All the way back in 1972, Subaru debuted its all-wheel drive system on the Leone 4WD Estate Van. It was Japan’s first mass-produced AWD passenger car and now, half a century later, the brand is celebrating the 50th anniversary. That’s got us wondering what the coolest AWD Subaru of the last 50 years is.
Today, AWD models account for some 98 percent of Subaru’s global sales and in the past five decades, we’ve seen some incredibly iconic models come and go. Beyond the obvious WRXs and STIs, there have been notable wagons and SUVs like the Forester that took full advantage of Subaru’s potent symmetrical AWD system. Beyond those production cars are a number of historically significant race cars that deserve mention as well.
Would Subaru’s AWD system be where it is today without the remarkable success of Colin McRae in the 555 Impreza at the World Rally Championship? Would Subaru as a brand itself be where it’s at today? It’s tough to put a value on just how meaningful that success was.
Read More: Chris Harris Drives Colin McRae’s Championship-Winning 1995 Subaru Impreza 555
Then there are more recent cars like the car seen in Ken Block’s original Gymkhana viral video back in 2008. While it wasn’t as impactful as a race winner, it certainly demonstrated the capability of Subaru’s WRX STI to the masses. More than a decade later, Subaru and Gymkhana are still very closely related.
Of course, it’s hard to avoid giving big credit to the production cars that ultimately proved how reliable and practical AWD could be. That original Leone AWD Estate Van set a pattern and Subaru didn’t forget it. Cars like the Forester XT, the Legacy GT, and the XV Crosstrek all have cultish followings because of what they offer.
If I had to choose, it would be the very first WRX that made it to the shores of the United States. It offered cheap speed but with four doors it was also practical. It was, obviously, easily modifiable too. It appealed to a huge swath of the population. It also happens to be the platform that my wife used to autocross and daily drive for almost a decade.
