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Comments
Umm, good luck trying to find a new A4 Quattro, Passat 4Motion, or V50 AWD for "mid-20s." Don't hold your breath.
And MAZDASPEED6? It won't even be for sale until next spring and the base MSRP starts at $28 without options--i.e., compares with the Legacy GT, which is subject to more discounts than the newer Mazda. I doubt Mazda will have a "fire sale" for the MAZDASPEED6.
MZ6 will hit about $32k when equipped like a Legacy GT Limited.
You can get a base Leg GT sedan for under $25k nowadays.
The Mazda does have HIDs, bigger rims, and a 6 speed manual, though.
-juice
The best way to drive is w/recirculate off and AC on during the winter months.
This past weekend the wife just upgraded her 2003 Legacy GT wagon to the 2005 version (limited). Switched from manual to auto trans. This car is like night and day when compared to the 2003 model. This is a very very nice vehicle.
I have to admit that I, too, think the climate control system has a mind of its own. However, it is just the temperature, the overall airflow seems fine. The 2003 was always stuffy inside and I was always having to mess with the climate controls.
Every other facet of the car is a major improvement over the 2003.
Regards,
BigRob.
That was not fun driving 200 miles plus today all highway & having that constant vibration.
But if I switch to recirc, then the windows will fog up within a couple of minutes, faster if there are more people in hte car.
So I agree w. BigRob, there are no such issues with this car.
Sly
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Thanks for your response. Like I stated earlier, when I retested the GT in the streets, it felt better than on the C&D course. I am also thinking of slightly modifying some of the suspension and or tires when I buy the car, but I am "mechanically disabled" and I would need to have someone do it for me. Subaru should really have a GT STI or at least a GT sport. There is so much potential for that car.
I agree with your post. The base GT (esp the hp) is more sport than I need for 98% of street driving, but it feels good knowing you have a little extra there if needed or if one likes legal competition.
Yeah, I like legacygt.com. There is so much to learn and because the car is still new, so much to be developed.
My current car is still running well, so I will prolly buy in the fall. I am thinking of buying the base GT because it has more headroom than the Limited. I am 6'4" and in the Limited my hair tends to rub on the ceiling. Do you know if it is possible to get a GT non-limited with leather seats?
Thanks, Nelson
Sly
Hope this helps.
Where I work I've followed 4 different people into the parking lot like this and told them as they got out of the car that recirculate is causing their problems. All 4 cases, that was the problem.
Regards,
BigRob.
Craig
I am also the one that posted about the extreme vibration I had today for around 200 miles. It is not "flat spotting" (I don't think--the car is used every day & would that last several hours. Wasn't that cold this morning, maybe 20 or so)
Sorry, the link I posted had your name, but at the bottom it also had kens post.
Oh, one more question/concern for all of ya. Tsy mentioned that the GT is not a bimmer with regards to handling. My question, why not try? BMW has proven that well handling sedans sell. I know I am nit-picking, but the Legacy can improve its handling and steering without being bone-jarring.
Thanks.
BMWs with the Sport Package have gotten quite stiff, too stiff me thinks for most folks. I have two friends that have bent rims on theirs.
I do think there is room for an STi or at least a Sport Pack on the Legacy GT, though. I think it could get just a little more starch but remain tolerable, maybe like the non-Sport BMWs.
-juice
I think you and I are driving twins separated at birth (manufacture).
Fogging: I NEVER turn on the recirculate setting and have had my windows fog up on three occasions.
Each time, the outside temperature was around 30 F and the roads were wet with snow. The full defog setting ultimately clears the inside of the windshield, but it takes a while and the engine must be at full operating temperature. I think I discovered the problem. The air intake for the heater is under the hood where moisture gets trapped and sucked into the heater. I plan to drill holes in the plastic cowl cover forward and above the wipers. This way, cooler, drier air can enter the heater from the base of the windshield (like most vehicles). There should be cowl drains to allow any accumulated water to drain.
Vibrations: This problem is very intermittent for me. I had my Subaru dealer balance the tires. That helped some, but occasionally the vibration comes back. The vibration occurs just as often in clear weather with no snow or rain on the car or the pavement. I think it is a drive train problem rather than wheels. It's as if the U-joints or CV joints occasionally become bound at an odd angles where the driveshaft or axles become temporarily unbalanced. I have only 3000 miles on my Legacy 2.5i sedan and hope the problem clears up as the joints wear in. Next time this happens, try stopping the car, backup a bit under power, and resume forward movement. If the vibration clears than it's a drivetrain rather than a wheel issue.
Jim
I do not think it is a problem with the make of the car, but more due to the extreme environment. I am just glad that we have 0 humidity this time of year because humidity and cold weather together are not fun.
Oh, and I might be dreaming because I don't use it very often, but recirc with A/C in the summer seems to allow the cab to get much colder than drawing hot outside air.
Enjoy the drive,
-Wes-
If you don't want to open the moonroof, having a window open a small bit does help as well, I think I've read others having one window up front open, and the opposite side open in the rear.
-Brian
Which Falkens did you get? I'm always curious about peoples impressions about tires. I keep experimenting and have heard some good things about Falkens, but they tend to be noisy (at least the high performance ones)
tom
I think there's room for an STi version of the legacy, but I think it would be a much lower volume car than the GT. In this country, people want to be comfortable, so they settle for the softer ride. Most bimmers ride pretty well, but as Juice said, you need to get the sport suspension packages to get something better handling. Most people will actually pass on this.
