2003 Subaru Legacy Consumer Reviews

This car was by far the best car I have ever driven or even been in, including much newer cars with many more features. The suspension was very smooth, quiet, and comfortable which is a big deal in PA with our pot-hole roads. The AWD was reliable and I regularly felt it kicking in during slippery moments. The car stuck to the road and never let go. It had the same factory parts for nearly 200k miles and always started up and drove without hesitation even in freezing weather. We drove that car through blizzards, the roads being covered in a thick layer of ice, up and down muddy hills, etc even when other newer cars could not and it never acted like it was difficult. However, it did not have the greatest get-up especially on hills. It also had a few mechanical issues over the 60k miles we had it, including an oil leak, but never so bad that it was unsafe or unusable. The only thing that ever stopped that car was being rear-ended at 55 mph and we ended up having to sell it. However it was still protective even then. I walked away with a minor muscle strain in the neck that was gone in less than a week.

bought this legacy new late 2001, 23K. Today it still looks as though it came from the factory. normal maintenance, oil n fliter, brakes and tires, wiper blades and battery, and the recommended belt change at 105,000 mi. if I ever need another car, I would buy another Subaru.

I loved the car until it was problem, after another with it.

Glowing reviews caused me to buy this car, but it has not lived up to its reviews! Repeated engine problems with head gaskets, a common Subaru problem, required a rebuild at 75,000 miles and the whole engine to implode at 127,000! This required a whole new rebuilt engine to be installed to resurrect the car . It drives nice when its working, but reliability is a huge issue so be cautious!

This car is dependable in all conditions - snow/ice, rain/minor flooding, dry, sand, off road, etc. Great fuel economy for its year, and perfect for road trips. The only downside I've noticed is that, as it's gotten older and more mileage, I have had to replace the alternator and battery twice in the almost 3 years that I have owned it. Other minor service/maintenance issues as well, relatively inexpensive fixes for me to do myself. Space for 5, comfortably, though a little tight if the front passenger is tall. I have driven this car between GA and FL (570 miles one way) a couple of times, all over GA, FL, into NC, and have never had a problem out of it on distance drives. City driving seems to not agree with it so well, as that is where my problems have occurred. I highly recommend this car to anyone who is looking for a stylish, fun, and economical family sedan that is reliable and safe.

This was the first car I bought from a dealership and I loved it dearly. I bought it at 135k miles for a really good price (for a Subaru in CO). It's a fun little sedan to drive, and it does fine on rough conditions (dirt roads, snow packed roads, mountain climbs). Most of it's issues were pretty minor: It went through headlights pretty quickly, which isn't an uncommon issue in Subarus, and it needed spark plugs changed more frequently than normal. A bigger issue with it was the radiator. Twice in the 3 years I've owned this car the radiator has completely emptied in a matter of minutes, with no detectable leak. My first thought was that the lid of the radiator fluid had come off, but that proved not be true. Why it lost all coolant twice, out of nowhere, remains a mystery to me and the 4 different mechanics that I've taken it to for an explanation. It's reaching the end of it's life now at 175k miles, as it begins to have that headgasket issue that these cars tend to get, and its rough life with me catches up to it. For people looking for a tough, reliable sedan I recommend this vehicle, because it's entirely possible the radiator issue was simply user error.

I'm 16 and my mom and recently sold our 2000 Legacy L in Colorado. I have to say that this car was a great first car and very fun to drive, besides my friends 02 wrx. I'll get all the good stuff first, one it's really a rally car in disguise. I mean this thing handled and corrnerd amazingly on mountain passes to the ski areas in Colorado. If im not in a Subaru on a mountain pass I don't feel safe. I trusted this car with my life. Even took it to empty snowy parking lot and had a ton of fun with my mom. Also got it up to 110 mph one time. Its great all around! Now the bad side about all that. I know quite a bit about Subaru cars, and this one has the notorious first gen 2.5 engine. Now this engine does eat up the head gasket over time. we went through 2 in the 8 years that we owned it. Plus the low ground clearance caused a lot of snow to build up in the wheel wells. The alternator seized up on use before we sold it (easy fix). But its a easy engine to work on for basic stuff. Dont let any of that bad stuff fool you. As long as you take care of it and love it and if something needs replacing soon get it replaced, THIS CAR WILL LAST FOREVER. WE sold ours around 216,3500ish, pretty much broken in. And to be honest I was in tears the last time I saw that car when I left Colorado.

Dependable, great in snow and ice in 2nd gear AWD, responsive in traffic and lots of get up and go when passing!