This is a Legacy deserving of notice....

When you get out on the open road in the Subaru Legacy wagon one thing strikes you straightaway.

It's all about ride and handling and, in the case of the entry level 2.5i Sport wagon, it makes an impressive delivery.

We know that a chunk of that stability can be sheeted home to Subaru's Symmetrical all-wheel drive function, which is a stock in trade for the brand.

But when you couple up that grip with a neatly tuned suspension, it makes for a memorable ride, one that lets you tackle corners in the knowledge that everyone in the car will hardly notice that a bend has been negotiated.

The Legacy wagon makes a great deal of sense in other areas as well and paramount among them is pricing.

Subaru has really sharpened the pricing pencil this time around and pared $4000 off the price of the 2.5i Sport, dropping it to $44,990. This is a price that underlines the value-for-money mantra that's been coming from company HQ of late.

Here's a stock standard estate that is certainly roomy and for those not in the market for a sport utility vehicle makes sense as an ideal alternative.

When we're talking room it's not all about what's there in the boot - even though that's more than adequate - but within the cabin itself. Leg and headroom aren't compromised either for those up front or riding in the back seat. The wagon is a little longer and taller than the sedan so that explains things in part at least.

As the entry level model for year 2014, it's a given that a reasonably tight rein is kept on specification, but what the Legacy does have is ample enough.

Inside, there's dual zone climate air conditioning, rake and reach adjustable steering wheel, cruise, audio and Bluetooth controls (on the steering wheel), leather-wrapped steering wheel, and power window and mirrors. Outside the 17-inch alloys and foglamps complete the picture.

The Legacy wagon isn't exactly eye candy, but what it may lack in terms of design panache it makes up for in performance and appealing driveability.

Like the others in the Legacy stable, the Sport wagon gets the Lineartronic auto transmission. It does the business, but you can have some fun by flicking into manual mode and grabbing a handful of all six ratios via the paddles on the steering column.

The 2.5-litre, four-cylinder Boxer engine has been carried over into the new model but, again, nothing's lost in this translation.

It's an able worker and marries up perfectly to the Lineartronic transmission.

It sits well clear of the road and is so easy to get in and out of, which means it is an ideal fit for the Kiwi landscape.

There's 490 litres of cargo room with the back seat in use and folded down goes up more than threefold in terms of volume. So there you have numbers that stamp this as a more than adequate family shifter.

The Legacy 2.5i Sport wagon deserves to be noticed. It has a heart that's strong, on-road stability that is the envy of others, is spacious and sealed and delivered with a very attractive price.