2010 Legacy 3.6R or Lexus IS250 or other?
 

Hi guys, first timer here.

I currently drive a 09 accord coupe v6 and although it's a nice car, I want to try something new. I'm an engineer for an utility company and I'm sometimes required to show up at work during hurricane/snowstorm/thunderstorms etc (when the road conditions are not so great).

So I looked into AWD cars and I'm 26 now and I feel that it's time for me to move on from a fancy looking coupe to something more practical with bit more space and comfort.

Long story short, I'm looking into Legacy 3.6R, Lexus IS250 and maybe an older Audi A4. My max budget would be around $23k.

I know this is a Subie forum but would like to hear some honest opinions of the cars I mentioned (if you have experience with them, that would be great).

And i'm also open to other suggestions.

Resale value of these cars?
Maintenance costs? Reliability?
Performance? (I do not want to try a 4cylinder car unless it's a turbo charged)
AWD performance?
Comfort/Noise?

Thanks very much for your 2cents.

The Subaru has the best AWD system by far.

Maintenance costs of an A4 are very high, the Lexus a little less, and the Legacy even less.

The Legacy has the most power, but you have to remember that the Legacy is a mid-size car where as the Audi and the Lexus are compacts.

Thats about all I can say about those.

@Diggerdan11
Thanks for your input.

I agree that Audi and Lexus will be a lot more expensive when it comes to maintenance I'm already seeing that from my mom's BMW X3...

Anyway, I've been reading some reviews from different websites and regarding the "road noise", some websites have very different opinions. Some say that the road noise is excessive and some say that it's quiet. I'm thinking maybe I have to test-drive one to see.

My accord from some reviews say that it's a quiet car but in reality and from actual ppl reviews it's noted as very loud (road noise) car. Some people told me that it's because of the tires that they put (stock) and if the tires are changed to something more soft it will lessen the noise. (I have yet to try that)

having both a lexus ct ( not awd ) and a legacy gt i would say that the legacy awd is awesome. however if you dont live in a place the awd would be necessary the lexus build quality is better, but more expensive

Have you test driven an IS? I did and the interior is severely smaller than a 5th gen Legacy. Also, there is a stupid hump in the driver side by the right leg. It really annoyed me.

Not yet. I'm planning on test driving one next week.

IS250's interior space seems very limited as you mentioned. Rear seat space is probably not really useful unless an 10 year old is sitting in it. So is the trunk space.

I'm looking for an white 3.6R Legacy 2010~2011 but it's very hard to find those near where I live. And I do not want the limited version because I'm not a fan of the wood trim even though it would have the navigation. I'm thinking of getting a normal 3.6R and put an aftermarket navi/audio deck.

Only thing that's stopping me from buying a 3.6R right away is the quality of the interior and the road noise but I guess I could ignore all that if it drives good.

I remember a year and a half ago when I was searching for a car, I had Nissan Maxima in mind because on paper it's what I wanted. But once I test drove the car, I hated it. It was just not what I expected and it felt like my 98 Maxima SE was better.

So I guess it will all come down to the test drive..

Audis, BMWs and MBs have a way of giving surprise anal to your wallet. Unless you have experience and enjoy working on cars, owning one of those past the warranty period is probably not for you. If you do like doing your own labor it's a little more feasible but the parts are still expensive.

Historically Lexus is far more reliable than the German competitors, even if many of their models are less exciting to drive. I know they made an AWD IS250, and there's AWD BMWs, Audis, etc but from a drivetrain standpoint the Subaru will be better than all of them.

I did consider E39 chassis BMWs- M5 and 540i. They are classy, decently powerful, comfy and have a legit back seat. I could handle the maintenance issues that crop up with them but ultimately decided I wanted AWD in a daily driver.

I've only owned my Subaru for ~7 months. Only major problem was the throwout bearing dying, which forced my hand on a clutch job sooner than I wanted. Just little stuff otherwise, and I'm willing to deal with that for a car that's pretty comfy, handles well for a 3400 lb sedan, and has a turbo and AWD.

I don't know what the long term reliability of the 3.6R is like, but I'd think it should be at least as good as the 2.5 turbos. The 3.6R makes about the same power but doesn't require premium fuel. What would keep me from buying one is the funny interior styling of the 2010+ Subarus, but that's up to you. It should be comfy enough. There's a little drivetrain noise with the Subies, at least the manual trans ones that have the front diff inside the transmission case. I'd think the autos would be quieter but I haven't driven one. I get a little gear whine in 1st and 2nd, quieter in 3rd and not noticeable in 4th or 5th. The cabin is fairly quiet in general though.

