Just been for a test drive and think i know what i want next.

[clintondane]

Just took a 2006 Legacy Gt, 6speed manual with SI Drive for a test drive and LOVE it. So smooth and so fast, not to mention a great gearbox! Talk about laugh and grinbinducing! Almost like a more civilized STI, our mechanical warranty expires in a few months so best get looking.

[mitSUBishi-guy]

Yeah good choice. The 6 speed is sweet. SI drive - not a fan. It's a dumbed down way of keeping Subaru's fuel efficiency numbers looking pretty. All it does is retard the throttle response. The Intelligent setting has the throttle response toned down so much it's virtually dangerous. It's like having a 1.6L engine in your car. Sport is barely tolerable. And I hate the way it refuses to stay in Sport Sharp (the ONLY setting to have imho) after you've turned the car off. It'll default back to the middle setting (Sport). You'll experiment with it of course, but in the end you'll probably get sick of it and want to rip it out!

[newsuba]

Totally agree re: Stupid-drive.

Bad as it is in a Legacy it's 1000x worse in an STi.

What were they thinking ?

Better off getting an original BP/BL with the 2.0L engine and no Stupid-Drive.

[clintondane]

I agree the si drive is a stupid idea, drove the car for quite a while and experimented with those settings and sport sharp is definitely the way to go ay. Like you say l, in intelligent mode it feels asthmatic. I think when time comes to sell/trade ours we'll look around for a 2005'ish B Spec Legacy sedan in manual, they don't come with the 6 speed gearbox though do they?

I do like the leather interior etc in the model i drove.

[GC8E2DD]

No six speed in the '05, and no SI drive. Well, you kind of get it in reverse - there is an 'eco' button which does kind of what 'intelligent' mode does in the SI drive. You can of course get a leather interior and all the other bells and whistles in the '03-'05 models.

[clintondane]

Gotta say i do prefer the rims on the 03-05 b spec legacy's. Im a really big fan of the 6speed box though, what are the 5speed ones like? Strong, any issues etc? Am i right in sayin that the 6speed box is the same as the one in the Sti's ?

[Drunkenmonkey]

nope the legacy 6 speed had different ratios than the stis the 5 speeds are still strong

[newsuba]

I wouldn't worry too much about the lack of a six-speed.

Those early BP/BLs were great to drive, imo, a much nicer daily drive than the equivalent STI.

More relaxing and almost as quick.

[BlkPnthr]

 newsuba said:

More relaxing and almost as quick.

Really? I'd have to disagree. I test drove a manual BP just before i bought my old V10, and then again when i owned it (thinking i wanted to get more practical) and they were worlds apart in terms of "quickness"

Not to say that the BP/BL's aren't great, i'd love one. But no point comparing to an STI of the same era IMO. I know you said "almost", but i still disagree..

[clintondane]

"Almost" was definitely the operative word in that sentence and comparison but i get what you're saying too mate. Id love an Sti Impreza but just not an everyday, family car in my opinion. Great cars and great fun but not what id wanna cart my partner and newborn son around in ay.

[newsuba]

Doubters, doubters...

NZ Autocar tested the 03 Legacy GT 2.0L 206kW manual and got the following numbers;

0-100km/h 5.57sec

80-120km/h 3.77sec

They also tested the 05 STI v10 2.5L 206kW

0-100km/h 5.56sec

80-120km/h 3.10sec

Certainly close enough to be splitting the hairs on a butt dyno.

The STi does feel faster though due to it's more urgent and less cossetting nature.

The JDM 2.0 STI feels even faster again.

clintondane;

Take a 3.0R for a spin too, a bit slower than a GT but still a great daily driver and it has a six speed manual.

;D

[BlkPnthr]

 newsuba said:

Doubters, doubters...

NZ Autocar tested the 03 Legacy GT 2.0L 206kW manual and got the following numbers;

0-100km/h 5.57sec

80-120km/h 3.77sec

Wow, well if that's true then fair enough. I'm pretty sceptical that those numbers are accurate, but i've got nothing to back that up, so you win

I thought the 2L v10 i had was quicker off the mark than the 2.5L as well, but still above 5sec

[clintondane]

I took an 05/06 3.0R manual for a drive a while back and it's not my cup of tea. While i enjoyed the nice even delivery of torque it felt lethargic compared to our car and compared to the 06 Gt its chalk and cheese. Call me a turbo whore, lol. I really do think the 06/07 manual gt would be a good choice that i would happily live with. Now to convince the missus, lol. "Its got heaps of airbags to keep you and bubs safe, dual zone climate air, heated leather seats for those cold dunedin mornings and best of all a 5star crash rating. Really we can't afford not to get one" Lol. Car salesman in the making.

[GorGasmSpecB]

I just buy cars and come home with them, my wife can deal with that however she likes lol..

You could save a lot of money and pick up a nice condition pre facelift turbo instead of forking the extra for the facelift...

[clintondane]

"WE" could do that or we could pay that much extra and get dual zone air,6 speed box etc etc. She really likes the one i drove so that's a bonus and one less hurdle.