Subaru's 2010 Legacy is bigger in every dimension, which should better position it in the competitive midsize sedan segment.

There’s something to be said about being the only automaker in the American market to post a sales increase in 2008.  How Subaru pulled that off is going to be debated for some time, but certainly a good share of the credit goes to products like the Subaru Legacy which, suggests Subaru CEO Ikuo Mori, is the company’s “iconic model.”

The icon is about to go through a facelift, Subaru introducing the all-new 2010 Legacy at this year’s New York International Auto Show.  A spitting image of the Subaru Legacy Concept sedan first shown in Detroit, last January, the production, 2010 model is a moderately larger package that “now competes head-on in the midsize sedan segment,” asserted Subaru of America COO Tom Doll, during a news conference at the NY show.

The new sedan measures 1.4 inches longer, overall, with a wheelbase stretched 3.0 inches.  The 2010 Subaru Legacy is also 3.6 inches wider and 3.2 inches taller, with a trunk 30 percent larger than the model it replaces.

The new model will be offered with standard All-Wheel-Drive and three optional powertrain packages, including the mileage-miser 2.5-liter, 170 horsepower Boxer 4-cylinder engine, a turbo variant pumping that to 265 ponies, and the performance-oriented six-cylinder, 3.6-liter engine.  There are a variety of transmissions available, including a fuel-efficient CVT.

The 2010 Legacy is the latest in a flood of new products from the Japanese maker, which also plans to launch an updated version of its Outback wagon for the coming model-year.