Tire choice can make a tremendous difference in road noise. For general purpose commuter tires I'd be looking at "grand touring" tires (check Tire Rack's website). These will usually have all-season type non-directional tread patterns and softer sidewalls that will soak up smaller bumps and transmit less noise. On my old daily beater Saturn I used to run Continental ProContacts and it was shocking how much quieter they were than the Goodyear Eagle whatevers they replaced. At highway speed all I heard was the engine buzzing along, and because the exhaust note (not loud on a 4-banger Saturn) smoothed out around 3500 rpm, the cabin was actually quieter at 75 mph than at 60. That's how far in the background the tread noise was. The cream of that category of tires for a long time was the Michelin Primacy MXV4, but I didn't quite have Michelin money at the time. Michelin has some newer models in that category that I haven't kept up with but might be worth a look.

If you want high reliablity, maintenance costs that won't rape your wallet when they do crop up, comfort, a little space, and a drivetrain that will get you anywhere in shit weather, what about some flavor of 4WD Toyota- 4runner, Tacoma, Tundra, etc? If I only owned one vehicle that had to get me everywhere all the time, I'd want a little more ground clearance and cargo capacity than these sedans offer. My 85 4Runner was the only vehicle I owned until I was 30 years old.

The Legacy is less low-key than the Audi or Lexus.
If you want to emit a successful image or score more chicks, go with the A or L.

If you want to appear prudent and financially responsible to your colleagues and have arguably the best winter transportion, buy the Subaru.

Also dont forget about the IS350 AWD but the price on those used hasn't really come down much.

You MUST drive the Lexus. In fact, you should drive every car that you are considering. I did. The Lexus had a door that was too small (I would hit my head if I didn't duck down really low when getting inside. The Lexus also had poor acceleration and braking.
The Legacy won hands down for handling and comfort.
I bought the 3.6R with Eyesight. No regrets.

Do you really need HP?
For $23k you can get a new Impreza. With MT it's fairly peppy.

Resale value of 2010 cars from now on isn't gonna be good. New car sales were low in 2009-2011, so now there is shortage of 2-3 y/o cars that are still under some kind of warranty, and prices are high. Prices won't be high forever, since they will be competing against used cars of a broader ages and conditions, with expired warranties.
So people currently buying 09-11 vintage used cars will end up being the ones who bear most of the depreciation, instead of new car buyers.

I'd be looking for 07-08 cars, if I really needed some HP. Some nice low-mileage 3.0R.

Yeah, I see that the Lexus IS250 is a bit small. Back seat is cramped and the trunk also. It's out of my mind now... it's more expensive than the legacy too so..

I prefer to have some HP especially with the AWD. I agree with the Impreza but this car will probably be shared with my fiance once we move in together and she can't drive a stick shift. If it wasn't for sharing, I would've gone for the WRX in a heartbeat. But unfortunately, that is not the case :(

If the car performs good and doesn't cause a lot of trouble and if i'm love with it, I will probably keep it for at least 5+ years and by that time I won't be fighting for resale value.

I went to my Honda dealership today for maintenance and rear brake job, asked for an estimate for my accord v6 coupe, I was told $15K. I got about $14.5K left on my finance loan so it's about equal.

And personally, I prefer the design of the 2010+ Legacy. I think it looks more like a family sedan and in SPW I think it looks surprisingly good. I found a 2011 3.6R Limited nearby and I'm thinking of test-driving that one even though I won't be getting it. It's priced at $25K and it's limited which I don't want. I'm gonna test drive it just to see how it rides, seating and etc.

Have you made a decision yet? I know your original question was asked a couple weeks ago but I thought I would weigh in.

I owned a 2001 A4, I bought it in 2006 with about 45k on it. It was a terrific car, I loved the heck out of it. It was on the smaller side but it looked great, it had 18 inch sport rims and it was a MT. However, it was pretty needy car. I had to get a new timing belt at 60 k. Lucky for me a friend of mine fixed some of the minor issues pretty cheaply. There were lots of little issues though and the parts are super expensive. It seemed like once per month the check engine light came on. There was always something wrong with it. I had to trade it in for a 2010 Forester XT before it was paid off because I couldn't afford the repairs any longer. I would definitely choose the Legacy over the A4 unless you can find the A4 with about 20,000 miles on it.

As for the IS 250, this was kind of my dream car for awhile when I had to get rid of my Audi. They look great and have AWD. However, like many others have said theyre really small. They also dont handle that well for a supposed sport sedan, nor do they accelerate quickly. My next car will probably be a 3.6 legacy and I feel ok eliminating an IS250 from consideration.

How did you like the test drive?