Advice on 06-08 Outback specs
Discussion
Hi all, first post here. Because Volvo haven't made a car I like for many years I'm thinking of ending a near 20 year run of owning a variety of P80 850/V70s with a 3 litre Outback of the 06-08 generation. Appreciating that even these are thin on the ground here I've started looking at imports. I have read up on the general pros and cons etc, but my query is more about the spec you are likely to find.
It seems JDM car owners in general do like to load their cars with all the toys which is nice when it comes to electric seats etc, but not so nice when they all seem to come with blackened pimp glass, mudflaps and air deflectors which just scream IMPORT!
I have a slight preference for the 06/08 facelift but after comparing adverts over the last few weeks it seems that as well as the styling tweaks there seems to have been a slight downgrading of spec for the latter years of this bodystyle, am I correct? i.e. hardly any cars with leather, fewer panoramic sunroofs, generally blacked out inside rather than the light beige of earlier years that I like. Were these ever available on the facelift or do I just need to look harder/longer?
It seems JDM car owners in general do like to load their cars with all the toys which is nice when it comes to electric seats etc, but not so nice when they all seem to come with blackened pimp glass, mudflaps and air deflectors which just scream IMPORT!
I have a slight preference for the 06/08 facelift but after comparing adverts over the last few weeks it seems that as well as the styling tweaks there seems to have been a slight downgrading of spec for the latter years of this bodystyle, am I correct? i.e. hardly any cars with leather, fewer panoramic sunroofs, generally blacked out inside rather than the light beige of earlier years that I like. Were these ever available on the facelift or do I just need to look harder/longer?
Thankyou for sharing your experience. Redards economy I would call mid 20s to 30 to be rather good compared to most ars I have owned! I had a 2006 V70R (2.5 litre) which struggled to better 20mpg anywhere, and I drive like a retired vicar.
Can anyone explain the merit (if any) of the Si drive, and whether thfacelift car had a fundamentally revised gearbox? I recently accosted an Outback owner in a car park, complimenting him on his choice etc, and he gave me the familiar story about the car feeling like it was built by Mercedes in the 70s and outlasting him, but he said the gearbox was out of the ark. I had a quick test drive in an 05 H6 recently and it felt fine to me, but then my garage collection looks like a prestige car showroom circa 2005, I dont have everyday experience of anything much newer.
Can anyone explain the merit (if any) of the Si drive, and whether thfacelift car had a fundamentally revised gearbox? I recently accosted an Outback owner in a car park, complimenting him on his choice etc, and he gave me the familiar story about the car feeling like it was built by Mercedes in the 70s and outlasting him, but he said the gearbox was out of the ark. I had a quick test drive in an 05 H6 recently and it felt fine to me, but then my garage collection looks like a prestige car showroom circa 2005, I dont have everyday experience of anything much newer.
MCR01 said:
I get ~22mpg in the Legacy and ~24mpg in the Outback: many internet posters say they get ~30mpg on a long run: I've no idea how they do this!
I have a 4.2 supercharged Jag XJ and get mid 20s knocking about with early 30s on a motorway cruise.On Jag forums about half the people say this is familiar, the other half struggle to get out of the teens. I actually do think cars have a bit of a "personality" in this regard!
Extreeeemly belated reply, but I was appreciative of the advice dished out so thought I'd update for the benefit of those who took the time.
After a very long but casual search I have a 2007 UK spec gold 3 litre. I had seen it locally on rare occasions, and this week saw the owner popping into a local curry house so followed him down and expressed an interest! He was selling, so a deal was swiftly done.
It wasn't exactly a bargain, but I had sort of played all my cards when I flagged him down
, It will need a good deep clean but overall I'm very pleased. The misses is too with the Bentley-esque ride quality and general cruisability.
I'm less pleased to find a few rust spots near the rear arches, but the PO said it had been recently rust proofed so no smoke without fire. At the minute I cant tell if these are inside coming out or other way around. On the plus side it has a very solid history and has been meticulously maintained by an enthusiast.
So I'll be frequenting these parts, is there another good UK based forum for these away from PH?
After a very long but casual search I have a 2007 UK spec gold 3 litre. I had seen it locally on rare occasions, and this week saw the owner popping into a local curry house so followed him down and expressed an interest! He was selling, so a deal was swiftly done.
It wasn't exactly a bargain, but I had sort of played all my cards when I flagged him down
, It will need a good deep clean but overall I'm very pleased. The misses is too with the Bentley-esque ride quality and general cruisability.I'm less pleased to find a few rust spots near the rear arches, but the PO said it had been recently rust proofed so no smoke without fire. At the minute I cant tell if these are inside coming out or other way around. On the plus side it has a very solid history and has been meticulously maintained by an enthusiast.
So I'll be frequenting these parts, is there another good UK based forum for these away from PH?
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