Legnum VR4 v Nissan Stagea v Legacy GTB - Review
Discussion
I had a VR4 for around 18 months. It was huge and very capable car that when prodded hard really could get a shift on. The fuel economy in mine was poor. But that was probably me right boot.
What did scare the living daylights out of me, was the fact that any repair to the gearbox seemed to cost more than the value of the car. I'm not sure that's entirely founded anymore?
I would try and track down a rare manual Galant VR4, but I think people have now figured out that they are quite possibly a massive performance bargain without the sleepless nights the auto gearbox might give you. Mine seemed to be a bit 'grumbly' though I would add, the car never went wrong.
Would love to learn otherwise. The legnum was hugely bigger than my forester, and more entertaining to drive.
What did scare the living daylights out of me, was the fact that any repair to the gearbox seemed to cost more than the value of the car. I'm not sure that's entirely founded anymore?
I would try and track down a rare manual Galant VR4, but I think people have now figured out that they are quite possibly a massive performance bargain without the sleepless nights the auto gearbox might give you. Mine seemed to be a bit 'grumbly' though I would add, the car never went wrong.
Would love to learn otherwise. The legnum was hugely bigger than my forester, and more entertaining to drive.
Ahh great excuse to remember my old Ralliart Vr4:
Loved the look - very mean, but practical...
Great engine, dead reliable in my experience, only thing that needs well maintaining is the AYC - oil change every 4.5k miles IIRC.
Lovely place to sit:
And a Porsche engineered tiptronic gearbox...
Loved the look - very mean, but practical...
Great engine, dead reliable in my experience, only thing that needs well maintaining is the AYC - oil change every 4.5k miles IIRC.
Lovely place to sit:
And a Porsche engineered tiptronic gearbox...
Only problem with the autobox on the Legnum/Galant was that when they went bang, they were very expensive to replace.
They were unique to the Galant, the box was used in the FTO but as the Galant was a 4x4 install, it couldn't be swapped in and they were so rare that nobody really did recon boxes for them. It tended to be you had to wait for a donor car to be wrapped around a tree and steal it's bits.
The gearboxes were often clunky from cold and after a battery change or drain, the gearbox would forget it's memory and be a bloody nightmare while it remembered how to change gear.
As said elsewhere, the 4.5k AYC fluid made them a pain for a daily driver as it's hard but not impossible to self service the fluid.
Must say, I keep looking at the ads to try and justify picking another one up.
They were unique to the Galant, the box was used in the FTO but as the Galant was a 4x4 install, it couldn't be swapped in and they were so rare that nobody really did recon boxes for them. It tended to be you had to wait for a donor car to be wrapped around a tree and steal it's bits.
The gearboxes were often clunky from cold and after a battery change or drain, the gearbox would forget it's memory and be a bloody nightmare while it remembered how to change gear.
As said elsewhere, the 4.5k AYC fluid made them a pain for a daily driver as it's hard but not impossible to self service the fluid.
Must say, I keep looking at the ads to try and justify picking another one up.
Yum yum..... I absolutely adore my manual Legnum. Given I paid £2k for it 2 years ago, it's carried everything bar the kitchen sink, scaled the highest snow-bound ski resorts, spent hours on the autobahn at VMax and is genuinely fast in any and all conditions, I think this might just be the best car I'll ever own. Oh, and did I mention that absolutely NOTHING has gone wrong with it yet? They do need a few choice mods though to really unlock their true potential, but that's probably applicable to most of the high performance Jap cars of the mid-1990s. These cars were certainly borne out of the golden age of sports car design, before the nanny state and concern over mpg set in.
What a great topic. Really some of the most underrated cars on the road. I currently have a Legacy BP5 WR Limited and a Stagea 250t RS Four and was thinking of doing the same thing.. Maybe I will anyway as they are the later generations. Watch this space, ill try to get both here sometime and take some pictures.. Which do I prefer though.. Pains me as it does to say it as a die hard Subaru Fan... probably the NM35...
Gilhooligan said:
Solid 10 year thread revival.
Cool cars though. I fancy a Legacy GTB estate.
I had mine (that I mentioned earlier in the thread) for 11 or 12 years, best all-rounder I've ever owned and despite what some people will tell you about them, also the most reliable car I've ever owned.Cool cars though. I fancy a Legacy GTB estate.
Sold My VR4 18 months ago, had an amazing low mileage (less than 20k) auto.
What surprised me was how little lag from the turbos, just an instantaneous throttle response, very light but direct steering that was enhanced by the wonderful factory Nardi leather steering wheel.
Was a brilliant car, so glad I owned one.
What surprised me was how little lag from the turbos, just an instantaneous throttle response, very light but direct steering that was enhanced by the wonderful factory Nardi leather steering wheel.
Was a brilliant car, so glad I owned one.
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