EPA rates new CVT-equipped Subaru Legacy at 23 mpg city, 31 mpg highway
2010 Subaru Legacy – Click above for high-res image gallery
The EPA has finished its work on the new 2010 Subaru Legacy and, in spite of growing in size, the mid-sized sedan now sports better fuel economy numbers. In its efforts to capture a unique niche of the car market, Subaru still makes all-wheel-drive standard on all its U.S.-market cars. Nonetheless, the Legacy, equipped with a 2.5-liter flat-4 engine and Subaru's new continuously variable transmission, scores 23 mpg in the city and 31 mpg on the highway. The best numbers for the 2009 model were 20/27 mpg for the sedan with a 5-speed manual transmission. The top end 6-cylinder Legacy also improved from 17/24 mpg to 18/25 mpg in spite of the engine growing from 3.0-liter to 3.6-liters. The mid-level turbocharged Legacy GT is unchanged at 18/25 mpg, while the base four cylinder with a 6-speed manual gearbox actually dropped 1 mpg from 20 to 19 mpg in the city. The highway mileage for the base manual car stayed at 27 mpg.
Gallery: 2010 Subaru Legacy
[Source: Subaru]
Subaru of America, Inc. Announces EPA figures for 2010 Legacy
CHERRY HILL, N.J.
- Subaru Legacy Sedan achieves 31mpg Hwy -
- Best MPG figures for mid-size AWD in U.S. Market -
- Better economy than many front-wheel drive competitors -
CHERRY HILL, N.J., June 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Subaru of America today announced the EPA fuel economy results for 2010MY Legacy. The 2010 All-Wheel Drive Legacy achieves up to 26 mpg combined and 31 mpg highway, despite having grown in size in almost every dimension.
Specifically, the Legacy 2.5i CVT now exhibits better fuel economy (EPA combined) than such Front-Wheel competitors such as Honda Accord, Mazda6i, VW Passat and Hyundai Sonata. Furthermore, the new Legacy is now the highest rated midsize AWD sedan (EPA combined) in the U.S. market for 2010MY.
Tim Mahoney, senior vice president and CMO of Subaru of America said, "We are thrilled that the all-new 2010 Legacy not only offers more space and a more rewarding drive than the competition, but it also delivers better fuel economy at a very competitive price."
The Subaru Legacy comes with Subaru's legendary Boxer engine, Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, quick-ratio steering and a new double-wishbone suspension system. The 2010 Legacy has an entry-level price of $19,995 (excl. delivery) and will provide an alternative for customers looking for more from the mid-sized sedan segment.
2010MY EPA Fuel Economy Ratings
Legacy 2.5i 6MT 19 mpg city / 22 mpg combined / 27 mpg hwy
Legacy 2.5i CVT 23 mpg city / 26 mpg combined / 31 mpg hwy
Legacy 2.5GT 6MT 18 mpg city / 21 mpg combined / 25 mpg hwy
Legacy 3.6R 5AT 18 mpg city / 21 mpg combined / 25 mpg hwy
About Subaru of America, Inc.
Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of nearly 600 dealers across the United States. Subaru boasts the most fuel-efficient line-up of all-wheel drive products sold in the market today based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy standards. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. For additional information visit www.subaru.com.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kumar 4:44PM (6/19/2009)
Good to hear for Subaru's sake. Hopefully it's not a 'stepped' CVT, where shift points are emulated to drivers feel like there's a shift instead of a constant acceleration. If it is, hopefully you can disable it with a flick of a switch.
If I go with another Outback, I'll take the 6 speed manual though, but my friend would probably go for the CVT. His (and his wife's) biggest complaint was that the shift points were too close to neighborhood speed limited, so the automatic would go crazy while driving in their neighborhood.
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Dave 8:52PM (6/19/2009)
In "auto" mode it is infinitely variable, but also has a "manual" mode with paddles so you can "shift" if you want.
jeffzekas 12:09AM (6/20/2009)
What Subaru REALLY needs is a USA-certified, DIESEL version of this car!
