Impressions of the new 3.0 Motor

So we are looking at purchasing a 2008 Legacy for the soon to be wife. We are looking at the top of the line Legacy with the 3.0; but I can't find a lot of good information on people with actual experience with the new 3.0 L. So I guess I am looking to start this thread and open for people to explain anything they can about their experience with the 3.0.

 

Thanks a ton

 

Eddie

I don't have any experience with it personally but I can tell you it will feel like most other 6 bangers of similar displacement. It's a solid design and Subaru's been using them for years. Very linear power across the band unlike turbo powertrains.

Very linear power across the band unlike turbo powertrains.

 

 

That's for sure. One of the members on here with a 3.0 outback posted up a dyno chart. The 3.0's torque is flat as a board across nearly the entire RPM range.

 

I haven't driven one myself, but I'm sure it makes it very easy and smooth to drive.

My dad has a 2005 3.0 LLBean. I don't like it as it is. I would much rather have my 2.5T.

 

It has enough power to not feel under powered, but it needs to rev up to get alot of the power out of it. On the highway I always felt like i needed to drop to 3rd to get a good kick out of it.

 

But my dad likes it, so I dunno.

 

 

As far as reliability, it's just as good as the rest of the lineup. Just got test drive one.. or a Outback since the 08's aren't on the lot yet.

Awesome, so it sounds like it might be better for in town driving, but the 2.5GT may be better for highway being that you have the turbo spooled. She has a 20 mile commute each way to work everyday at about 80-85mph, so mileage is definately a concern as well.

I havent driven the 3.0 either, but the 2.5T is very peaky and frankly kind of difficult to drive smoothly without lots of practice, very fun and very fast yes. Like others have mentioned I would imagine that the 3.0 is very smooth and much easier to drive day to day in traffic, etc, although it wont be as quick as the 2.5T if that matters.

If fuel economy is a major concern I will look else where. At 80-85 mph you will be lucky to averge 25 mpg with the 2.5GT. I doubt the 3.0 will do much better. AWD is just not good for fuel economy no matter which way you slice it.

I would concur, while I havent driven a 3.0, the 2.5gt can get punchy at parts of the rpm range but can be fun too but if you prefer smoothness to 0-60 times I would say the 3.0 is the way to go.

At 80-85 mph you will be lucky to averge 25 mpg with the 2.5GT.

 

But that would be speeding.

But that would be speeding.

 

Umm right

 

Anyway i have a 5mt 2.5gt and I average about 23-24 at 80.. if you keep it more around 70 you'll be able to hit the 25+ mark

I get about the same fuel economy as my dad's LLbeanie. And I don't exactly drive all the efficently....

Anything over 20 is fine. . ..

 

Her 2003 Passat with a V6 and auto and AWD consistently gets 22mpg. . . so if i could stick around there that would be good.

 

On the other end of the spectrum . . my 2007 Impala SS with a 325 cubic inch small block pulls about 25mpg on trips averaging 80mph. Now we won't talk about the 16-17mpg i get in town

nevermind.

Isn't the NEW '08 H6 supposed to be updated quite a bit over the 07's? I understand it is supposed to be quite a bit peppier feeling than last year's..

The 08 Tribe is getting a 3.6, the 3.0 bored, stroked and some other fancy stuff. Why don't they put that in the 08 Legacy and make a better machine, and more worth the high price they'll be listing it at?

How much more does it weigh? Won't it raise the COG?

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2008/subaru/legacy/100867927/specs.html

 

specs posted

i've driven the 3.0 both in tribeca and in obt . i like it , altough it might be a little bit thristier then the GT .

 

i can get here a legacy 3.0R but i'm looking into importing a LGT from the USA . so that kindda says it

Kinda says what. . . .the 2.5GT definately has more potential for upgrades. . .but comfort is a big concern. . . i have a fun car for building

But why not have 2? Then you can drag your soon to be wife (on a track of course).

2005 h-6 smoother than h-4 (my second h-6)

 

the valve control improves the engines response at lower rev's.

 

if you do city driving you need to "drain" the ecu every 6 months to get throttle response back. i'm sure si drive has cured this. otherwise the worst is i loose my radio stations.

 

0-60 7.0 sec's ish

 

it will love to go all day long @ 90 mph and not complain (not that i do)

 

my gas mileage when being thrifty-----premium fuel--- 16 city 26 highway

 

5 speed auto is decent except when cold. the tranny likes a little warming on very cold days. if not it stumbles and "bangs" it's gears (no noticeable damage)

 

the old 2001-2004 h-6's were reported to have no returns to the factory. i don't the data on the new ones but considering it comes from the other one it's sure bet their aren't any or very little failures.

my gas mileage when being thrifty------ 16 city

ouch! that's pretty terrible. i guess we don't want to know what it is otherwise...

thats driving 25 to 35 on 4 mile commutes to work

 

 

the better mileage doesn't kick in until 45 mph and above

its been said already, but why did SOA skip out on putting the new 3.6L H6 engine into the Legacy R? the power would be on par with the GT. it would be more comparable with the V6s available in the Altima/Maxima, Samry, heck even a Hyundai has a bigger block.

 

Subaru always seems to be 2-3 years outta step with the rest of the automotive industry.

 

Subaru always seems to be 2-3 years outta step with the rest of the automotive industry.

 

 

just noticed?

 

 

my bet is that they will put the 3.6 in the 09 model year as a improved "spec b"