This is our first view at the next generation Subaru Legacy, and in particular, one of the three available derivatives, the Outback, which is essentially a Legacy Wagon (not offered in the States) with a jacked up suspension and rugged, SUV-style body cladding. The other model is of course, the Legacy sedan.
If Subaru keeps its five-year product cycle, then we should see all three body styles of the 6th generation Legacy introduced in 2014 and go on sale as 2015MYs (in North America) by the middle of the year.
While still heavily covered in camouflage, these pictures suggest that Subaru won’t stray too far away from its familiar shapes, though, we do see some changes in the form of the addition of the split front windows, the repositioning of the mirrors to the doors and a completely different front end.
Our spies also caught a peek of the redesigned interior where we spotted the brand new instrument cluster with two separate binnacles for the main gauges, and a thick-rimmed steering wheel with aluminum-style paddle shifters.
We’re told by our man with the long lens that this particular Outback was seen testing alongside an Audi Allroad and a Toyota Rav4.
We don’t know anything specific yet about the Legacy and the Outback’s engine range, but we’re guessing that the base 173hp 2.5-liter flat four that was only just introduced last year will make its appearance again on the base model. The future of the 256hp 3.6-liter flat-six, may be in jeopardy, though, as Subaru may very well replace it with its new 2.0-liter turbocharged flat-four found on the Forester where it makes 250hp and the JDM Legacy where it produces 296hp. Needless to say, four-wheel drive will come as standard.
Whether Subaru will also go ahead and introduce a production version of its still conceptual hybrid powerplant that was previewed with a 2.0-liter turbo diesel on the Viziv concept (it can be combined with a gasoline engine as well), remains to be seen.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
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