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Dumb Question? Loyale vs. GL (Wagons)?


DT250a
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Hey I'm still new here so excuse my ignorance, but what are the differences between the Loyale Wagons of the 80's and the GL wagons?

 

From the pics I've seen on here they look pretty much the same.

 

I started a thread on my 1987 GL Wagon a few weeks ago.

 

Was the Loyale a fancier option package or something?

 

Thanks for reading / answering my newbie question.

 

.

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They are pretty much identical the biggest difference is loyales didnt come with the dual range transmission. The gl 85-89 and loyales90-94 same car.(aside from a few cosmetic and interior differences)

 

this is kinda my own opinion, but when they switched the name from GL to Loyale, I think they also bagged any of the nicer options you cold have gotten.

 

if I had to pick the best of the best, I'd go with an 88 or 89 GL wagon D/R 5 speed, I think that's about as good as they got, they were also fuel injected and not carbed which is a good thing as well

Edited by Stubies Subie
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GL = Grand Luxury

 

vollt meter oil pressure guage

carpeted door cards

grab handles on front interior doors

2nd interoir lights above the rear view mirror

power door locks.

3rd interior light in back of the car

steering wheel w/ subaru logo.

 

Loyale = Low Luxury

 

None of the above.

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Well hold on now, my 91 Loyale (which I thought all EA82s minus the XT were Loyales were after 89?) has all of that minus the map lights and rear dome (just one center dome).

I've got PL, PW, PM, rear deck speakers, lumbar support, A/C... The driver's window is even one-touch down AND up. My 05 9-2x (impreza clone) didn't even have that!
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FWIW, the 87 GL is supposed to be the worst Subaru GL/Loyale ever made which is why craigslist is full of them. The Loyales have a slightly greater curvature to the side window glass than the GL's so don't swap glass from one for the other. The loyales rear coil spring/shocks were taller by 1 to 2 inches. They can be interchanged and make the GL's look a little sharper, especially the 85 & 86s. The Loyales have the automatic shoulder straps. The GL10's have an updated cylinder head upgrade available that are more resistant to leaking coolant from cracks between the intake and exhaust valves. Not true however, for the GL/Loyale SPFI cylinder heads. The Loyales get some pretty impressive gas mileage.

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FWIW, the 87 GL is supposed to be the worst Subaru GL/Loyale ever made which is why craigslist is full of them. The Loyales have a slightly greater curvature to the side window glass than the GL's so don't swap glass from one for the other. The loyales rear coil spring/shocks were taller by 1 to 2 inches. They can be interchanged and make the GL's look a little sharper, especially the 85 & 86s. The Loyales have the automatic shoulder straps. The GL10's have an updated cylinder head upgrade available that are more resistant to leaking coolant from cracks between the intake and exhaust valves. Not true however, for the GL/Loyale SPFI cylinder heads. The Loyales get some pretty impressive gas mileage.



ummmm.....theres a few things wrong here. not that im offended, but spreading incorrectness is well, incorrect.
first: the glass on my gl and loyale are the same except rear quarter glass. as far as glass and body (unless its a 85, different mirrors/glass) goes, its the same. exactly the same.
second, where do ya get that 87s are bad?
third, the 1-2 inch discrepancy you speak of has to do with adjustable struts in the front in older models and settling over time. in the rear it can be attributed to a 2wd model which has 2" lower spring perches (as it sits), and again, settling.
forth: the re-vamped gl10 heads are turbo heads and have nothing to do with NA heads. there are however gen3 heads for NA motors that you can buy at the dealer but were never installed and sold in any showroom model.
fifth: the gas mileage will not differ just because of the badge on the door or steering wheel.
in short, its the same car. Loyales were subaru's way of using up all the EA parts they had leftover, think about it; legacys came out in 89, no reason to buy a gl loyale when theyre trying to sell legos. ;) Edited by Subruise
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Mine is a 91, and has the full compliment of dash instruments, oil presser, temp, fuel, and volt meter.

 

the sliding shoulder belt thing I think was an option, because mine doesn't have it, (and I wouldn't want it)

 

I only got 1 dome light, it's right in the center, not fond of that option either.

 

got cheesy wheels and hubcaps.

 

I don't particularly care for the seats either but ya get what ya get.

 

I think where the GL or loyale hits the mark is that it's economical to own no matter what year it is.

 

parts are cheap and plentiful, (that will change over time)

 

there's nothing on the car that's hard to fix

 

they get great fuel millage as compared to other 4x4's, I average about 32MPG on the highway

 

being a 4x4, they will follow other 4x4's an amazing distance

 

I consider it a throw away car, when your done killing it, go get another one and start over.

 

I had a Jeep before this, I like 32 mpg a lot better then 15 mpg, the subaru, being older, breaks down less often then the jeep did, and there was nothing on the jeep that was cheap to fix.

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Re: 1987 GL's being "the worst GL/Loyale made":

 

They may be the worst, but the fact that they are 27 years old, and "craigslist is full of them" says a lot about how good they are compared to the rest of the cars available. How many 27 year old Corollas are out there?

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I thought 1987 had the highest sales for the GL wagon line, thats why you see a lot on craigslist...

