Used 2017 Subaru Legacy Sedan Consumer Reviews
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Legacy 3.6R
Jim C., 03/24/2018
updated 03/27/2023
2017 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited 4dr Sedan AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
13 of 13 people found this review helpful
I previously had a 2007 Ford 500 with a V-6. This Legacy 3.6R has more horsepower and very good acceleration. It is a little smaller than my previous car but not that much and it is still very comfortable. This is the first AWD car I've ever driven and it feels very competent. I did get it with most of the bells and whistles. The adaptive cruise control is very good. A couple of things I like very much is (1) When I backup, the sensors start to beep if a car OR pedestrian is nearby which is great if parked next to or between larger vehicles, and (2) While driving, if you're a bit distracted, and a car in front of you starts to slow down and you gain too quickly, the Starlink will start to beep and, if necessary, actually start to apply the brakes...this has already helped a time or two. The leather seats are very comfortable and both the front and back seats have warmers. I did have the rain strips installed on the side windows so I could leave the window open slightly when it rains to help ventilation. Oh, also, when I first purchased the car, it seemed the windows would fog up rather quickly in cold or cool weather. As I have the care washed and/or hand waxed rather frequently, the windows don't fog up nearly as much as before, so the key seems to be to have the car washed and the inside windows cleaned rather frequently to clear a lot of the carbon buildup it gets while it sat on the lot before being purchased.
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I Bought My 2017 Legacy for Safety features
Peter Cole, 03/11/2017
updated 09/16/2019
2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
20 of 21 people found this review helpful
I was looking for a sedan that would be significantly safer than my older cars. It wasn't a matter just of airbags and protection in a crash. My old car had air bags, so how much safety would a few additional bags add? What I wondered was whether any of the ACTIVE safety features really work by keeping you out of accidents in the first place. I only compared cars that already have top government and insurance safety ratings. It soon became clear that a few cars really stood out: among the sedans, the Volvo S60 (great but far too expensive), the Mazda 6 (but only the top of the line model) AND, the eventual winner, the Subaru Legacy (a car I was not considering when I first started looking). In all cases, what you get depends which OPTIONAL safety features you buy. My list of desired features included a rear camera (available on almost all cars and soon to be required on all cars), warnings when you stray out of lane (very common but far from universal) and indication of when a car in in your blind spot. I also wanted more advanced features such as for the car to intervene if an accident is on the verge of happening, by automatic braking etc., both driving forward and in reverse. An additional feature that really intrigued me was adaptive headlights, headlights that aim to the left or right when you turn to your driving path is illuminated. I also liked lane assist and adaptive cruise control. The first gently keeps you in your lane on the highway, and the second keeps you the right distance behind the car in front of you. In addition to these core safety features, I was also interested in a car with reasonably modern electronics. I hoped for an easy integration of my car and my iPhone. Of course, seat comfort, economy and a generally pleasant driving car were important as well, but I hoped that most new cars would be OK in those respects. Style, color etc. were on the bottom of the list, but still in mind. My general evaluation is that the 2017 Legacy exceeds expectations with regard to safety. I love the rear view camera and the beeps when I stray out of lane. I hope the active crash protection works. I have seen demonstrations on You-Tube, but I would rather not need it in real life. When the salesman was demonstrating the car, he put it in cruise control while following another car. When that car stopped at a light, so did the Legacy! That was pretty impressive, but I have no desire to duplicate the experience routinely. I ultimately don't find lane assist useful. The lane warnings are, however. The safety feature I am most disappointed with is adaptive headlights. I don't think I see into curves any better than I would otherwise. The headlights are fine as such, but I see no advance over conventional headlights so far. So for safety, I would give the 2017 Legacy, equipped with all the safety features, an A Minus. I am happy. It really is much better than earlier cars, but more improvements are clearly possible. The improvements so far DO seem to justify buying a new car if your old one lacks most of these features. Electronics is another story. Here the 2017 Legacy has the feel of 2007, not 2017. Apple Car Play is not available. Yes, you can make an iPhone or Android use the sound system as a hands-free, but the built in GPS system feels old fashioned compared with Google Maps on my iPhone. Car Play was adopted in 2018 but there is no upgrade for the 2017 model. What I can praise is the upgraded stereo on the Limited trim level. The sound is great. It is possible to listen to Pandora and get a wide choice of music (if you don't mind using up your data plan on your phone, the source of the Internet connection). Overall, though, the electronics are really not up to date on this model. Regarding general comfort and ergonomics, I find the front seats comfortable but not in the same class as my 2002 Volvo S60's seats. The back is spacious and reasonably comfortable. The instruments are a bit overwhelming because current cars have so many features that in principle one might want to turn off. Since in fact, I don't want to turn off crash protection etc., I actually don't pay attention to a lot of switches, and I find the car easy to operate. There is excellent visibility and a small turning ration. The car is easy and pleasant to drive (like most Japanese cars). The bottom line is that I am very happy with the car. I am glad I bought all the extra safety features. Update: I am still happy two years later.
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2017 Subaru Legacy for sale near you
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UPDATED - Still happy after all these miles...
