MARCHING TO A DIFFERENT (LOUDER) DRUMMER

摘要

Nobody ever accused rnSubaru of me-too car design, and indeed the Legacy's tall greenhouse, exaggerated wheel flares, standard all-wheel drive, and longitudinal boxer-four engine are unique in this group.The Fuji Heavy folks do their own thing, and they apparently work a little magic in the process. Despite the Legacy's driveline friction and weight penalty of up to 227 pounds relative to the rest of the field, it achieves better EPA fuel economy ratings than three competitors and its as-tested mileage topped all but the Honda.rnMuch of the credit goes to the CVT, which enjoys the widest ratio spread in this test and savvy ratio-shifting logic that provides instant kick-down torque in response to a throttle jab or a flick of the left steering-wheel paddle.Those paddles improve the sporting feel of what is in fact the slowest sedan here, requiring 9.3 seconds to reach 60 mph-arnhalf-second off the class average. Kiino deemed it "more responsive than Nissan's CVT Roll onto the throttle and the torque is always right there!"