I've Fallen In Love

We bought the wife an '00 Legacy Outback on Monday. She drove it back home, leaving me to drive ahead of her in her '96 Saturn SL1 (*cough*). She needed to get it registered and inspected this morning, while she was at work, so I got to drive it in return for getting everything in order.

And oh... I've fallen in love, I swear. It feels solid & rugged. The suspension's so smooth, the engine's so quiet... no road noise at all when the windows are rolled up. Didn't feel as long as it looks, either, just like my old Loyale. I didn't mind the auto tranny, either... we seemed to jive, shifting when I wanted it to shift (or near 'bouts, at least).

I did notice that it seems to lose energy fairly quickly while coasting... take my foot off the gas, and it slows down quickly. Makes it nice going down a steady grade, but it made me wonder if a caliper isn't sticking. It's not pulling, nor do I smell hot brakes *shrug*.

Overall, I like it. A dealer a mile or so down the road has a dark blue Legacy Outback, '97 or so, that they just swapped out the engine in (126k on the rest of the car, not sure on the replacement engine). They're asking $4k for it, and I'm going to take a look at it Thursday morning before work. 5 spd, too.

So much for my obsession over the Impreza Outback *grin*.