Subaru Legacy 2.5

Subaru Legacy 2.5

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StoatInACoat

Original Poster:

1,352 posts

184 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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Our ancient Peugeot is starting to get a bit dilapidated and t'other half would like a new car which seems fair enough biggrin

She makes ceramics and we do a fair bit of camping in fields with everything we own so the Pug tends to get filled to the roof + roof box and then drags its arse along the ground. It's not doing it any good so an estate would be brilliant. With this in mind we are thinking one of these:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

Not keen on another clattery diesel although I accept that they aren't as "agricultural" now as a 306 we're bored of the sound effects, smoke, stinky pumps and soaring costs of filling the bloody thing up. She has had diesels for long enough and would like a change. The car will be expected to do a bit of commuting, a bit of city driving and a fair bit of long distance work. She would like an auto I think but it isn't a major concern. 4WD/AWD would be a benefit with muddy campsites etc.

Any owners experiences of the Legacy would be brilliant - positive or negative. 2.5 looks a good all rounder to me for power/economy/road tax/insurance. Would prefer something 2.0 or above with around 150bhp + and does at least 30mpg combined. Have looked at Freelanders (rubbish), CRV (nice but not as "car like" as the Subaru, and Mondeo V6's (doesn't like). Budget £3k ideally, less if possible but £4k at a push. Whatever it is needs to be strong or relatively easy to home repair/service as it will get a beating!

mini1380cc

2,944 posts

170 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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Having just bought a Legacy GTB I have done a fair bit of research into them. The 2.5 is well known for blowing head gaskets.

StoatInACoat

Original Poster:

1,352 posts

184 months

Monday 15th July 2013
quotequote all
Ah. Not terribly encouraging frown Any preventative maintenance to stop this happening or just the luck of the draw? Fair few high mileage ones around so assumed the engine would be solid.

Stephanie Plum

2,776 posts

210 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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Legacies are great cars - I'm on my second - but go for a 3.0 if you can - nicer engine and gearbox. B&C have a tidy one in right now depending on your budget? Low mileage nice ones don't come along that often as people tend to hang onto them and put big mileages on.

Edited to say you put your budget in your op - doh!

Mr Gearchange

5,892 posts

205 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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3.0 is what you want - if you can find one in budget.

Mine has just rolled over to 150K miles and is running as sweetly as ever.

Fubar1977

916 posts

139 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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Just be prepared for the thirst, especially after a diesel.
Legacy does like a drink!

StoatInACoat

Original Poster:

1,352 posts

184 months

Monday 15th July 2013
quotequote all
Looks like quite a drop in economy between the 2.5 and the 3.0 - 34>28mpg if autotrader is to be believed! Might be a bit rich for us frown

3000GT ANT

347 posts

155 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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Vauxhall signum 2.0t? i have yet to fill mine! and i have tried, with patio furniture, bricks, weeks shopping a baby stuff, and still i have failed. 21mpg round town, but 38+ on motorways. you could get the 2.8t for your budget! the only downside i can see is, its front wheel drive, maybe worth a look though.

Fubar1977

916 posts

139 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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In the real world my mates 2.5 Auto Outback never really got much above 25MPG.
It`s what`s always put me off buying a Legacy as, otherwise, they are a superb car.
Parts can be a bit pricey too but they`re very well screwed together.

Goldmember1

366 posts

171 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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StoatInACoat said:
Looks like quite a drop in economy between the 2.5 and the 3.0 - 34>28mpg if autotrader is to be believed!
OP .. Ignore those figures, not a hope in hell of getting that. Realistically 25-30mpg

Fubar1977 said:
In the real world my mates 2.5 Auto Outback never really got much above 25MPG.
I had an 06/07 Outback 2.5 , 25-29 mpg .. never got 30mpg , even on the motorway.


Bjam99

231 posts

134 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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I hate to state it but....reading the requirements a Volvo would surely fit the bill nicely.

Mr Gearchange

5,892 posts

205 months

Monday 15th July 2013
quotequote all
Goldmember1 said:
StoatInACoat said:
Looks like quite a drop in economy between the 2.5 and the 3.0 - 34>28mpg if autotrader is to be believed!
OP .. Ignore those figures, not a hope in hell of getting that. Realistically 25-30mpg

Fubar1977 said:
In the real world my mates 2.5 Auto Outback never really got much above 25MPG.
I had an 06/07 Outback 2.5 , 25-29 mpg .. never got 30mpg , even on the motorway.
Mine has averaged 22.8 over the last 20k.
But it is a 3.0 Spec B with a sports exhaust so very difficult to drive gently.

