Station wagons may have gone out of fashion in North America, but many other places are still infatuated with them. If the Japanese internet is to be believed, Japan’s fairly recent but still enduring love affair with the station wagon started with this Subaru. Talk about a legacy!
Of course, both domestic and imported station wagons had been present in Japan before the Subaru Legacy was launched in January 1989. But as regards the domestic ones, there was a key difference: the overwhelming majority of them were sold under the “van” appellation. They were seen mainly as working vehicles – even the higher end 6-cyl. ones like the Nissan Gloria and Toyota Crown. Then the Legacy wagon happened, and things started to change.
Of course, Subaru were well-known for their long-standing quirks by the time the Legacy took over from the Leone. These included boxer engines, frameless doors, AWD and, well, wagons. So what was so new about the Legacy that it caused a minor revolution within the JDM? Simple: they ditched the vans.
Previous Subaru wagons were marketed as vans in Japan, but the Legacy was the first long-roof to be deliberately and exclusively aimed at families and individuals who could use a little more room in the back of their saloon – and a lot more creature comforts than what the blue-collar vans used to provide. It was, after all, 1989. The economy was booming and luxury wagons bearing Volvo, BMW or Mercedes-Benz emblems were doing great business in Japan, so it was perhaps only a matter of time until a domestic carmaker decided to take the hint.
The big differences between nearly all imported wagons and this Subaru at the time would have been price and accessibility. The market for imported cars was (and still remains) rather limited here, especially outside larger cities like Tokyo or Osaka, whereas Subarus were available throughout the country for a pretty competitive price.
Our feature car is one of the more affordable Legacy Touring Wagons. The Mi Super Select was a 1993-only model based on the low-end Mi trim. This meant it had the reasonably sober 110hp 1.8 litre flat-4 and cost ¥1.8m when new – the bubble economy had burst by this time, so lower trim cars were in demand. But you could still splash out on a 2.2 litre Brighton with air suspension for ¥2.6m if you could swing it.
Subaru Legacy Touring Wagon 1989 brochure excerpt
The very fact that Subaru pushed the displacement over the 2-litre mark is significant in itself. Subaru figured that they could transgress this tax-based barrier with the Legacy once they saw that they had a hit on their hands, but that took a little while: though export models got the bigger flat-4 from the get-go, the JDM had to wait until mid-1992 – i.e. just over a year before the second generation car was launched – for that particular honour. But the turbo 2-litre was available from launch, as can be seen above.
The interior is just like the exterior – well-designed, but altogether pretty bland. That was most likely why it succeeded. It was already pretty ballsy to call this car “Touring Wagon” and forego the usual van derivative, to say nothing of the typically Subaru drivetrain and engine, so playing it safe with the styling was a wise move.
The first generation Legacy was a milestone in Subaru’s history also because it pretty much saved the company’s bacon. The ‘80s were tough on Fuji Heavy Industries and things were starting to look quite grim before the Legacy’s success righted the ship, pretty much in the nick of time. And yet for reasons I’m not entirely clear on, they have all but disappeared from traffic a mere 30 years on. I don’t think I’ve even seen a saloon, and this is the first wagon I’ve had the chance to document in four years of CC hunting in Japan.
But then old Subarus are pretty rare in general here, no matter the body style or the model. Even higher-res sales literature is very hard to come by on the web, despite a pretty thorough online trawl by yours truly. There are a few articles and most probably a club, but compared to other 2-litre wagons of that era, be they the Toyota Mark II, the Honda Accord or even the Mazda Capella, there really isn’t much out there at all, which seems to mirror the Subaru’s scarcity in the streets. Is the first-gen Legacy wagon slowly slipping into the junkyard of history? Yes, in its home country, it kind of is. But not so on CC!
Related posts:
Curbside Classic: 1990-94 Subaru Legacy – The First Generation, by Ian A Williams
CC Capsule: 1993 Subaru Legacy – Where Have I Seen That Kick-Up Before?, by Jim Grey
CC Outtake: 1991 Subaru Legacy – Crawling Back Up From Rock Bottom, In AWD, by PN
Curbside Outtake: Subaru Legacy With Backpack, by PN
COAL: My Very First Car, a 1991 Subaru Legacy – Who Needs An Oil Change Anyway?, by Johnli
COAL № 16: Subaru Wagons – Practical And Bland, But A Little Different, by Dion
I like that the “Brighton” was an upper level trim…in the successor style, there was a “Brighton” trim level in the US, however it was the ultra value trim with everything stripped out, even the gauge cluster – same layout with two big dials and two small ones, but the big dial where the tach would go was just a blank circle with the name Subaru in the middle of it, very jarring for a Japanese car and the closest they ever got to a GM Dashboard of Sadness. And I’ve been to Brighton in the UK, it’s not very fancy either…
These are pretty rare hereabouts as well with the sedan even more so nowadays. They did get worked hard and could rack up some impressive mileages. The 2.2 was quite underpowered as I recall it was a pretty heavy car, the one I had as a rental for a week in around 1993 was very “deliberate” as far as performance went, but it impressed with its solidity and overall quality feel.