TIE, 08/29/2016
updated 03/06/2025
2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Limited 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
12 of 12 people found this review helpful
First of all, this review is for a 2017 Legacy I purchased new in August 2016. I don't know why Edmunds is showing this as a used-when-purchased 2016 model! Original review: Purchased the car two weeks and 1200 miles ago - still breaking it in, so to speak, but here are a few observations: (1) Excellent fuel economy. Don't abuse it and you'll get excellent mileage. Using the paddle shifters go a long way towards accomplishing this as the CVT logic sometimes seems to search for the right gear. Don't let it guess - do it yourself. On a recent rural 35-mile trip, the MPG computer showed 37 mpg!! I've also compared actual mpg calculated as miles/gallons being only about 1 mpg lower than the computer. (2) Excellent road handling. This thing is a blast to drive out of a corner - give it some power coming out of a corner and you can feel the rear wheels push you out. Those used to rear wheel drive won't be impressed but if you're used to front wheel drive you'll immediately notice the difference. The lower center of gravity due to the flat four (boxer) engine design is also noticeable - car has minimal body roll compared to my old Accord. (3) Decent acceleration. It's no rocket but I have yet to be wanting for power, although off-the-line seems a bit hesitant (more a fault of the CVT than engine). Shifting from reverse to drive also seems to take a long fraction of a second - again, blame the CVT. I should note, however, that this CVT is the best I've driven (Altima, Accord, several hybrids...). It does a good job mimicking a traditional 6-speed auto, especially when you put the foot down. (4) Wind and road noise. Yikes, this is an improved noise level over previous gens? Really? Wind noise is noticeable over 35 mph. Road noise is also noticeable but that's probably due to the substandard Goodyear OEM tires. I'm hoping an upgrade will fix that and I hope that the dealer will find a problem with the weatherstripping around the windows. (5) Questionable seat comfort. It took me a while to get a good, comfortable driver's position. There are still times that the seat seems overly hard. I'm hoping that, like my previous Honda, the seats will eventually break in and feel better. So... if the car "breaks in" nicely and these little niggles are taken care of, this is an excellent car. UPDATE: The car is now 2 years old with 48000 miles on it. The seats have become more comfortable but still not quite as comfortable as my old Accord's. Absolutely no reliability issues with the car. I'm getting close to the time to replace the tires, which have worn well. Can't wait - these Goodyear LS-2s are noisy so they'll be replaced by more capable Michelins or Contis. The engine/transmission seems more responsive, at least after you get to 30 MPH or so. UPDATE #2: Our Legacy now has 88K miles in the midst of the 2020 pandemic. Car still has been trouble-free, although a slight rattle has become evident in the front passenger seat when no one's sitting in it. I did replace the tires with Yokohama AVID GTs which greatly improved the road noise - lo and behold, these are now the OEM tires on 2020 Legacys! Whatever other negatives I have about the car are as much due to my growing older than anything else. While this may well be my last sedan, overall I've been very happy with the vehicle. Fuelly.com shows an average of 30.3 MPG over its lifetime, with the best tank getting 34.3 MPG - pretty darned good for a car with standard AWD. The CVT seems to have smoothed out a bit but, honestly, I might have just grown used to it. UPDATE:130K miles and 7 years later, I'm still impressed. Frankly, this Subie has served us well with no major repairs. 141K miles - still no major problems! The left bolster of the driver seat has developed a small tear. Switched to Cooper tires on the recommendation of my local tire shop and I couldn't be happier - they're even better than the Yokohamas (cheaper, too!). Sadly, 2025 is the last year of the Legacy and, unfortunately, I can't really justify upgrading when my current Subie is so darned comfy and reliable.
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Owned 2017 Legacy 3.6R for one week now
Paul H., 02/24/2017
updated 09/06/2024
2017 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited 4dr Sedan AWD (3.6L 6cyl CVT)
29 of 32 people found this review helpful
This is my families 5th Subaru, my last car was a VW diesel Jetta which I just sold back to VW after the big scandal. So far I am pretty happy with this model. The performance with the 3.6R is great but you do pay for the AWD and performance in MPGs but that is understandable. I looked at Hondas and Acuras but really preferred the interior on the Subaru its clean and elegant, it has a little bit of fake wood, but not as plasticky as the Acura. Handling is very good, nice tight suspension and very comfortable, the HID headlights are awesome. The additional safety features Eyesight, blindspot detection etc. are really nice features and well implemented. On the down side the voice control for GPS is a joke I won't go into detail here but the implementation is pathetic. Also there is no carplay option even though Subaru offers it on its own Impreza line. The small console compartment where the USB port is located, is too small to hold an IPhone 6 let alone a 6+, without leaving the compartment door open. The three criticisms above are really comfort and convenience issues I still love subaru's but they were soooo close to getting a perfect score. - Two Years later: As a vehicle the drive train, comfort, roominess is still excellent. The tech package infotainment system is pathetic.. I have Major complaints: 1. If you add radio presets, unbelievably you can't remove them!!! I have looked on line and talked to the dealer. The only work around is to change the displayed number of presets. 2. If you plug your phone (IOS) into the USB port it takes over the audio and starts playing tracks off the IOS device. There is no way to set the infotainment console to default to the radio. 3. Subaru starlink app is total garbage it actually crashed my whole infotainment system including GPS/MAP while I was driving almost caused an accident since I was relying on this for navigation. It appears that Subaru is making no effort to upgrade their infotainment system and their IOS app. 4. There is no ability to add carplay features. I would actually pay for a new head unit with carplay if they had an option.
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FOR THE PRICE I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY!
Adam Spencer, 11/03/2016
2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i Premium 4dr Sedan AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
15 of 16 people found this review helpful
We bought this car for its safety features. We paid a song for an AWD with Eyesight technology! It is amazing putting the cruise control on and simply letting the car handle acceleration and deceleration. Hopefully I won't have to ever test its automatic braking anytime soon. While the seats aren't as comfortable as I would like, the car is roomy. FOR THE PRICE I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY!
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