Even the new Mazdaspeed 6 wil be a very limited production model. (I spoke with the dealer today) So it seems while there are some people like us who want it all, there certainly aren't a lot! ;-)
I bought this car because I always said when Subaru turbocharges the GT I'll buy one. So when they did, I literally put my money where my mouth was, and bought one of the first ones. I have never regretted it (and I go through a lot of cars!). Thought about a 5 series, but no AWD and definitely don't like the new look. Audis are nice but I need a reliable car. Volvos are nice, but their AWD system isn't what I wanted. The new Acura is nice, but kinda slow.
No, there actually isn't anything remotely in this price range that does what this car does. And with the infusion of a few $K more, there's not much that will keep up with it either!
tom
I actually wanted a non-Ltd GT because it's lighter (about 200lbs) than the Ltd, but they didn't have any at the time. Oh well. ;-)
tom
I got Falken ZE-512 B. Size 225/55ZR-17. So far, they are much quieter than the OE tires and are almost at par with the more expensive Michelin MXV4 Plus that I have on my other car. In a way, the Falkens and the Subarus are alike. They are both very good, but underrated. Jason (aka. Snowbird)
Last weekend when I had the car in a friend's shop to replace the water pump and timing belt, I must have had hundreds of pounds of ice melt off the car. There was at least 30 gallons of water on the floor. I felt bad about creating the mess, but the car rides a few inches higher now and no more ice rubbing against the rear tires!
In summary... the tanks are huge and for whatever reason, it is difficult to get the original 32F factory stuff out of the system. I highly recommend getting the additive (the dealer will add it for free). Keep in mind that you may need to do this a couple of times. I live in a cold climate and have been at this since early November.
-juice
I have the Subaru "all weather" mats that allow puddles to collect in the channels of the rubber. Then the water runs to the edge of the mat, or the hole for the mat retainer hook, and then soaks the carpeting under the mat, where it can't easily evaporate.
Last weekend I had dry rubber mats with soaked carpeting underneath. The "all weather" mats work better in dry weather.
-Jim
Here in the NW, Subies are very well accepted. Very popular, people swear by them. But I agree with you, in the rest of the country (other than the NE) they are underrated cars.
tom
The other difference is in the tires. Although all three wear all-seasons (M+S rated), the GT gets slightly more "sporty" tires that may not work as well in snow. But at the same the the GT tires are a tad narrower (but lower profile) so that may negate any tread difference. In any case, stock tires are typically mediocre (for either the GT or OB) and a simple upgrade will improve snow performance significantly.
All three should fare quite well in snow compared to any 2WD vehicle. They all use the same AWD system (if equipped with 5EAT).
I can't post a link, but there are many owner snow driving reports available at Legacygt.com. The overwhelming response seems to be positive.
Ken
A few weeks ago my brand spanking new 05 Legacy 2.5i Ltd had the CEL come on with the cruise control light blinking. I have only had the car for 2 months. The car ran fine but the cruise control did not work. I brought it in to the dealer who connected it up to the computer to read the codes. The computer revealed that the two O2 Sensors needed to be replaced. I am assuming that the cruise control would be fixed as well. The dealer ordered the sensors of which only one showed up on Thursday of last week. He put another request in for another sensor on Friday of last week and well today is Thursday and nada! Car is still in the shop and all I get is excuses...Needless to say I am extremely frustrated and aggravated that such a new car has run into such problem so early in the game.
I contacted Subaru of America with my dilemma. They responded by saying that the part has been ordered is presently in my state. Additionally, it would be delivered by Friday at the latest.
Why does it take 3 days to move a part from the warehouse to the dealership which I may add is only 2 hours away from each other?? Since the 2.5i has the same H4 engine as the previous year why aren’t there plenty of sensors readily available??
To address my frustration Subaru of America has agreed to take care of my rental and would give me "good will". Has anyone encountered this so called "good will"? I would really love to know what I should be expecting from Subaru. Has anyone else had problems receiving parts while the car was in the dealership??
The rotors were warped too on a car with only 2000 miles on it??!? Subaru is definetly not impressing me. This is going to have to be some top notch"good will" by SOA.
Thanks.
Chuck
Some people say to put the spare on the front since it's an open diff.; the rear has LSD.
DaveM
Chuck
But did you know there is a "Full Auto w. no A/C" mode? I discovered that this week. If you start in Auto, and wait until HAL has gone through his morning routine and switches the A/C on, and then you press A/C OFF, then you are still in FULL Auto mode despite the AUTO light turning off.
This means that the next morning when you start your car, it will start with low-fan speed and upper vents until the engine starts warming up, then go to high-fan end foot vents until the car warms up (or you are well-done, whichever comes first) and then switch to both foot-vents and face-vents, but without turning on the A/C!
On the other hand, when you are in semi-auto, it would actually go to full blast as soon as you start the car, and would not change which vents are used.
BTW, through the very cold weather we've had over the last few weeks I thought HAL was working quite well. I thought maybe it was me or the system was learning how to deal with our climate. But now that temperatures are back up around the freezing mark, it has started to overshoot it's temp again and overheat the cabin. The critical range seems to be -10C to +5C or so. Outside of that range, it works much better.
Sly
If you see a lot of gravel/dirt roads, and clearance is important, opt for the OB.
-juice
But nowadays they're much higher up.
-juice
'96 to '04 H4 = 7.3" GC
'01 to '04 H6 = 7.9" GC
'05 2.5i / 3.0R = 8.4" GC
'05 XT = 8.7" GC
DaveM
-juice
-B
Just my thoughts not knowledge.
Krzys
...with a Regal Blue Pearl Legacy GT Limited Sedan with Sportshift.
Boy, it was hilarious. I kept showing her the new Tribeca and Outbacks, she kept going back to the GT, didn't want to hear about anything else. She's even picked her color out.
Her 2002 Legacy wagon is fine, but if I can get a clean used sample or something we may trade up. You should have seen her expression when she said "this is my next car".
The damage is done, I can't change her mind now.
-juice