“…was very “deliberate” as far as performance went, but it impressed with its solidity and overall quality feel.”
The kind of things people say about Mercedes 300E, Volvo 240, and other elite company. I think that is EXACTLY what Subaru advertised early Legacies as here in the US. Sounds like it hit the mark.
I almost bought a Brighton wagon as a used car around 1997. I can confirm it was a stripped down model. I had some awareness of head gasket issues and didn’t like the frameless windows, but the AWD was interesting given living in Michigan.
I ended up buying a 95 Volvo 855 GLT (non-turbo) that I still have, with about 250000 miles on it. It’s been a good car for me, I do keep up with maintenance especially oil changes and timing belts, of course. I got a set of winter tires and it is great in the snow, except for deep snow given it’s low ride height. Fun fact, I bought a oil pan guard and the dealer only had installed it on the Michigan State Police S70 they got for testing.
I thought the 855 felt much sturdier than the Subaru, and of course the seats are excellent even now.
If Subaru had introduced the Legacy wagon 5 or 6 years earlier, it would have been cutting-edge styling. In 1989, it appeared conservatively-designed, compared to the best-selling Taurus/Sable wagon. And subsequent design updates through 2003, remained too cautious. Partially, why I’ve considered them uninteresting, and off my radar for years.
Toyota could get away with bland, because of their great reputations for quality and reliability.
Subaru apparently played the long game here, The Legacy (Outback) wagon still exists and is doing better than ever. The Taurus/Sable not so much. But in 1989 the Legacy was (to my eyes anyway) a more advanced shape than the 1989 Camry, you’d have to wait for 1992 for that to change. Best-selling doesn’t always mean “better”.
Quite honestly, I think a 1986 Taurus wagon is more attractive, and more cleanly-styled, than any generation of Legacy.
I really, really appreciate clean design. Not gimmicky.
First two generation Legacy wagons, were too bland. My fear, is their next gen may devolve into the garish, like some Toyotas.
Subaru’s had 30 years, with the same nameplate, to try to do better. Closest… maybe… was the 2003 version. Can we hold an online vote at this site? 🙂
How bout we have photos, so we can compare directly? I still say an almost 40 year old Taurus wagon, looks cleaner and more attractive, than a 2023 Outback.
Let others who see this, vote.
Whatever, there is no 2023 Taurus wagon to compare it to so who knows what that would have looked like and you’re changing the subject anyway, your question had nothing to do with the new one, I merely pointed out that the Legacy/Outback still exists as a thing, the market has spoken. You can’t compare an old design to a new one for various reasons. Good luck selling a 1989 Taurus exterior design in a new car showroom today though.
It’s all personal preference anyway. I won’t get drawn into a long debate, thanks.
Wait a minute.
I’m afraid you changed the subject from my initial post, while aiming to question my opinion.
All I discussed was styling, which I found bland, and their lack of attraction to me. You introduced longevity, popularity.
I understand the place in historical car styling where the Taurus stands. That’s the reason I mentioned it. Not to suggest it should be sold today.
And I totally stand by the POV that the ’86 Taurus wagon would hold it’s own against a current Outback wagon, in front of a wide panel of design judges. On design/styling merit.
I’d be delighted to point out the beauty of the Outback wagon styling. There are elements, that are okay. I find the nose, way overdone.
If you are a Subaru fan, I get it.
The Taurus wagon is certainly better proportioned. For that matter just about everything from the 90’s back is better proportioned than any modern CUV.
Legacy wagons are now all Outbacks in US and sell well. While the “cutting edge” Taurus/Sable wagons are long gone. Maybe seen once in while driven by elder.
Trendy styling is superficial and disposable, doesn’t always mean long term success.
Trendy, gimmicky styling describes the Outback. The nose is too overwrought and looks like a Toyota.
The problem with me suggesting voting, is people seeing the ’93 Legacy wagon, won’t even open this article. Unless they are a fan.
Thank you for a more insight look about this Subaru than I could give in my COAL two weeks ago!
This car is a high roof version as well, pretty rare. In Europe, or at least in the Netherlands, high roof would mean powered by the 2.2 engine and having air suspension (I had one of those). After the demise of my Wagon, I looked everywhere for a replacement and saw that in the US none had the high roof. Not sure why not.
Speaking of the US there was, maybe still is, a fairly determined group lovers of the gen 1 Legacy. The Turbo is king of course, but the wagon is held in (relatively) high esteem as well.
Wagons are extremely popular in the U.S. but you MUST refer to them as SUVs or Cross Overs. For some reason, buyers and owners hate to have them referred to as wagons!
