Goodbye Legacy – a past great’s run is ending

A Subaru staple since 1989 departs from the showroom in a matter of months and there’s no talk of a direct replacement.

ONCE the brand’s breadwinner, long an icon but latterly able to pick up just a few crumbs … the car that once drove Subaru’s fortunes in the showroom and in sport has been axed.

Subaru New Zealand has announced it is losing the Legacy, it’s longest-lived nameplate, with last orders effectively being taken from now on, though supply will not exhaust until early next year.

The medium-sized model, which has represented as a sedan since day one but also sold as a wagon until several years ago when pulled in favour of the Levorg, has put in more than 30 years service.

At its height, it was Subaru NZ’s top seller and even managed to be the country’s most popular sedan in respect to sales volume – though that claim relied on recognition of its high popularity as a used import.

However, those glory days were long ago – as the swing toward sports utilities and crossovers intensified, the Legacy has slowly but steadily fallen back into a supporting role, and by the end was barely earning its keep.

Ironically, the car within the Subaru family that has most eroded Legacy’s stature is one that started out as as derivative – that, of course, is the Outback, still easily recognised as being effectively a Legacy wagon on stilts as it shares a common platform, the same engines and styling direction 

While Subaru here has acknowledged that last year was lean – with just 64 registrations coming Legacy’s way  – it has failed to mention in a release confirming the car’s demise that this year is shaping to way worse.

According to registrations data accrued by Government, just two examples have found homes since January 1.

The Levorg wagon, spun off the Impreza family but with WRX genes as well, that was supposed to fill the Legacy wagon’s shoe has done little better; today Subaru basically sells entirely on its SUV strength: Forester is strongest, then Outback then XV.

It is possible Subaru NZ did not make this call about the timing of the car’s demise directly; it’s probable, in fact, that our neighbour having made the same call last week effectively killed the car in our market.

However, it was going to disappear by 2022 anyway, as Subaru Japan intended to end production of the current generation car next year. It has not indicated if a replacement model is likely.

Australia has had better sales with its model, called the Liberty (because Legacy is the name of its returned serves’ association) but still decided it was too marginal to continue with.

In supplied comment, Subaru NZ boss Wallis Dumper has indicated a model line Kiwis have known since 1989 is set for a fond farewell.

He reminded that the car landed with a big job to undertake - replacing the old but much-loved Leone.

New Zealanders were quick to embrace the Legacy however, and its popularity soared, especially as a used import in the 1990s, Dumper said.

That created an intriguing situation: “Whilst the Toyota Corolla was top of the new car sales overall, Legacy was New Zealand’s number one selling used vehicle thanks to the massive imports ratio.”

For the Auckland-based distributor, that used import swing was not a threat but an opportunity.

“We knew people loved the brand and the car,” Dumper said.

“Legacy developed a bulletproof reputation, so it was a natural progression to guide customers from a used Legacy to a new Subaru, as time went on.”

Legacy’s fame ignited with Scottish driving legend Colin McRae at the wheel when he scored the Subaru team’s first-ever World Rally Championship round win here at the Rally of New Zealand in 1993.

“Whilst most Kiwis probably associate Subaru’s historic WRX model as being synonymous with winning rally championships, the reality is that Colin’s success in the Legacy then inspired Subaru to enter the WRX and become world champions three-times over in 1995, 2001, and 2003,” Mr Dumper says.

New Zealanders also did their bit to elevate the model’s ststus through rallying success.

“Legacy also starred on a national level in the New Zealand Rally Championship, with legends like the late Possum Bourne and multiple championship winner Joe McAndrew scoring their victories in this Subaru model,” Mr Dumper adds.

Legacy wasn’t just a success on gravel, and it has racked up a long list of awards, though it evaded the top prize – the national car of the year award, as determined by the New Zealand Motoring Writers’ Guild annually since 1989. Subaru finally got its name on that board with the latest Forester.

However, the various magazine prized it did achieve were enough to distinguished Legacy from the medium market pack, Sumper says.

Nonetheless, even though the car stood out because of its all-wheel-drive, it could not stave off the SUV trend. That 64 sold new here last year, compared to Outback’s sales of 1322 in the same period, said so much.

Over the generations, around 4000 New Zealand-new Legacys have been sold to Kiwi drivers.

Mr Dumper says: “No one can take away the credibility Legacy built for itself. Stable and sure-footed on the worst back country roads that New Zealand could throw at it and safe and reassuring on the wettest, slipperiest city intersection - Legacy has created its own legacy.”

“Subaru’s ‘Confidence in Motion’ catch phrase arose primarily from everyday Legacy drivers’ feedback to Japan’s engineers when they visited New Zealand in the early 2000s to learn why the brand was so readily accepted in Aotearoa.”

Dumper is hoping customers who still prefer a sedan will consider the current Impreza or even the WRX – though that car is but a short-term option, as it is also for the chop next year.

Meantime, a new Outback is also coming in 2021.