I just took the Legacy up to Ladin Subaru in Thousand Oaks due to its 22,500-mile maintenance, a $155.99 job that included an oil change, tire rotation, and full inspection. To date, over 23,000 miles of reliable service, the Legacy has visited the card dealer 3 x, accumulating a complete maintenance tab of $487.30. Cheap? Not quite. Our dearly departed long-term 2009 Acura TL SH-AWD, another high-horsepower all-wheel-driver (from the “premium” brand, actually), amassed a three-visit maintenance tab of $434.92.
The Legacy GT’s Achilles heel, I must say, is its transmission. For the people not in the know, the GT – the Legacy line’s high-performance iteration – comes exclusively that has a 6-speed manual. I’m generally fine with an exclusive transmission, maybe it’s a manual, automatic, or dual-clutch, so long as it’s fabulous. Alas, the Legacy’s is just not. Despite the $654 short-throw kit installed, the 6-speed remains notchy, imprecise, and disengaging, a final both literally and figuratively. And people short throws? They’re indeed shorter, however, not by much but still a long time. Remedy? In my view, it’s simple – swap within the 6-speed from your Impreza WRX STI. Yes, I recognize the STI’s is surely an expensive hand-built tranny, but our Legacy costs $34,539. Surely, Subaru can figure out a way to soak up the STI 6M’s cost without upping the GT’s price. Since Subaru has made the GT’s manual a focal point in the car, the transmission must be both worthy and laudable. Here’s to hoping.
Other car, however, is pretty good. Besides some low-end turbo lag, the two.5-liter boxer has lots of guts, revs smoothly, as well as sounds pretty sweet. The ride is downright cushy, making long trips a breeze. However, I wouldn’t mind a modest stiffening with the suspension, for making tackling back roads more fulfilling. On the subject of back roads, the Legacy doesn’t have any problem hustling through them, nonetheless it wallows a lttle bit much when the pavement proves moderately undulating. And that i love the cruising variety of the GT. Thanks to a 18.5-gallon gas tank and 25 mpg highway, the Legacy will go 463 miles between fill-ups.