It feels like just yesterday when Subaru announced it would be ending production of its long-running Legacy sedan after the 2025 model year. In reality, it’s been a year and a half since the company revealed plans to kill off its iconic four-door. That day came and went on Friday, September 12, when the final Legacy rolled off the line at Subaru’s Lafayette, Indiana assembly plant just after 3 p.m. Eastern time.
Subaru says the last Legacy is a Limited-trim car painted in Magnetite Gray. Equipped with a 2.5-liter boxer four-cylinder making 182 horsepower, it sends torque to all four wheels via a continuously variable automatic transmission. Being a Limited, it also gets things like push-button start, 18-inch alloy wheels, a 12-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, and leather interior trim.
Rather than hold onto the car, a Subaru spokesperson confirmed to me the company plans to sell it normally, as if it were any other Legacy. The spokesperson didn’t know which dealership the sedan would be sent to, however, so if you want the last-ever Legacy, you’re going to have to do some digging.
Before throwing the final Legacy on a shipping truck, the Indiana assembly plant smartly took some photos to celebrate the car’s… legacy (sorry, I had to). This one shows the assembly crew alongside the last Legacy and the first production Legacy, which Subaru held onto:
Source: Subaru
The elder Legacy you see above was the first Subaru built at the plant—and the first Subaru to be built in the United States, period. The car rolled off the line on September 11, 1989, making it 36 years and one week old. In those 36 years, the Lafayette, Indiana plant managed to build 1,398,994 Legacy sedans and wagons.
The Legacy was an incredibly important car for Subaru. It was designed specifically to compete in America’s then-booming mid-size sedan segment, against cars like the Accord and the Camry. While it could never reach the aspirational sales numbers of those two cars, the Legacy helped Subaru garner mainstream attention in the marketplace, solidifying the brand’s foothold in America.
It’s important to remember that Subaru used the Legacy as the basis for the very first Outback. Subaru needed something to compete in the SUV space in the mid-1990s, and the Forester was still a few years away. So it turned to the Legacy. Those early Outbacks were really just lightly retrimmed Legacy wagons with plastic body cladding and a raised ride height. But Americans love the design so much that the Outback eventually got its own model line. Now, it’s Subaru’s second-best-selling model. That all started with the Legacy.
With demand for sedans dwindling by the day, the Legacy’s future was all but set in stone by the 2020s. Still, the car soldiered on, and even sold 25,000 units in 2024—more than the Solterra and the BRZ combined (those are two incredibly niche cars, I know, but still, for a car that hasn’t seen a meaningful update in six years, that’s not nothing).
The Lafayette plant intends to fill the Legacy’s gap with the new Forester starting in October, where it’ll be produced alongside the Ascent and the Crosstrek, the company’s most popular model in America.
The Legacy’s death means there is one remaining sedan in Subaru’s lineup: The WRX. Hopefully, that car sticks around for the foreseeable future. I’m not sure what the entry-level enthusiast segment would look like without it.
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I work at a dealership. Legacy’s are not always a common sight on the lot, but I could always see my GM using usually a Touring XT as a Demo car, and My department held on tight to a Sport for a year as a loaner.
My Mom bought a 17 CPO Almost 10 years ago, and If I could find a clean Legacy Wagon, I would have went with that over my Forester.
My aunt and uncle were Subaru diehards. Well, mainly my aunt, rest her soul. They had so many different models starting from late 70s DL coupe and the wagon, to GL wagons and sedans, an XT Turbo, and a number of Legacies. I should add I loved the look of the old GLs with the white wagon wheels. Sad to see the Legacy go!
The last-of-line group photo reminds me of a similar picture taken when the final BMW i3 rolled off the line (it was finished in matte/metallic burgundy IIRC). Sad.
I’ve driven quite a few Subies over the years (never a super-hot one like a STI or anything) and mostly, they’ve been adequate. The AWD is nice, but the CVTs are not. Interiors aren’t pretty, but liveable and with decentish materials in more recent models. Sometimes they’re kind of noisy for new/ish cars, due in part to the CVT keeping the revs up.
I’ll almost certainly never own one, but I’ve always wanted one of the hot Legacys… the GT turbo ones I think? If one crossed my path at a market-correct price in some sort of actual color, I doubt I could keep myself from driving over to the credit union and getting a bank check for the seller within a single hour. Luckily for me (I guess?) it’s probably not going to happen.