Come on, Fuji! NO MODERN CAR should get less than 25 miles per gallon in city driving!!!
As soon as Subaru brings in the diesel, then, and only then, shall I buy another Subie... after all, don't we all remember $4 per gallon gasoline?
It will happen again, and we need new ideas, new vehicles, new alternatives... How about a multi-fuel Subie, which can run regular petrol, along with LPG, ethanol, and Natural gas?!!
Noz 6:10PM (6/19/2009)
Those are ABYSMAL economy ratings for a 2010 vehicle. Shame on Subaru for that.
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MikeW 7:22PM (6/19/2009)
The 5 speed auto should be replaced with the 7 speed auto.
The gearing of the 6 speed stick is probably too short.
The car became larger, heavier, and the CdA is probably unchanged.
Subaru's engines aren't particularly advanced. Direct injection where are you?
I'd like to see a small boxing 6 replace the 2.5 engine. Scale up the 1.5 liter boxing 4 engine. Subaru used to offer a 2.2 liter boxing 4 as the economy engine.
Dave 8:52PM (6/19/2009)
Yep, would be nice to see smaller, high compression, direct injection turbo charged power plants rather than the direction they've been going with larger power plants everywhere.
Granted, when they've upsized the engines they've managed to maintain or even slightly improve fuel economy but look at what Ford is doing with their EcoBoost engines...
SumideXE 6:28PM (6/19/2009)
For an all-wheel drive 2.5 this is actually very impressive. AWD sucks a lot of power out of a motor, even worse than RWD, i believe.
I was interested in these at one time but the 27mpg hwy factor really turned me off.
I am a manual trans driver but the CVT is appealing. I'm sure it drives funny but if it's more efficient than a manual transmission, i'm game :)
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MikeW 7:33PM (6/19/2009)
One key point, it doesn't have four wheel drive.
Dave 8:52PM (6/19/2009)
@MikeW - Huh? All Subarus have AWD (though not 4WD as you say). Not sure if you're confusing the two or not?
@SumideXE - Yes - Subaru really needs to work harder on improving fuel economy. The Legacy CVT is their first car which has exceeded 30mpg on the highway in a LONG time (maybe ever if you consider the new testing standards?).
They've managed to do well in the past year with the latest Impreza, but once gas gets expensive again, people will look at the Ford Fusion 4cyl with 34mpg hwy and the Fusion hybrid with 39mpg combined and go "whoa".
At least they will be selling the Stella EV in Japan next month - now hopefully they can cut the price in half and start selling a small EV in the US soon.
MikeW 9:24PM (6/19/2009)
AWD is a marketing term. I will never use it-it is meaningless.
Pickup trucks, for the most part-like 99%, have off-road drive. That is where you coupled the rear drive shaft to the front drive shaft [no center differential, or center differential locked]. It is not meant for use on pavement. That is why pickups are usually the first ones to be in the ditch.
Subaru has a 50/50 split, bevel gear center differential with the 6 speed stick (with a viscous coupling clutch for torque biasing)
They also have a 45/55 planetary center differential with the 5 speed auto (with computer regulated clutch pack lockup)
and not in the new Legacy yet, is a 41/59 planetary center differential [newest version of subaru's 'DCCD', older one was 35/65] with a computer controlled lockup clutch.
win39 7:06PM (6/19/2009)
I wonder if the CVT is strong enough for the diesel. That might be an ideal combination, especially in the Impreza.
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Eugenian 9:46PM (6/19/2009)
My 1997 Legacy gets within 1 mpg of that.
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Bill 11:53AM (6/20/2009)
Ditto.
If they skip the diesel, no new Subies for me.
Zulualfa 4:53PM (8/17/2009)
Love my '09 Forester for its spaciousness. Car really moves with the stick, but got the 5M because all reports the 4A was limp with the little 2.5.
Worst manual I have ever had and have had many of them.
Have had pickup trucks with five on the floor for years, all much smoother than the Subie 5M
Am looking at the CVT, but after reading technical reports, not too sure now.
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