 

To answer the OP Question, I'd take an 87-89 GL over a Loyale, mainly the 88-89 range. From what I've read the 87' GL's got stock engine and interior upgrades that were more refined in the 88-89's, but dropped on the Loyales.

 

Josh

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Loyales are the same as GL's. There were running small changes through the years of the EA82 body style from 85-94, but they are the same car.

 

It was renamed the Loyale when they came out with the Legacy. Since it was the low cost alternative to the Legacy it's often found in a more stripped form than the earlier GL10's. When the Impreza came out in 93, it took over the entry level price point so the Loyale was discontinued the next year.

 

There are no "good" or "bad" years for them, all options were available pretty much from the start so its about finding the car with the right options to make it work for you.

 

My Loyale had power windows, locks, a/c, rear wiper, fuel injected and a fully equipped dash. My dads GL had crank windows, no a/c, and a carb. So much for luxury compared to the loyale. I took the dual range 4x4 transmission out of his and bolted it in where my pushbutton 4x4 was to make the best of both cars.

 

The Loyales are also wired for any of the deleted options. The plug for the maplights is there under the left side of the dash. The bracket for it is under the headliner, you just have to cut the hole. The wiring for the rear door speakers is there.

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Along similar lines it seems like the EA81 and EA82 GL cars are also wired for the deleted options whereas the DL's are not. My '83 GL was wired for AC, Power Windows, Power Side Mirrors, ect. It didn't come with any of that but it was simple to add later. My EA82 DL however seems to have the simplest wiring harness containing almost no extras.

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  • 2 years later...

For Aus, we simply call all of them "L" series. You might see Leone also for the FWD sedans.

 

We only got 2 specs:

Leone sedan:

DL (pretty much 1985 only)

GL (85-87) then "Royale" (88-90) in either FWD or part time, dual range 4wd (but mostly FWD)

GLTA (turbo automatic) & RX turbo (85-87)

 

Wagon:

DL (85-94), though anything after 90 didn't have any DL badging

GL (85) FWD & single range 4wd low roof

GL Touring wagon (85-90)

 

GL's (so Leone Royale & Touring wagon) got MPFI standard in 89-90, and always with a tacho dash. Everything else except for the turbos is carbed engine and no tacho.

Touring wagons always had PW, but sedan didn't get this until they got MPFI.

GL after 90 were the povo pack DL with carpet, cloth seats, and maybe a cargo cover.

 

We never had the option of volt/oil pressure gauge, nor digi dash or cruise control, and no turbos after 87

And we never got the hatchback version :(

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GL = Grand Luxury

 

vollt meter oil pressure guage

carpeted door cards

grab handles on front interior doors

2nd interoir lights above the rear view mirror

power door locks.

3rd interior light in back of the car

steering wheel w/ subaru logo.

 

Loyale = Low Luxury

My 1990 loyale has power locks and voltmeter oil pressure.

 

The Loyales have a slightly greater curvature to the side window glass than the GL's so don't swap glass from one for the other.

The Loyales have the automatic shoulder straps.

The Loyales get some pretty impressive gas mileage.

Probably confused the Legacy and Loyale, look almost the same but Legacy is rounder (hence the greater curvature to the windows).

 

My Loyale doesn't have automatic shoulder straps, glad it doesn't!

 

Probably starting in 1987ish and up (when SPFI engines came out) had better fuel mileage.

Edited by Subasaurus
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@ Loyale 2.7 Turbo, In Aus, a coupe is a sedan with only 2 doors, or at least has a boot(trunk). Like the early 80s model or the XT. So yes, I mean the coupe, but still is a hatchback to me.

Edited by wagonist
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Just wanted to point a couple things out- you'll never find power locks on a coupe. Also, either airbags or automatic seatbelts were required by law in the US after 1990. Obviously it was easier to add automatic seatbelts to the Leone platform than it was to add airbags. You should check this thread out. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/15857-chart-of-ea82-changes-throughout-the-years/

Edited by Ziginox
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My 1990 Loyale donor vehicle has no airbag nor auto seat belts,

Also why did the auto seat belts leave? not just on Subaru but on every auto manufacturer? i heard that it was against the constitution to force us into seat belts (even though we could unclip it) thats why they faded away.. is this true or a bunch of bologna?

Edited by Subasaurus
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Just wanted to point a couple things out- you'll never find power locks on a coupe. Also, either airbags or automatic seatbelts were required by law in the US after 1990. Obviously it was easier to add automatic seatbelts to the Leone platform than it was to add airbags. You should check this thread out. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/15857-chart-of-ea82-changes-throughout-the-years/

 

My 1990 Loyale donor vehicle has no airbag nor auto seat belts,

Also why did the auto seat belts leave? not just on Subaru but on every auto manufacturer? i heard that it was against the constitution to force us into seat belts (even though we could unclip it) thats why they faded away.. is this true or a bunch of bologna?

...after 1990 ie 1991

and up

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@Ziginox: you're saying that even the RX Turbo hatchback never had power door locks?

I find that hard to believe. It's only 4 wires, and the coupe would require 2 fewer solenoids than a sedan, and 3 less than the wagon.

 

And I still can't believe that seatbelts aren't compulsory. But if you guys want to kill yourselves, don't let the rest of the world stop you :P

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