Subaru had earned a reputation of building vehicles that were regarded as "quirky" while other Asian manufacturers were bringing more upscale and conventional appearing models to the market.

The Legacy appeared at the same time as the US introduction of Lexus and Infiniti and five years after Acura, and it was interpreted by some as Subaru's attempt at participating in the emerging imported luxury car market.

The car was built with many luxury and technological advancements normally found on more expensive vehicles as standard equipment, such as power windows, central locking, fuel injection, air conditioning, vehicle speed sensitive, variable effort, power assist rack-and-pinion steering, alloy wheels, 4-wheel independent suspension (MacPherson struts in front and rear) with both negative scrub and anti-dive and squat geometery, anti-sway bars front and rear, and all-wheel disc brakes.

The AWD setup, called "Active Torque Split" in Japanese language brochures, was standard on the Japanese-spec GT and RS, optional on the other trim levels with either a manual or automatic transmission.

A partial 4WD system was offered on the lower trim level "Mi" and "Ei" sedans and wagons with a manual transmission only, activated by an embedded switch on top of the gear shift lever.

A four spoke, black leather covered MOMO steering wheel also came with the Japanese-spec GT sedan/wagon and the RS sedan, and was affixed with six allen head screws to an adapter hub that incorporated the cruise control activation switch.

Subaru stated the Type R was "a basic grade model of RS which is suitable as the material of a competition car for motor sports"[1] Subaru Technica International (STi) prepared four Legacy RS models with stronger drivetrains, stiffer suspensions, a deep front air dam, roll cage, and a quick-fill long-range fuel tank.

Launched in November 1989, it was visually identical to the regular RS aside from decals on the front doors reading “Handcrafted tuning by STi” and rear badging.

Upgrades included forged pistons, strengthened connecting rods, hand finished intake and exhaust ports, balanced crankshaft and flywheel and an additional fan on the radiator.

With the 1991 facelift and update across the Legacy range, the third series Type RA received a 16-bit ECU, improved mid-range torque, and colour change to Feather White.

1.8 GL was equipped with a carburetor and rear drum brakes but were later upgraded to single point fuel injection for the 1991 model year.

The European DL also didn't have paint on the front or rear bumper covers, and remained in their natural state of black plastic.

Also didn't have paint on the front or rear bumper covers, and remained in their natural state of black plastic; the engine offered on basic DLs and some GLs was the carbureted version from the EJ18, which came with a Hitachi carburetor and a Mitsubishi distributor, from factory.

In 1991, the Standard was removed and the "LSi" was introduced as an "LS" with gray leather interior on the sedan only, similar to the "Gala" and "Heritage" approach internationally.

For the 1991 model year, the "L" trim level was available with a Value Plus option package, which included anti-lock brakes, power windows, central locking, air conditioning, cruise control, and the 80W stereo.

The newly developed computer-controlled 4-speed automatic transmission, called the 4EAT in both FWD and AWD guises, uses a lock up torque converter, and does not use an overdrive feature.

The transmission had a feature where it could be instructed to ignore 1st gear from a standing stop to assist driving on traction limited situations, such as ice and snow.

Problems detected by the cars' on-board computers are signified by a "check engine" light, alerting the driver that maintenance is needed immediately.

Installing the thermostat in this position allows it to more accurately control the temperature of the water as it enters the engine from the cylinder heads first, thereby better preventing an occurrence of thermal shock.

It was loosely based on the normally-aspirated/NA EJ22E used in the non-turbo models, but had a closed-deck short block engine, coated pistons (but not forged) with a lower compression ratio, different cylinder heads to support the oil and coolant needs of the turbo, among other turbo-specific details.

The in-dash CD player, sourced from Clarion, was available on the United States, Japanese and Australian sedan and wagon as an extra cost option, and is easily attached to the double DIN stereo.

Factory stereos standard DIN (180 x 50 mm panel) with 40 watt installed in European vehicles were sourced from Philips or Fujitsu Ten.

The European and British versions were installed with standard headlight washers and rear fog lights, so that other drivers could see them in inclement weather and at night.

The Europeans could not get an in-dash cupholder located in the small space below the HVAC controls and above the stereo, found in the Australian, United States and Japanese models.

Vehicles equipped with the infrared keyless remote feature can be identified by having a dark plastic receiver patch installed on the driver's door handle, located directly above the entry lock keyhole.

The Japanese could also choose from two factory installed high end stereos and speaker packages from Alpine and Kenwood with integrated CD players, a rear wiper on the back of the sedan as well as the wagon, a spring-loaded ejecting front ashtray, (GT, RS, VZ, and VZ height controlled wagon only), an electrostatic air purifier mounted behind the rear seats on the parcel shelf for the sedan and a combined air purifier/overhead interior light for the wagon, automatic climate control with digital temperature display, vehicle speed sensitive power door locks, halogen fog lights with either clear or yellow lenses, and the ability to switch off the speed sensitive, variable effort power steering on the RS turbo sedan.

Starting with the 1992 facelift, the European model sold in Germany was available in a "Hubertus 2" trim level on the 1.8 L wagon only; it was offered in green with a manual transmission, all-wheel drive was standard equipment with the dual range transmission, and was also fitted with a painted brush guard matching the body color that protected the front grille and headlights, wrapping around to protect the side turn signals.

In the United States, parking lights were installed next to the headlights for MY 1990–1991 within dedicated corner lenses, then incorporated with the front turn signals from 1992 to current models.

All international versions of the Legacy utilize a dedicated parking light switch installed on top of the steering column until model year 2010.

Just before the introduction of the Legacy to the United States, three Japanese-spec Legacy RS turbo sedans were sent to the FIA test track in Phoenix, Arizona, where they were driven at an average speed of 223.4 km/h (138.8 mph) for almost 19 days, accumulating 100,000 kilometres (62,000 mi) in that time, setting a new world record for land speed endurance, stopping only for fuel and routine service.