Big Fat Fatty

3,303 posts

155 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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I've been looking at these for a while now too. Would the 2.0R not be slightly better on fuel? I know the 2.5 just about fits in the I tax band whereas the R is a K I think?

Fubar1977

916 posts

139 months

Monday 15th July 2013
quotequote all
Bjam99 said:
I hate to state it but....reading the requirements a Volvo would surely fit the bill nicely.
Possibly. But the OP say`s they want a petrol so no D5 and the T5 wouldn`t be much better than the Legacy on fuel tbh.
Although I think a D5`s worth a test drive before ruling it out altogether, it`s one of the least "Diesely" diesel`s I`ve ever owned.

3.0 Spec B Legacy = cloud9
Fuel economy for above = eek

Shame as I would love a spec B, glorious things.

ETA: Never even thought about road tax, I suspect that`s a bit on the high side too.


Edited by Fubar1977 on Monday 15th July 14:54

Mark Benson

7,498 posts

268 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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We had a 2.5 Auto estate (non-Outback) for a couple of years, it was the car we forgot we had (in a good way).

Fuel economy was around 28-29mpg, that's mainly my wife driving into town (5 miles) daily then weekend trips down the motorway etc.
The interior is pretty hard-wearing and looked good from the day we bought it (at 2 years old) to the day we sold it (at nearly 5 years old) - we were living on a smallholding at the time and even though we had a Landy, the Subaru did it's fair share of agricultural work (they tow very well).

It never went wrong in any way, that's what I mean by the car we forgot we had - it just worked with no fuss, no bother and never any indication that anything was about to fail, we just taxed it and insured it and replaced the odd consumable.

Which brings me to the downside, consumables are not cheap - a lot of parts are dealer only as the car isn't that popular so third parties don't seem to have embraced the Legacy like they have the Impreza - for instance we needed 2 rear sections and a mid-section of exhaust and the part was dealer only - it ended up being about the same to have a stainless exhaust made (around £800IIRC ) as to buy the dealer item.
Also, dealers seem to be pretty good, but they're few and far between and again, not cheap - if you're near a specialist then you're laughing, but if not, then a dealer can cost a lot for even simple jobs.

I would have another though, a decent 'working' car, reasonably good body control and 'enough' power at 170bhp in the 2.5 but it's never going to set the world on fire, you'd need a 3.0 for that smile

EDIT - in fact, ours was the exact same car (even down to the colour) as in the advert you linked above, only a year younger.

Fubar1977

916 posts

139 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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@MarkBenson

Interesting you mention the exhaust, it`s what got my mate to sell his in the end as he was quoted around £1200 to replace the full system inc. downpipe and cat etc.
He only paid around £1500 for the car.

StoatInACoat

Original Poster:

1,352 posts

184 months

Monday 15th July 2013
quotequote all
Thank you, just what I was after. I was hoping for the bullet proof thing to come through and I must admit I was surprised that a big, heavy auto with a 2.5 would do 34mpg - 28-30 sounds more likely then.

Take your point on the consumables. Might price up some bits at some stage to see what running repairs are likely to cost.

We were looking at Ovlovs and Saabs as the 4x4 thing isn't essential but keep running into the same MPG issues frown

Fubar1977

916 posts

139 months

Monday 15th July 2013
quotequote all
The Forester, for example, might be a little cheaper to run, you could have that with the 2.0 non-turbo engine which still has a reasonable amount of grunt and they`re quite a nice drive too.

You might struggle a bit to get the type of vehicle you want with a petrol engine and the the sort of MPG figures you`re after though...

Liquid Tuna

1,398 posts

155 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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I have a 2.5 (Gen III though, but I understand the same engine as Gen IV) and there are head gasket issues. HOWEVER, it's a recall and should have been done, if not, it can be done for free and then you're good for stellar miles.

But, I'd go for the 3.0 without a doubt. The 2.5 is thirsty and makes nowhere near the power it really should. The good thing is it pulls exactly the same whether you have one person in it or fully loaded with 5 people, a full boot, roof box etc, it pulls the same. It just feels like it should be quicker.

I love mine though and will be sad to see it go when I get a 3.0R.

Kozy

3,169 posts

217 months

Monday 15th July 2013
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I have been eyeing up the 3.0R as a future replacement for my ATR.

Would I be disappointed with the drive of the Scoob coming from the Type R?