The Subaru Legacy is a mid-size car

Mid-size car

A mid-size car is the North American/Australian standard for an automobile with a size equal to or greater than that of a compact...

 built by the Japanese company Fuji Heavy Industries

Fuji Heavy Industries

, or FHI, is a Japanese transportation conglomerate most known for being the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles. It traces its roots to the Nakajima Aircraft Company, a leading supplier of airplanes to the Japanese government during World War II...

, and manufactured by its division Subaru

Subaru

; is the automobile manufacturing division of Japanese transportation conglomerate Fuji Heavy Industries .Subaru is internationally known for their use of the boxer engine layout popularized in cars by the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 911, in most of their vehicles above 1500 cc as well as...

 since 1989, and is available as a sedan or wagon. Part of the original design goals for the Legacy model was to provide Subaru a vehicle in which they could compete in the lucrative North American midsize market against competitors Honda Accord

Honda Accord

The Honda Accord is a series of compact, mid-size and full-size automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1976, and sold in a majority of automotive markets throughout the world....

 and Toyota Camry

Toyota Camry

The Toyota Camry is a series of mid-size automobiles manufactured by Toyota since 1982, and sold in the majority of automotive markets throughout the world...

. Higher performance variants of the Legacy are offered as competitive alternatives to compact executive cars such as the Audi A4

Audi A4

The first generation Audi A4 debuted in 1994, with production starting November 1994. It was built on the Volkswagen Group B5 platform, which it shared with the fourth generation Volkswagen Passat . It had a front-mounted longitudinal engine and front-wheel drive...

, Alfa Romeo 159

Alfa Romeo 159

The Alfa Romeo 159 is a compact executive car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 2005 and 2011. The 159 was introduced in production form at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show as a replacement for the successful Alfa Romeo 156. The 159 uses the GM/Fiat Premium platform, shared with...

 and BMW 3 Series

BMW 3 Series

The BMW 3 Series is a compact executive car manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. Successor to the BMW New Class, it has been produced in five different generations and in no less than five different body styles. It is BMW's best-selling model, accounting for around 30% of the...

.