2000 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GX Lux Estate review from UK and Ireland

Strong smell, as of a burned-out clutch, but clutch was OK. This did not disable the car, but was very embarrassing. Dealer at first thought the problem was a binding Hill Holder clutch, but later said that Subaru had filled the drive-shaft joints with the wrong type of grease at the factory. They cleaned out and replaced grease and fitted new gaiters, but the smell persisted. Another dealer diagnosed a design fault in the drive-shaft joints (how did this get by?) and cured the problem by drilling holes somewhere to allow the grease to move harmlessly back rather than be forced out to burn on the exhaust and make the smell.

Pockets on back of front seats came away from their upper mounts. I glued them back on with Araldite.

Lots of stone chip damage on front surfaces even though we take care to not drive close to vehicles in front. Some old-fashioned rust started in these spots and spread like tiny tentacles under the surrounding paint. This used to happen in the 1960s, but was a surprise in a year 2000 Subaru.

Under-bonnet metal brackets, fixings etc began to corrode and look unsightly quite quickly.

At 35,000 miles a soft squeaking noise developed from the transmission area at idle only. Dealer said the cure was to fit the newly re-designed flywheel that was on its way from Japan. This seemed to be a well known problem and was, like all the above, fixed under warranty.

A smooth, comfortable and under-rated performer, but with high running costs due mainly to the silly 6 monthly servicing schedule which has finally been extended to yearly on more recent cars.

Very high depreciation in the UK. Car cost £24,000 new and worth only £11,500 after 3 years.

Unlike previous Subarus we have had, this one had only "undercoat" in the under bonnet areas. Looked ghastly and penny-pinching, but other manufacturers do the same now. This must save them about £5!

Door inner trims felt horribly fragile and cheap and were easily damaged.

Unlike our previous 2 Subarus (Impreza Turbos), this one had a surprising number of faults some of an engineering design origin. This was odd for a company widely perceived as something of an engineering led outfit with World Rally experience.