If silence is gold, the new Legacy must be made of bronze

Well folks, I finally got to do an extensive test of the Legacy 2.5i today, and I have to say I'm a little disappointed... Sure the car handles great and drives smooth, but it has one problem that's probably going to push me away.... That thing is noisy! Just sitting at a stoplight, I could hear cars whoosing by. On the freeway, the wind noise is more than audible, and the road noise makes itself knows as well. I can only imagine what this car will sound like in ten years (that's as long as I would have kept it). The bottom line is --- if Subaru would have spent some money on some frickin' insulation, and you'd have the perfect car. I wonder if I'm just being lame, or if this same problem is driving others away. Best of luck to you all with your decisions.

You're kidding , right? The OB I drove was so tight and quiet, I couldn't even tell if the engine was running.

Compared to WHAT?

Compared to a $50,000 luxury car, it probably is noisy. Buy yourself a Lexus or Mercedes.

I just drove an OBXT today and I did not find it to be noisy. Idling at a stop sign a person good speak in the lightest whisper and you could hear every word. I did not get on the highway so I have no idea what real wind noise there could be. There was though a very annoying buzzing/rattling sound coming from the driver door that would need to be found pronto and corrected.

Hey Austin, try comparing the 2.5i to the 2.5GT. Is it the same?

OK, the cars in my comparison were as follows: 325xi a4 Jag X-type Volvo s60 G35 Passat In addition to this I have put many miles on both the s80 and v70. The Legacy/Outback is QUIETER than all of these, even the high end Volvo. Crap, my OB is quieter than my dad's Grand Marquis! I will say that one time the car seemd loud, just as you described..............................................THE WINDOW WAS OPEN!!!!!

Dangit soldon, you beat me to the windows open comment! :lol: I'd have to say compared to 3+ year old models, the new ones are REALLY quiet. I can actually hear myself think! Maybe he had the windows open or is used to something much more expensive.

Speaking of road noise WITH the WINDOWS DOWN, anyone have some good input on the noise factor with the Moon roof open? I noticed tha the front portion of the moonroof angles up to deflect down draft noise, but I haven't taken the wagon on the freeway under full open situations. Anyone givent the moonroof a worst case scenario run? J.R.

So I'm driving down the freeway today and hear A/C fan whisper, sound from stereo is fairly clean and well balanced (for a stock car stereo), looking at all the cars that I'm passing, looking down to see what RPM i'm in. Surprise - just around 3k RPM and going 80 mph already (5eat). Is it loud? If you ask me - I don't think so.

[quote name='dimil']So I'm driving down the freeway today and hear A/C fan whisper, sound from stereo is fairly clean and well balanced (for a stock car stereo), looking at all the cars that I'm passing, looking down to see what RPM i'm in. Surprise - just around 3k RPM and going 80 mph already (5eat). Is it loud? If you ask me - I don't think so.[/quote] Same thing happened to me the other day. I pressed the gas when some idiot in a TL was trying to pass me on the right. Well he fades into the rearview mirror and I'm focused on the tach, heeping it below 4K. Needless to say I was a litle shocked to see the speed just over 100MPH! Normally I drive at around 70-75 and never much over 85. I'll admit it I'm not a kid anymore and why take chances. Having said that it felt like I was going MUCH slower. These cars are ROCK SOLID.

They are so well composed now, it is scary how good they feel at upper speeds. I'm sure the cops don't think the same thing. On that note, I see the Dodge Magnum will be offered in a police interceptor pack, Hemi optional. Sounds like the pursuit cars are coming back, and Dodge will be back with a decent machine, first time since the Diplomat, oh wait, the Diplomat wasn't that great. :lol:

Hey good news, I just saved over $350 on my car insurance... Seriously! I already have my insurance switched over to the new Legacy GT Ltd Wagon for tomorrow pick up and saved good on my yearly insurance. The challenge will be keeping it low with the new found power on tap in the GT. Especially with out being able to use cruise control. Cruise control is my friend, because it keeps me from gradually breaking the 85MPH limit. Scarier is that my wife likes the speed more than me. She loves to feel the surge of an engine kick'n in. J.R.

Subie Gal in her GT review over at NASIOC kept commenting on how quiet the cars were all the way up to 120mph! Ken

Mine is dead quiet.... Unless I gun it and then it barely makes a noise as it launches.....

I appreciate all the replies, but I really am not used to anything expensive at all. I drive a 1991 Camaro, and while sitting at a stoplight (besides engine noise), both the Leg and the Camaro let in the same amount of outside noise. Maybe I'm just nuts, but I envisioned spending 20K on a new car would yield more refinement than this. I did drive a new Accord and found a similar amount of noise (less wind, more road). I have been way out of the new car game for quite some time, so maybe my expectations are unrealistic. If the noise doesn't bother you, though, it's an outstanding car and a great value for all you get (safety, performance, styling, fuel economy, AWD).

That is one thing Subaru would fix is the window placement. The little wind noise we hear is from the window on the outside of the weather seal, oppossed to the window rolling up between seal and metal. I would also think it would make Subaru's set up would make it easier for car thiefs to break in.

Mine is dead quiet...I wonder if it is a difference between the 2.5i and the GT as far as the insulation is concerned?

I have an 85 Trans Am in my garage that I'm holding onto as it was the first car I bought myself. Those cars are dead quiet and very airtight.

As asked above, noise with sunroof open isn't bad: the front section flips up to act as an air deflector. You can have the sunroof open and still carry on a conversation.

Let me just say: Bah! Who wants to drive in a coffin anyway?

[quote name='kage']Let me just say: Bah! Who wants to drive in a coffin anyway?[/quote] Me. I want a quiet car, the quieter, the better. Kevin

I don't want it quite that quiet, but it's nice to not have to have the stereo too loud and then to have to talk to someone over that to just drown out the engine and wind, etc. I'll be looking for a little more exhaust burble though. ;)

Here's the thing: I rented a Mazda 6 this weekend, and drove my wife down to my sister's place for a holiday bbq. With the windows down, I could talk to her. With the windows up, she didn't have to raise her voice. With our WRX, she just got used to not talking to me in the car. She has a highish-pitched, smallish voice, for the record. In the cars that I drove, the windows were down, and the interior noise level was still very good. Inside, it was almost vault-like. Can't wait. I don't need exhaust note, because I know how fast I'm going by looking at the tach. Don't need the exhaust note when I'm blipping the throttle, because as you get to know a car, you spend time looking at the throttle just to see what corresponds with what you're doing. As you get to know it better, you just know. At 42 years old, silence is golden. :D Kevin

Wait... I can get a car that will make the wife stop talking to me when we're driving? SOLD! :twisted: sqrl b8