Subaru launched the Legacy’s fourth generation in 2003 and won the Japan Car of The Year Award in front of the Toyota Prius and Mazda RX8.
Fuji Heavy Industries owned the Subaru brand, and this time it paid more attention to the design department. As a result, unlike other cars from its stables, the Legacy B4 finally had a shape that could stand beside other carmakers. Traditionally, it remained with its all-wheel-drive system and the flat-four engine.

Before the 2003 Legacy, there were just a few who liked Subaru’s design. The Japanese carmaker looked like it paid high money for the engineers and just lunch money for its design department. But the 2003 Legacy was different. It still kept the frameless doors, but it made an inspired front fascia with sharp, curved headlights. The grille sported the winged badge, while the front bumper featured a broad center air intake with side-mounted fog lights. In addition, Subaru included a third side window between the rear doors and the raked-forward C-pillars at the back.

Inside, the low seating position reminded its occupants that they are in a Subaru, not into some old-fashioned box on wheels. Its front bucket-seats provided, depending on the version, high-bolstering. Thanks to its long wheelbase, the Legacy could host two adults in the back and, maybe, a children riding in the middle, over the transmission tunnel.

Under the hood, the carmaker installed either a flat-four or a flat-six engine with either 2.0-liter or 3.0-liter displacement. Subaru paired them with manual or automatic transmissions, depending on the market and the customers’ specifications. But they all had one thing in common: the symmetrical all-wheel-drive system that made Subaru famous.