you'll find much more of the Impreza experience has been engineered into it. The most important advance here is that the hottest Legacy is, for the first time, available with a six-speed manual gearbox as well as an automatic. This close-ratio unit allows a keen driver to wrest every last ounce of performance from the 3.0-litre, 245bhp flat-six boxer engine. Maximum torque of 219lb ft is generated at a relatively high 4200rpm - this is an engine that thrives on revs, giving an even sharper focus to its sporting aspirations.

The result is a car that'll reach 60mph in just 6.5secs and stomp on to a top speed of 151mph. That's in saloon guise, but the estate isn't significantly slower. As we've already hinted, though, the 3.0R spec.B just feels so much more engaging. The Legacy has always been a competent performer, but with the addition of a front suspension more closely modelled on that of the WRX Sti, the spec.B's tyres stay in even better contact with the road during high-speed cornering, especially over rough roads. Hence, steering feel and overall grip are improved. Even better, the power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering has a damper valve which reduces kick-back through the steering during hard cornering over bumpy surfaces. High performance Bilstein dampers are fitted, as are larger (and very good looking) 18-inch wheels.



The Legacy's four-wheel drive system feeds the torque to the axle with the most grip if the car begins to slide. There's a limited-slip differential on the rear axle, which allows torque to be shared between the rear wheels. The aim here is to give sharper turn in and more throttle adjustable handling, and in the main, it works.

So is the Legacy 3.0R spec.B just a bigger Impreza? Absolutely not. Subaru has been careful to make sure that the Legacy is a more refined, less raw experience than its rally-bred sibling. Sure, the six-speed manual is a neat, close-ratio unit, but it also has longer throws than the Impreza box upon which it is based. Clutch and gearchange functions feel lighter in the Legacy, and engineers have worked to invest the driveline with far less NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) than its hard-core little brother. There is even stall-resistant software for the clutch to ensure getaways are as smooth as possible.

This is, though, a fast car by any measure. Its four-wheel-drive chassis is hugely competent in adverse conditions, the steering is accurate and the power can be put down very early in the corner. You can even induce a little power-on oversteer to sharpen up the cornering line.


Specced-out flagship gets all the mod-cons

Then you climb back into the WRX Sti and things become even clearer. It's like the anaesthetic has worn off. Every sensory input is that much more intimate, every control input feeds back that much more gritty information about what's going on at the control surfaces. For many, this'll be too much information, an exhausting, if exhilarating, sensory overload. So the Legacy is for them, the grown-ups who still want a flavour-some dash of WRX, but who can do without the NVH compromises and the booming savageness of the performance.

The Legacy 3.0R spec.B costs £26,000 for the saloon and £1000 more for the estate. For that, you get an equipment list that'll give Subaru salesmen nothing to add. It includes sat-nav, climate control air-conditioning, leather upholstery, an enormous sunroof, heated-seats and a six-CD stacker.

Subaru happily admits that it is going after premium German brands such as BMW and Audi with the spec.B. It'll certainly massively undercut them, especially once you add up the options bill. And we think the Legacy looks terrific in estate guise, especially with aluminium-effect sill garnish and roof rails. It's a real Q-car, even if it does have a silly name.