I think they would have done well to just make the Legacy wagon only and continued to make it alongside the Outback. The Legacy doesn’t sell as well but it still sells, just like the Impreza.
And there are so few normal (not lifted) wagons around, and the tooling must have been paid off years ago.
I always wanted a Legacy 25.GT Spec.B. What a great combo of hoonage and family sedan rarely seen at that price. My ex had a 2009 Legacy 3.0R for 2 years and ended up hating it. I LOVED it! I regret letting her trade that car as it could still be great DD. I owned a Leone Turbo 4WD while stationed in Japan at that car was amazing. Offroad? No problem? Massive snowstorm in Northern Japan? Kids play. Hooning around the prefecture on summer tires? Yes! Yes! Yes!
I’m doing my part keeping up the Subaru Sedans with my 2023 WRX. I fear sedans, and performance sedans aren’t long for this EV minded world.
They’ll be sorry.
Too bad. I always liked the Legacy wagons more than the Outback trimmed models when Outback was still a trim of the Legacy. The first three generations are all I’m interested in though. I have two Legacys, Gen 2 and 3 manual wagons, and they are my favorite model of car. (I have zero interest in wagons by BMW, VW, Audi, Mercedes, etc., and if I wanted a real performance wagon, I’d STI driveline swap a Gen 2 or 3 USDM wagon. . . with inspiration from Mighty Car Mods but different build). I baby the Gen 3 and spent dozens of hours wrenching on it in the past couple months doing overkill maintenance and detail work like complete reseals of all the calipers (among a dozen other things). I just drove it cross Canada (Alaska to New England) at the beginning of a two-month road trip averaging 30-31 mpg, running, driving, handling like new, and looking pretty at 172K miles.
Unfortunately, I hit a black bear at lowish speed (under braking) near the Ontario/Quebec border, causing cosmetic damage. Already reported it to insurance but won’t be able to bring it in for the initial inspection until I get to CA in a couple weeks where I plan to get it repaired before driving home to Alaska. Should be easily repairable, but sweating a bit that it could be totaled out if they value it too low ($4-5K instead of about double or more for one that is 100% refreshed on maintenance and is intended to be made to run forever because that is what would cost to actually replace it with a similar wagon and bring it up to similar condition).
If you weren’t going to sell it would you be able to buy it back and then repair but registered as a written off car still? I’m not sure of the correct nomenclature in the USA but I was able to do this in Australia with my old Holden Kingswood.
I’m sure I’d have the option to buy it and repair. I just don’t know what the consequences are for the title of the car. I want to retain the clean title so I can keep it insured the same way. This is covered under comprehensive, so I’m not at fault and hopefully I just need to pay my $100 deductible and they fix everything.
Realistically, it shouldn’t be totaled. It needs a headlight, LF fender, hood, driver’s door (didn’t notice it was crinkled a bit until daylight), all just bolt on parts that they’ll probably have to source from salvage yards as it is a 22-year old car. Frame is straight and nothing is damaged underhood. Even the shattered headlight lights up and works reasonably well. Didn’t notice some further damage until the other day: left rear fender just slightly bent in where it flares out, should be able to be hand pushed out by someone skilled. Also just noticed that the left rocker has a smooth dent too under the LR door.
Yes and the dealership will toss a $20k special addition cost on it on it. Raffle off the opportunity to buy it.
Oddly, the reason I bought a Legacy during the pandemic was because the Subaru dealer was one of the only ones around NOT marking up cars.
Yeah the local Subaru dealer here refused to add markups. They own a Buick/Cadillac/GMC too and also didn’t mark those up though so I just assumed it was that specific dealer owner.
I think this may have been an edict from corporate not to add any markups during those times. Which, with Subaru (not always, but usually) tending toward the bottom of the market price-wise, makes sense that corporate would not want to turn off shoppers who would later be needed to keep Subaru alive in the US market post-pandemic.
I’ve now owned 3 Subarus: 2000 Impreza 2.5RS 2-door, 2008 Tribeca, 2013 Impreza and, while far from perfect, they’ve been suitable for this “refugee from the Midwest relocated to upstate NY (read: located in that southernmost county just across the border from Bergen County, New Jersey)” who used to take his 2.5RS ice racing on all-season tires in southern Wisconsin. I might have bought another during the pandemic if I had been able to get discounts through my employer, but instead we ended up trading in the 2013 on a VW Tiguan with 4Motion.
