YOUR NEXT Turbo Subie Awaits.(News)

Byline: BOB GRITZINGER

So you say you'd love to own a Subaru WRX, with its torquey 227-hp turbocharged engine and rally suspension, but you can't quite comfortably fit the family and all their gear into the compact car's tight confines? And while the Legacy fits the bill for space and comfort, you're not inspired by its 212-hp 3.0-liter flat-six, let alone its 165-hp 2.5-liter boxer-four?

May we suggest you start saving your car-buying pennies now, because next summer your wants and needs will be met when Subaru brings a turbocharged Legacy back to the U.S. market for the first time in nearly a decade. (The last time Subaru sold a turbo Legacy in the United States was 1991-94, in the form of a Legacy Sport Sedan offered with a 161-hp 2.2-liter four.) Packing a version of the 2.5-liter dohc turbo flat-four that makes 210 hp in the 2004 Forester Turbo and 300 hp in the WRX STi, the 2005 Legacy will fall somewhere in between. In the Legacy, the engine will produce about 250 hp and 250 lb-ft of torque-exact figures are still being worked out- representing a giant leap forward for what had been some of Subaru's most sedate sedans and wagons. In Japan, buyers get a 2004-model-year Legacy with a 2.0-liter turbo four that makes 276 hp and 253 lb-ft of torque.

Non-turbo U.S. models, which arrive next April a few months ahead of the turbo editions, also get more horsepower. Look for 247 hp from a revised dohc 3.0-liter six, while the carryover sohc 2.5-liter gets a modest 5-hp bump to 170. Subaru engineers say the 3.0-liter is especially tuned for low-end power, while the carryover engine will likely remain at the same 166 lb-ft at 4000 rpm.

Thanks to a nearly 200-pound weight reduction in the fourth-generation Legacy, all 2005 models will have a little more jump in their step. Unlike some manufacturers who meticulously pare weight ounce by precious ounce-and then dump it all back into the car by adding options like heavy sunroofs, monster sound systems and power controllers for everything-Subaru cut poundage for all the right reasons.

"We did it for fuel efficiency, handling and performance,'' said Kei Ono, Subaru's general manager of overseas business planning. Ono now works at Subaru's headquarters in Tokyo, but his 15-year stint at the company's U.S. offices in New Jersey has given him a keen insight into the North American marketplace.

Subaru engineers took some of the usual steps to cut weight, putting particular emphasis on cutting pounds at the Legacy's outboard extremities, without sacrificing chassis rigidity. They replaced heavy steel frame components with lightweight aluminum and high-strength steel parts, tossed aside the stamped- steel sheetmetal hood for an aluminum one, substituted aluminum rear suspension lower control arms for heavy steel ones, and used an aluminum front bumper beam in place of steel. Yes, you can still get a sunroof on your Legacy, but the weight-cutting jihad led to a 15.5-pound weight reduction for the popular top-heavy feature.