RE: Shed of the Week: Subaru Legacy GT-B

[BuzzBravado]

GravelBen said:

+1

I have a Gen 3 GT-B which is a tad heavier at 1500kg, but they had also made some good improvements to things like the VOD and fuel economy by then. ]

I had forgotten all about the VOD. It takes a while getting used to that.

[suffolk009]

Wonderful cars. I moved onto them after the Impreza Turbo Wagon became too small as the children grew. Somehow, at somepoint I ended up owning two of them.

Ruinously expensive to run from cold on regular short runs. I ended buying an old Panda just for the school run.

[GravelBen]

BuzzBravado said:

I had forgotten all about the VOD. It takes a while getting used to that.

I've driven some BG5s where the vod was incredible, almost feeling like another gearchange as the momentum dropped off before the secondary turbo kicked in.

My BH5 is a 2002 with the 'Revision-D' EJ208 and its greatly improved - on a full throttle wind-out it will pull straight through quite cleanly and you barely notice anything, but a wrong-timed gearchange that drops the revs into that ~4000rpm changeover zone can still make the car drop off boost and feel quite sluggish to wind up again.

[PomBstard]

Great shed! I’ve not had the older versions, but had a 2005 GT with the 2.0 a few years ago and still have a 2013 GT with the 2.5 - great mix of space, comfort, reliability and entertainment.

As others have already said, these cars aren’t that heavy - my current one has been on a weighbridge with just me and half a tank of petrol and registered 1670kg, which makes the published 1550kg kerb weight about right.

Also as others have noted, I have no idea what I would replace it with. Everything else is much heavier or auto-only or has high bork-factor. It’s got a face only a mother could love but it might be staying with me for a while yet.

[hammo19]

That’s a great shed. Reminds me a bit of a Nissan Stagea in that colour, another great performance estate from that era.

[Sa Calobra]

MDMA . said:

I have a Legacy but prefer the earlier BP one. Finding a good one was the problem for me. Went for a later BP model.

Stunning and lovely cars. Heaven

[soad]

Is the mpg really that bad?! Hardly a RS6 etc.

[teacake]

soad said:

Is the mpg really that bad?! Hardly a RS6 etc.

Averaged 27.5 mpg over about 12000 miles of checking receipts in my BH5 manual. Most 90s Legacies seemed to get around 28mpg, regardless of what engine they had in them. Unless you were a bit free with the angry stick, in which case you could easily drop into the low teens, like with any performance car.

The Legacy GTB is very unlike an RS6. All the S6/RS6 I drove around the same era were much more "grown-up" and a lot more posh, and while very fast they were also very very leaden in comparison with the Legacy, much heavier and less communicative. The Legacy was lithe, composed over poor surfaces, and bloody fast on twisty, narrow roads. I swapped the GTB for an S8, which I know is the next size up, but the S8 never felt anywhere near as pleasant or rewarding to drive, for all that it was powerful and refined.

[Sa Calobra]

I've always found the fast Audi/VWs to be very rapid, no drama at all but utterly souless. No character.

Better places to sit but not love.

[GTI16V]

[Nuisance]

teacake said:

Averaged 27.5 mpg over about 12000 miles of checking receipts in my BH5 manual. Most 90s Legacies seemed to get around 28mpg, regardless of what engine they had in them. Unless you were a bit free with the angry stick, in which case you could easily drop into the low teens, like with any performance car.

I averaged 19mpg in my manual BH5 GTB. Loved it, and still search for them in the classifieds and lurk on UKLegacy. I will have another fast Legacy of some sort.

This was mine after if I'd done a few bits:

[blearyeyedboy]

Fabulous spot, if legit.

[MrNoisy]

Nuisance said:

I averaged 19mpg in my manual BH5 GTB. Loved it, and still search for them in the classifieds and lurk on UKLegacy. I will have another fast Legacy of some sort.

This was mine after if I'd done a few bits:

Had those alloys on my Impreza, ST2s??? Really miss my Scooby days circa 12 years ago. I have come so close to pulling the trigger on a GTB twice since then as it was an itch I wanted to scratch. I have some recollection of them momentarily being classed as the fastest production estate by some measure or other? Could have been bks?

Great shed, tragically cheap fun.

[akashzimzimma]

1800 kgs?!!!
Do your research , you've added about 300 kgs from no where. Even the late model 3.0 Flat 6 didn't weigh that much.

[teacake]

MrNoisy said:

I have some recollection of them momentarily being classed as the fastest production estate by some measure or other? Could have been bks?

There was a speed record for the estate at Salt Lake in 1993. The (single turbo) saloon had the world 100,000km speed record for some years too.

[sledge68]

No where near an RS6, as far more exclusive at Goodwood Estate car Sunday RS6s outnumbered Legacy Wagons 3 to 1.

Colleague at work lusts after my Legacy, albeit mines a later JDM Twinscroll, and he drives a 16 plate RS6 with the performance pack.

I see 28 mpg around town if I don't boost much, on the motorway in the 30s, and yes the Legacy is far more lithe than an RS6 or even a basic 5 series estate.

soad said:

Is the mpg really that bad?! Hardly a RS6 etc.

[Sa Calobra]

My Forester does 22mpg.

[Bansheemax]

teacake said:

There was a speed record for the estate at Salt Lake in 1993. The (single turbo) saloon had the world 100,000km speed record for some years too.

April 23rd 1998, Colorado, BH model

Record : Average speed of 270.532 km/h
(the world's fastest production station wagon certified by the FIA and ACCUS for the mass-produced car category, turbo engine, 1,600cc-2,000cc class)

[GravelBen]

teacake said:

Averaged 27.5 mpg over about 12000 miles of checking receipts in my BH5 manual.

Similar long-term average for mine, best I've had over a tank was about 33mpg IIRC.

[rastapasta]

The choice of swiss police....