I am leaning towards getting a WRX as one of my “bucket list” cars, assuming they are still available to buy when I’m ready to do so.
*pours one out for the Legacy*
*pours out another one for Colin McRae who used to race Legacies, back in the day*
That BC is probably the ugliest color they offered (the beige was pretty bad, too). First generation US built cars were slightly different and didn’t feel as well made as Japanese-built. That first Legacy also started their march to rally legend status, the platform shortened for the Impreza after a decent run for itself. Ugly color, worse body style, and probably an AWD automatic, I’d still take that BC over that new one.
Most Subarus come in ‘Subaroon’. Shocked this was the case here.
So the last Legacy isn’t worth preserving? 😛
Or not a Legacy?
Just leased my last car – a 2025 Legacy Premium in…. Magnetite Gray. Only 140 miles on to date, I am still struggling with all the electronic stuff. Auto start/stop is really annoying. It’s not a sports car, and just fits in my garage, but it suits me. Always a sedan guy, shame to see them go away.
Yeah, the absolute worst part of my 2023 is the electronic crap. I’ve gotten used to the auto start/stop, though. But it fits good in the garage and the trunk is a great size.
my 2024 Impreza is the same. Beeps at me all the time, like a spouse.
I had a 90 year old gentleman return his 23, It was his very last car, and I had to drive him home.
“In those 36 years, the Lafayette, Indiana plant managed to build 1,39,994 Legacy sedans and wagons.”
Is a number missing or is the comma in the wrong place?
According to the caption of the group photo it should be 1,398,994.
38-39k vehicles a year isn’t much production these days. Ouch. looked up sales numbers for the car. They only sold 19k of them in 2024. Peak time was in 2005 when they sold nearly 90k Legacys. Quite a drop off.
I had a Legacy, it was a fine car, mine felt a little off on the highway, I suspect alignment was off and it was darting all over the place, dealer said everything was in spec.
Anyways, no idea Subaru was still selling one.
They only sold 19k of them in 2024. Apparently not many folks were aware they were still selling them as well.
RIP both the Legacy and the old Subaru that was willing to make interesting cars.
Literally dozens of us are clamoring for a manual turbo Crosstrek. Just build it!
I’ll wait till its on the used market!
Or bringing over the Levorg.
They ripped the manual out of the Crosstrek. I own a 2018 6 spd aka American anti-theft device.
I had a 05 spec b, and it was awesome. Sold it since I was going back to grad school… one of the few financially sound moves I made in that era.
however, it would be pretty sick to still own it!
I wanted one of those so bad back in the day.
That makes me sad, another sedan bites the dust. I’ve got a base ’17 that I bought used in 2020 when my old GTI with all the typical VW problems proved to be a terrible choice for my new long ass commute. It’s boring to drive, but it’s also probably the best car I’ve ever owned in a lot of ways. It’s smooth, quiet, comfortable, and awesome in the snow if you’ve got good tires. It’s taken the wife and I back and forth across the country many times, and it gets me to work everyday. It’s never had a single problem in my five years of ownership, I’ve changed the oil and replaced the tires, that’s it. I’m super bored with it and ready to move on, but it’s been an objectively great car.
I’ve swung between an interesting yet flawed car to a boring one all my life. Now I just keep one of each.
Sad to see the Legacy go. My dad still has his 2004 base, and my neighbor has his GT. Both still going strong.
Someday, when I know I don’t have much time left to live, I’m going to go buy one of these and put it in my will.
That way, I’ll be guaranteed to leave a Legacy!
Funny that they preserved the first one built, but the very last one will just be sold off like normal.
At least it will go upstate to a nice farm.
Our 2015 Legacy continues to serve us well. Interestingly, to me anyway, the options list and color on this final Legacy matches ours almost exactly.
All 25,000 of the Legacys sold in 2024 must have been sold in our area. Of course I have confirmation bias, but Subarus seem to sell well in snow country.
As of the past few years, Legacy’s in my snowy area have tended to be older. I think I’ve seen like 3 or 4 newer Legacy’s in that time frame.
Guess my area’s not boujee enough lmao
Pouring one out for my beloved/behated ’05 LGT. That thing ate turbos and timing chains like candy, but man did it go like stink with a stage 2 tune. And it looked incredible too.