I just test drove the 05 Legacy GT and WOW, I was very impressed. This is what my 98 GT should have been like!!! Has anyone else got a chance to try it or own this one? Any good/ bad issues that have been discovered?

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

kutch

 

former owner of a great 90 legacy and a not so great 98 legacy GT...

This is what my 98 GT should have been like!!!

 

Heh...plus another 100 HP

I just test drove the 05 Legacy GT and WOW, I was very impressed. This is what my 98 GT should have been like!!! Has anyone else got a chance to try it or own this one? Any good/ bad issues that have been discovered?

 

I recently test drove a Legacy GT as part of that "Test Drive a 2005 and get a $25 gift certificate" invitation. I also test drove a 2005 Outback 3.0R sedan as well. I wanted to test drive both of them to get a comparsion between the H6 and the turbo 2.5. Here's what my thoughts are:

 

The Outback 3.0R has excellent power right at the start. The powerband is very smooth, no jerking. If you need to pull out into traffic very quickly, the H6 does the job perfectly. Also, the brakes are so good that it will stop the car on a dime.

 

The Legacy GT (I wanted to drive a Outback XT, but they sold out their automatics and only had the manuals left.) was nice, and the electroluminescent gauges was very cool. However, to get power, you have to "wait for it." When I pulled out of the dealer into traffic, it didn't give me that power. Instead it pulled out very weakly. Once I hit 2700 rpm (I was driving it in SportShift mode) I finally got the power and got going. At least my 96 Outback had a better response from a standstill. This is probably contributed to my car having a K&N air filter, and the ECU had adapted to my driving habits.

 

On the highway, I decided to see how good the response was by mashing the throttle. I kept the car in Sport Mode to prevent a downshift. The GT stumbled and hesitated for a bit then the turbo kicked on and accelerated nicely. On the 3.0R, there was no stumbling or hesitation, just smooth power. It was right there, ready to do my bidding.

 

Here's a run down of the pros and cons, in my opinion between the two cars I test drove:

 

Outback 3.0R- Pros: Excellent engine power, always available. Excellent brakes (stops better than my 96 Outback), more standard features. Cons: Price, available only in a sedan.

 

Legacy GT- Pros: Coolness factor of the gauges, available in a wagon, SportShift controls on steering wheel, Price. Cons: Lower brake performance than the 3.0R, lag in power, behaves like a 2.5 when turbo isn't engaged.

 

While I'm not ready to buy a new car now, it would be a hard decision between the 3.0R and the GT (or the Outback XT). If Subaru came out with a wagon version of the 3.0R, I would definitely go for the 3.0R.

A good synopsis rcoaster. The only problem is that you didn't get to use the MANUAL with the turbo setup. Still, I would go with the 2.5 turbo instead of the 3.0R, for the simple fact I could drive it up and down it's power band in a manual tranny all day. Granted, in most turbo vehicles, you won't see any standstill power, and only after about 2500 RPM will you feel that boost kick in. A friend of mine and I test drove a 2004 VW Jetta GLI, with the 1.8T (manual), and you can definitely feel (and hear ) the turbo kick in. (Funny side story, I asked the salesman during the drive when the turbo usually spools up, and he said, "Oh, about 25-30 MPH." Yeesh, a car salesman doesn't even know the engine specs. Lucky I didn't ask him the boost pressure.)

 

Anyway, I have been :slobber: to try a 2005 GT, but I can imagine the arched eyebrows I would get pulling in with the Jackrabbit, in the classic Subaru Two-tone White front / Red Rust back. Still, I can dream, can't I?

Yup,

 

I noticed the spool up (lag time) on the turbo, but I try to avoid autos whenever possible. The 5-spd has a very quick ratio- AND you can get the short shifter STI version as an option...with momo knob...Though to me function comes before looks. It also has a dual mass flywheel which I really do not care for- I've got this on my 328is...hate hate... solid sprung gives better feel. IMHO. But overall this thing (kept in the high 2K RPM range) ROCKED... My daily drive right now is a 98 328is 5-spd and after that test drive I was really impressed. I wish that it had more down low grunt as well...

I posted a thread a couple days ago about my Outback 2.5XT 5MT test-drive, search my posts and you should find it...

Yup,

 

But overall this thing (kept in the high 2K RPM range) ROCKED... My daily drive right now is a 98 328is 5-spd and after that test drive I was really impressed. I wish that it had more down low grunt as well...

LOL, I think I'm going to send this thread to a friend of mine. He has a 328is 5 spd, and is looking for another car. Maybe this is a good replacement for him. After all, he did like the Jetta GLI

When I was doing my test drives test drove the GT wagon with auto and 5 spd and the sedan with auto. They are totally different cars wrt the transmissions. The 5spd feels much quicker and gets on the power faster. The same compares to the wagon -vs- sedan. The wagon feels stable and sure footed. The sedan, well it is an overgrown gokart. I don't think you will wrong with either, I liked the 5 spd sedan the most.

 

FYI-the short throw shifter is definitely the way to go though IMHO.