Subaru legacy estate

JJJJNR

Hi, I am looking at buying a 98 - 03 model subaru legacy estate, the one with the 2.0 litre petrol engine. Has anyone owned one before, whats the economy like, the one im looking at is a manual and I'm expecting 30 - 35mpg, are they reliable, theres very little on the internet in terms of reviews or what to look out for.

unkel

I like them. It's a bit spartan - built like a workhorse if you like. If you need to carry stuff over rough roads but don't need a full size SUV, it's perfect. Reliability is not as good as you might like to think, but on the other hand you rarely hear Subaru owners who are unhappy with their cars

The boxer motor is known to drink more petrol than most though. 30-35MPG is not realistic imho

cantdecide

My brothers '98 (old shape) 2.5 manual gets about 25-30 mpg but it has 130k miles done.

I was told once that they are only very marginally more expensive to run than the 2.0 but I don't really know.

Well recommended though but if I were looking for one myself it'd be a 2.5 auto estate (esates are especially nice in the '98> shape) most have leather and climate control and they feel like significantly better place to be than than the sparse low end models. They all have 4WD but I'm sure everyone knows that.

The value in these things is unbelieveable

N8

Not drove the legacy but had a 2.0 petrol turbo forester XT. The car was bullet proof never had a problem and I covered 85000 miles plus in it.

It had all the toys (sunroof, leather, air con etc etc), it was surefooted with the 4WD and could go anywhere but the brakes weren't great so I (like alot of owners it appears) uprated the braking.

It was exceptionally fast, and had serious accleration, very similar to the WRX and was the height of comfort to drive.

However, it never got over 26 MPG even on long runs and short runs heavy footed often reduced that to @15. An automatic box would have reduced this further.

Eventually financial reality set in and a diesel motor replaced it.

JJJJNR

Damn, less than 30mpg.. that sucks. I wont be doing heavy mileage but cant justify less than 30 mpg.

alo1587

A friend of mine has a '00 2.5 outback, says he only gets around 180 miles to the tank!!! Although he has a heavy right foot...

unkel

JJJJNR wrote: »

Damn, less than 30mpg.. that sucks. I wont be doing heavy mileage but cant justify less than 30 mpg.

You'll have to go diesel so. How about an Audi A6 Allroad 2.5TDI? Faster and more powerful than the Legacy. Loads more torque and should still easily manage 35MPG or better

ismynametoolong

I lived in the the Uk up to 2 yrs ago and left behind the best car i ever had a 04 plate Legacy Estate. I worked for a building company and as a result the car was always on building sites and with the AWD i never once got stuck even in places where conventional four wheel drive jeeps did. As for fuel consumption couldnt tell you but it never stood out as particuarly good or bad.

bazz26

Volvo do the XC70 too which would cost alot less than the Audi.

galwaytt

unkel wrote: »

You'll have to go diesel so. How about an Audi A6 Allroad 2.5TDI? Faster and more powerful than the Legacy. Loads more torque and should still easily manage 35MPG or better

...won't be half as reliable as the Scooby, though........I don't think it even comes with a spare wheel.......

unkel

bazz26 wrote: »

Volvo do the XC70 too which would cost alot less than the Audi.

Yeah didn't think of the XC70. Any other siliar size 4WD diesel estates out there?

cantdecide

JJJJNR wrote: »

Damn, less than 30mpg.. that sucks. I wont be doing heavy mileage but cant justify less than 30 mpg.

What annual mileage are you doing???

Going from 30 mpg to 25 is not the end of the world. Think of it this way- if you're averaging €40 a week on petrol @30mpg, to cover the same mileage @25mpg will cost you €46. Hardly a fortune, especially for a nice car.

Things will change in 07/08 for new cars but to switch to diesel and get 45 mpg will cost something like €30. In other words it'll take you years of low mileage, higher mpg to offset the extra thousands you will pay up front.

Most people never get out of the red in diesels let alone go into the black.

The reverse is actually true, OP- if you're not doing high enough mileage, you can't justify diesel. If someone doing low mileage shouldn't drive a sub 25mpg car, who should, exactly??

Cosmo K

I have a 96 Legacy estate for nearly a year now, most reliable car I ever had. Only trouble with them is, they are quite thirsty. As the others said, expect the fuel consumption to be in the 25-30 mpg range.
Its a pity, Subaru ignored the diesel for so long. They could have sold 10 times the number of cars, if they were available as a diesel.

JJJJNR

Well put it this way the guys in the local garage know my name and have a good laugh when they see me coming, I currently have a honda accord 1.8 auto, no idea what the MPG is at the moment, but its bad, there might be something wrong with the tranny. I'm currently spending 60 or 70 euros a week on local driving. I'm probably mad even thinking about a legacy but as others have said they are stunning machines, and very practical.

The audi would be nice but they are way overpriced compared to the legacy.

bazz26

unkel wrote: »

Yeah didn't think of the XC70. Any other siliar size 4WD diesel estates out there?

BMW sold a 5 series estate with 4wd back in the early to mid 1990s afaik. It had X at the end of the badge to set it apart from 2wd versions. Ie 525iX Touring. It had a standard suspension set up though and sold in very small numbers.

unkel

cantdecide wrote: »

OP- if you're not doing high enough mileage, you can't justify diesel.

Indeed. If only more people did their sums!

bazz26 wrote: »

BMW sold a 5 series estate with 4wd back in the early to mid 1990s afaik. It had X at the end of the badge to set it apart from 2wd versions. Ie 525iX Touring. It had a standard suspension set up though and sold in very small numbers.

Aye, I know about the iX BMWs. There have been several ranges based on several 3 and 5 series. Very rare on the continent, let alone in the UK. I'd be surprised if a single one was ever sold in Ireland

milltown

cantdecide wrote: »

What annual mileage are you doing???

Going from 30 mpg to 25 is not the end of the world. Think of it this way- if you're averaging €40 a week on petrol @30mpg, to cover the same mileage @25mpg will cost you €46. Hardly a fortune, especially for a nice car.

Things will change in 07/08 for new cars but to switch to diesel and get 45 mpg will cost something like €30. In other words it'll take you years of low mileage, higher mpg to offset the extra thousands you will pay up front.

Most people never get out of the red in diesels let alone go into the black.

The reverse is actually true, OP- if you're not doing high enough mileage, you can't justify diesel. If someone doing low mileage shouldn't drive a sub 25mpg car, who should, exactly??

Very well put!

Similarly, I was panicking when the petrol prices started rising and considering getting rid of my 24ish MPG car (which I love) for something more frugal until I did the sums. To stay in a similar age and class of car I would have been looking at a hell of a lot of petrol money.

JJJJNR

Well I've two options, either a 307 1.6HDi or a Subaru Legacy at the same price, the 307 is 04 the legacy '02.

unkel

JJJJNR wrote: »

Well I've two options, either a 307 1.6HDi or a Subaru Legacy

What do you mean, you have two options?

There are thousands and thousands of second hand cars out there and it's a buyers market. And if you don't like any of them, you can always import one...

budweiserfrogie

I know this is probably well out of your price range but. My local subaru dealer is expecting delivery of his first diesel Legacys and Outbacks some time this month. I was in with him a couple weeks before xmas and at that time they were confirmed as on the boat making their way to ireland. This should answer all the mpg issues and put subaru more firmly on the map.