2012-2013 Legacy Real World Side by Side Pics

Evening folks, I just happened to be at the dealership today to schedule my 3 month service and they had a few 2013's in so I figured I'd snap a few shots for you guys. I know there are a couple guys interested in the lights and the new front clip so thats what I focused on. A couple of my contacts at the dealership have looked the car over pretty closely, one of which who is a former assembly line guy and both have said based on their observations that the front fenders and hood dies didn't change so in theory you may be able to just swap out the lights, grille and bumper over to a 12 without too much hassle unless the underlying structure has changed significantly. Obviously this is just speculation and for you guys to make your own decision on. So here they are for your consideration and sorry for the cell phone quality, enjoy

Good thread!


The new bumper is certainly an improvement.

The new headlights are pretty gnarly too.... lower half smoked chrome? Top portion bright chrome???

And the grille is debatable. It's like which one is the lesser of two evils.

Actually Gire the lights look to just be blacked out along the bottom and somewhat up the side. It has a slightly JDM look to it and the more I looked at it the more I liked it, the grille is....well it is what it is but its not a the worst thing in the world. The car is sharp up close and even in the short time I was standing there looking at it, I started to really like it and I love my 2012.

I agree. After 3 years in the rotation, the newest Legacy is growing on me. Even though a new example for me would be the 3.6 non-turbo, I can live with that.

Also after seeing that ruby red version in the pics forum slammed with 19" black chrome rims, I'm chaging my tune. That car is hot!

My 05 wagon is starting to get a little tired and it might be time to make a move to another Subaru in the next 12 months.

The headlights look similar in size - swappable I wonder?

I'd bet my favorite son that they are exactly the same.

Looks like the mid cycle refresh was relegated to te grill headlight interior design and the bumper of course.

Those new wheels are really nice too. Damn.

Getting better.. slowly.

Shame itight be the last generation of hotted up Legacies we get...

Thanks for the great comparison pics. Seeing them finally side by side...I like the new one better. It looks more muscular, or has more attitude (can a legacy have attitude? oxymoron?).

Glad to help guys. Like I said from what I was told and based on the looks there's probably a good chance headlights, grille and front clip could be swapped back as long as there isn't a whole lot of underlying structure change. Probably have to wait for a couple more members to get the 13's so we can get some closer comparisons with mounting but if that's the case I expect there might be a few people here who might jump on a new set of lights or a front clip to dress up the front a bit. I expect we'll probably see some respectable grille replacements as well within a year.

I want the lights and only the lights

Not feeling the grille on the 2013.

Originally Posted by mosthated

I want the lights and only the lights

Ditto, I wonder if IDRVSLO will be able to do a detailed comparison of the mounting points for us with a set before he does someone's first clearing/painting/conversion: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthrea...dlight+service

I want the lights and bumper.