Wednesday, July 28, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C 7 AUTOMOTIVE Subaru takes giant step with 2000 Legacy 2000 Subaru Legacy O utback sedan Inside an extinct volcano may seem like an odd place to test a car, but it's child's play when it comes to an all- wheel-drive Subaru. I had a unique chance to test the 2000 Subaru Legacy GT, Outback Sedan and Outback Wagon last year at Subaru's one-of- a-kind test track in Kuuzu, Japan. Subaru spent years assembling all the bits of privately-held land until they could built a high speed track and nestle it out of sight. Needless to say, for all-wheel-drive, no need to go further than up the sides of the volcano, but more on that in a bit. Subaru has really come storming out of the dol drums led by movie star Paul Hogan and the Outbacks. In a mar ket increasingly shifting to multi-func tion vehicles, the idea of a sedan or wagon with off the beaten track mobil ity has touched many a receptive nerve, or should I say wallet. The model year 2000 is the third generation of the Legacy. The first Legacy was a major styling and engi neering departure from the Loyale and GLs that jiad gone before. The 2000 vehicles take all the mechanical gains but present them in more purposeful styling. Subaru certainly has learned the art of taking one chassis and spinning off different cars from it and the 2000 Legacy GT and the two Outbacks are no exception. All three start with the same 2,650 mm (104.3 inch) wheelbase. All three have the same 2.5-litre engine familiar to that in the current Forester and the Impreza RS 2.5. For 2000, Subaru has gone to a single overhead cam instead of the double overhead cams used to date. Subaru says it means fewer moving parts and slightly less weight. It does, however, produce the same 165 hp and 166 ft/lb of torque and there is a choice of five- speed manual or four-speed automatic. They share the same four-wheel MacPherson independent suspension at the front and a modified and improved multi-link system at the rear. The Outbacks are raised up on their suspension to give more generous ground clearance. The Outbacks also receive the kind of aggressive side body molding SUV-market buyers crave. All Subarus are all-wheel-drive and the 2000 Legacy is no exception, hav ing one of the best all-time systems available anywhere. Normally front- wheel-drive, it has a limited slip rear differential governed by sensors at all four wheels. These gauge which wheel(s) have traction. It then channels torque back and forth between the front and rear so smoothly it is impossible to tell what wheels are slipping and what wheels are gripping. All you can tell is the car feels rock solid. The GT is a Gentleman's Express if there ever was one. One of Subaru's fail ings has been drab interiors. Not just dull, but truly drab. The last generation Legacy was a big improvement, but the new one is on par with the best in the business. Legacy even has available *wood trim, something unheard of in a Subaru only five years ago. If you opt for the automatic, it has a gated shifter now and it looks very Germanic indeed. Subaru stylists went to a lot of trou ble to slope the fender lines down and away to improve vision. The steering wheel is positioned 1/2 inch off the instrument cluster centre line to give the driver a better glimpse at the dials. On the exterior the nose has been sculpted with a minimum of intersecting lines so that it seems more like a solid piece ready to cut through the wind. The best part (and executed on the GT espe cially well) is the treatment of the rear quarter window and roof line that gives the car a hunkered down, autobahn stromlinenwagon (streamliner) look. At Kuuzu, I took the five-speed ver sion of the GT right into the high bank ing, knowing that once committed, you don't lift off the gas. To do so is to cut centrifugal force and face a loss of adhe sion where the car starts to swap ends. See NASCAR stokers for what I mean. But not to worry, the GT skimmed into the highband, planted itself along the upper rim and shot around like a Hot Wheels in one of those loops. No fuss, not muss, no bother - just lots of go. The thing was I didn't have the pedal down all the way either, there was still more power, thus an even greater safety margin, left. Thank all-wheel- drive for that. While we took the Outback Wagon and Sedan around the track for a few hot laps, the real surprise waited for us on the 4X4 portion. Subaru stacked it up against another Japanese maker's luxury SUV for com parisons. With four people on board each, the first challenge was going over drain pipes set up like a corduroy road. While we got through okay, the LuxSUV kept snagging its lower sus pension arms. But what got me was when the test driver started heading straight uphill and then, believe it or not, did a U-tum at the rim of the cliff before proceeding to motor down again. I was so shaken up, I declined the test driver's offer to take a turn behind the wheel and do it myself. The LuxSUV made it, but looked pretty wobbly perched up on top rung of its suspension. If I had been in that one. I'm sure I would have passed out from fright. Needless to say, it you can make it there (Kuuzu), you can make it any where. Overall, I'd have to say the three 2000 Legacys (the GT in particular) have a much more serious look about them. Thanks to the highest caliber interior trim, these cars feel like they truly belong in a category where buyers are very discerning and also highly image conscious. The 2000 Legacy is a major advance for the firm that only 10 years ago was not much more than a mole hill on the North American car buying landscape. JIM ROBINSON k J Road Worthy Summer driving tips Summer means heat and stress not just on people but also on their cars. For them an investment in problem-free dri ving will pay off during the hot sum mer months. Here are some tips for care-free driving this sum mer: □ Feed your car well. Consider a synthetic blend for the grade of oil rec ommended by your owner's man ual. A 5W-30 syn thetic blend is a great year-round motor oil that helps protect your engine by reducing wear, keeping your engine cleaner and by enhancing cold weather perfor mance. □ Give your car the proper liquids. Check coolant lev els, belts, clamps and hoses periodi cally and have the radiator flushed and refilled in a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water every two years. Use an eth ylene glycol-based antifreeze which transfers heat faster and protects against corrosion, scale and sludge formation. □ Don't get drained. Summer's heat zaps battery power. Keep bat tery connections clean and avoid leaving cell phones and other items plugged into the lighter. Keep jumper cables at all times, especial ly for long trips. □ Trip safely. Don't overload your car, or tow more than your vehicle can handle. Get a tune up before long excur sions and have brakes checked. Inflate your spare to the proper pres sure and carry an extra litre of oil, spare anti- freeze/coolant, a first-aid kit, an emergency road kit with flares, an emergency tire sealer and inflator and maps at all times. O a k v ille , lA s e d C a r i-- -- mm T l \ \ TO RUN ON THIS PAGE CALL NOW! C J % . P. m o o n ro o f, ch rom e w hee ls , 4 .6 L V 8 , leather, au to la m p , re m o te e n t r y d u a l a ir bags, A .B .S . lu xu rio u s . 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