IT'S easy to overlook the Subaru Legacy. Its styling is pleasing to the eye but unostentatious with smooth flowing lines in the style of perhaps Toyota or Lexus.
There's an absence of dominant grille and the large headlight clusters are neatly scalloped into the colour-keyed bumper - features that indicate it's more likely to have its origins in the Far East than in Europe.
In other words there's little on the outside to indicate the radical engineering that has gone on beneath the unobtrusive exterior.
For a start, despite the lack of boastful badging the Legacy is driven by all four wheels making it an extremely useful form of transport when the going gets slippery.
Its symmetrical all-wheel drive system is tuned for fine road behaviour primarily - its handling and cornering powers can match or better most European rivals.
Then there's the engine. The entry level two-litre has a four cam, four cylinder 'Boxer' engine that not only emits a wonderfully smooth snarl when revved, but provides increased economy and better performance than the previous version. With 163bhp to play with the Legacy 2.0RE will dispatch 62mph in just over nine seconds and top out at 133mph - an 11mph increase on the earlier car.
Most motorists don't really notice how well or poorly a car steers - the philosophy is so long as it goes where it's pointed it's fine. But a single drive of the Subaru will illustrate just how good, and how sharp a highly developed steering system can be. The same apples to the ride. Despite minimal cornering roll, the Legacy is jolt-free and as comfortable as many dearer luxury models.
From my experience, cars with Boxer engines - Subaru, old Alfas and some Porsches - though great to drive, never scored well in the economy stakes. But Subaru's latest two-litre seems to have banished this demon, and the RE clocks up an impressive extra urban figure of 41.5mpg. The combined mpg is 32.5, which more or less tallied with my average over a week's hard driving.
The RE, which costs £19,020, is £2,000 dearer than the basic R but standard equipment includes full leather seating, electrically controlled driver's seat and cruise control. Air con, seven inch wide alloys, and Thatcham alarm-immobiliser are also included.
The immobiliser can be a bit irritating, because unless you are quick between unlocking and turning the ignition, you'll find the engine is dead. Then you need to go through the process again. Over the years Subaru have stepped up the cabin quality and the latest RE has pleasant soft-touch plastics, high-grade switchgear and a general ambiance that puts it on the same level as European rivals.
If you are an extrovert who wants his car to be noticed, maybe the Legacy's understated styling isn't for you. But if you value innovative engineering and appreciate the subtleties of fine handling there are few cars within a £5,000 price range that can match the Subaru's dynamics.
FAST FACTS
Subaru Legacy 2.0RE 4dr
Price: £19,020
Mechanical: 165bhp, 1,994cc, 4cyl petrol engine driving all four wheels via 5spd manual gearbox.
Max speed: 133mph
0-62mph: 9.2 secs
Combined mpg: 32.5
Insurance group: 13
CO2 emissions: 207g/km
BiK rating: 28%
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles; 3yrs paint; 12yrs anti-rust