Outback or Legacy Wagon ?

If one style doesn't thrill you one way or the other, and the options included with the Outback aren't must-haves ya, enjoy better handling the Legacy brings (by virtue of the lower stance and different tires) and the extra few thousand in your bank account.

Personally, I got the Outback because I felt the base Legacy looked rather dowdy. The Outback styling almost makes me able to look beyond the fact I'm a single man driving a station wagon. :-)

Best Regards,

-- Todd H.

For better handling get the Legacy.

For ground clearance and safety get the Outback. It is nice to know that you can go over a curb in case of an emergency without mayor damage. The 95 Legacy SW's bumpers where lower than almost any other car, thus when she hit the car in front of hers in an accident, that car ended ON her hood.

We replaced the totaled car with an 03 Outback. I miss the handling of the L.

If I were planning on doing some camping, I would go with the Outback.

Good luck!

TM

Robert Meushaw wrote:

I had a '95 Legacy wagon and then bought a '97 Outback wagon, so I had both at the same time. I liked the OBW because added ground clearance made it a bit easier for me to get my old body in and out of the car :-) My wife drive the '95 Legacy until sold it last year. Other than the styling and the different entry heights, I found both cars to be very similar. If I was young and flexible and did not care about the styling of the OBW, I would most definitely get the less expensive Legacy wagon.

Are your camping trips likely to take you off road, or just on the normal unpaved roads in the National Park and National Forest areas around Denver and the Rockies? If you are not going off road, then I don't see the lower ground clearance of the Legacy as an issue.

-- Vic Roberts

I bought a Legacy L Special Edition wagon over an Outback. For $1k less than the base Outback, you get:

- Dual moonroofs

- Better handling

- Monochrome color (my preference, I don't like the two tone)

I go camping A LOT here in Northern California, car camping and backpacking... there is only one time it would have been nice to have an Outback to get further in the backcountry to start a hike on a bad road.

It's not worth it, though... the joy of the Legacy's handling on mountain roads far outweighs the clearance, in my opinion. I, personally, think the Legacy looks better (though only in certain colors... seamist green and dark blue... and the black GT, IMO, all look better than any outback).

For camping, there's another factor - the higher interior height of the rear portion of the Outback (due to the stepped roof) is nice if you are sleeping INSIDE the car - which I frequently do on long road-trips.

John

We bought our '99 Outback 5 spd after the '00 were on the lot. We like the extra headroom in the Outback. My wife thinks it looks sporty. I am not too keen on the hood scoop. Then again I drive a Taurus company car - a of jelly bean shaped mundane mobile. HA! So it was the "stepped roof" that got us going on the Outback.

We have a 2003 Outback, and our brother and sister in law have a 1995 Legacy. They say that they hear more road noise in their Legacy than they do when riding in our Outback. I've never ridden in their car to verify this, but if it is true, it could be due to the lower ground clearance. (although I think the difference is only an inch or so)

I'd suspect it's more to do with the improvements of the MY2000 redesign of the Legacy platform than a couple inches of ground clearance. Tire selection makes a big difference too.

-- Todd H.

I don't think there's a difference anymore. My Legacy wagon has the same stepped up roof. Or maybe I'm not understanding?

Prior to 2000, there was a difference. There isn't anymore.