SUVs/CUVs/crossovers replacing “wagons” in the US market isn’t just a generational, marketing, or market-demand thing. Even though many of them are still basically wagons, their jacked-up ride height, AWD, and underclipped bumpers (allowing for steeper approach/departure angles) allows them to be classified as “trucks” subject to a laxer CAFE fuel-mileage target for their “footprint” size.
This absurd CAFE regulatory scheme has perversely deterred development and sale of smaller, more fuel-efficient cars (including most proper wagons) as well as compact pickup trucks for the US market — which can’t meet the sky-high CAFE mileage targets for their size while also delivering adequate performance for US buyers — and instead incentivized larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles because those have laxer mileage targets for their size, especially if they can also be technically classified as “trucks” according to the CAFE formula:
https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2012/10/how-cafe-killed-compact-trucks-and-station-wagons/
The part of your argument that I don’t understand and really don’t agree with (and didn’t the other day when you posted the same thing in another post), is that a wagon is basically the same as a sedan, right? It gets treated the same in CAFE assuming the length and wheelbase are the same. Yet there are millions of sedans made by volume manufacturers (i.e. not the expensive players) and sold in the US every year, some of them even have wagon version sold elsewhere currently. Sedans such as Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic, Sonata, Elantra, Optima, Mazda3 and 6 (yes, cancelled for now), there is/was nothing stopping these manufacturers from having some portion of the sedan production run (often in the 100’s of 1000’s) be wagons instead, built on the same line, and thus sell some wagons to some people instead of the sedan form of the same.
I understand perfectly well that the CUV version may be viewed as not needing to have the same efficiency as the sedan or wagon, yet as a random example there used to be a Ford Fusion Hybrid that sold quite well. There exists a Ford Fusion Wagon elsewhere. The logical CUV equivalent/stand-in for the Fusion is the Edge (Escape is too small), yet there was/is no Edge Hybrid and a Fusion hybrid wagon likely would have gotten very similar mpg to the Fusion hybrid sedan – even with the laxer standard it would seem that a 40mph Fusion Hybrid is better for overall compliance than the comparatively miserable economy of a Ford Edge. The same argument could likely be made for the Camry and Accord and Corolla which actually IS available as a hybrid wagon in virtually every other market, yet Toyota only sells the Corolla sedan in gas and hybrid forms and little hatchback (not a wagon, not a hybrid) over here. Instead they developed the CorollaCross which I do not believe is as efficient.
The first gen Legacy is a car I like quite a lot, in fact I currently part own a pair of them, one of which is an original RS turbo undergoing a three plus year full restoration (will get a COAL post eventually, I hope). They always felt more solid and better put together than other Japanese cars of the time (and later Subarus), with a more “European” driving feel.
1.8-2 litre engined cars were not super popular here in SL back in the 90s due to perceived low fuel economy, but for whatever reason a lot of legacies ended up here. There were so many around that we actually have a one make racing class for them, which is quite popular and sees a good number of entries.
There were (are?) government regulations that applied to the “vans”
The cargo volume (defined as space behind first row seats) must be above a certain percentage. Hence most of the vans had unnaturally forward located B-pillars (and long rear doors for the 4-door versions). There were also usually a horizontal bar mounted between C and D pillars to protect the window from shifting cargo. The Legacy wagon didn’t comply with the “van” regulations.
Might they have been exported used? Although I only saw one when I was in Peru (and it looked like it was sold new there). Or maybe they are used as vans outside Tokyo.
This generation Legacy was my dad first and he only left the brand when trading his third Legacy for a Mercedes. They never had any issues!
I love the first generation Legacy – more than almost all of the subsequent generations. I particularly like the mid-cycle refresh from 1992 of which the featured car is. They slimmed the headlights and streamlined the front, and on sedans, the rear end as well.
Subaru had a smaller budget than Honda or Toyota but it’s been suggested that this was their “Acura/Lexus” moment – indeed, there are remarkable similarities between a 1989 Legacy and the original Legend sedan – down to the name and badge placement on the trunklid.
The only newer Subaru I feel matches the trim, sleek styling of these is the 2005 Legacy which happens to be the last of the pillared hardtop models too.
+1
I owned one of those, a 93 Legacy but NZ assembled with carburetor 1.8 automatic full time 4WD aside from it being gutless and a real fuel hog it wasnt a bad car it had 340,000kms on it when I got it and 350oddkms when I sold it, never used a drop of oil but the radiator cracked in as I found out the usual place the next model had a reinforcing block in that spot but they dont interchange the mouts are different I plastic welded it with a soldering iron and tooth brush but the crack came back so a pot of white pepper was added to the coolant and slowed the leak, Very rare cars in NZ these days sedans even rarer and thats despite thousands imported ex JDM with out side impact bars not required in japan at the time so Fuji heavy industries left them out.