Need driving impressions of new GT

I am seriously considering a new legacy gt. I have been trying to test drive one for months . the dealers in my area do not have any in stock and I do not want to order 1 without a test drive first. I currently own a 2008 tribeca and a 2011 legacy 2.5i premium.
My main question is regarding to the ride and noise.
Is the ride much firmer than the regular legacy?
Does anyone know engine rpm at highway speeds (75-80)?
And finally, does the engine sound thrashy ?

Welcome to the site and glad you would join us.

If you could find a 2010+ Legacy 2.5i 6MT that would give you a good approximation of the driving dynamics from a NVH, suspension, braking and handling perspective and a hint of what the performance dynamics would be with the LGT. Engine is very smooth and quiet post start-up. The air injection pump cycles-on for ~30 secs at cold start-up and then turns-off, so it's a bit noisier during the first few seconds of operation, then it's very quiet. It pulls hard off-idle and accelerates very smoothly, much more so IMO than the 2005+ 4th gens.

Where do you live? Maybe someone would let you get a look at theirs. If you are close to me I would take you for a ride when I get it back.

Thanks for the replies.

Anyone know RPM's at cruising speeds? I do alot of highway driving (30K+/year) and high RPM engine drone would get old qiuck.

Originally Posted by Blue-baru

Thanks for the replies.

Anyone know RPM's at cruising speeds? I do alot of highway driving (30K+/year) and high RPM engine drone would get old qiuck.

75-80 You are looking at approaching 3K RPM's on the high end. Between 2500 and 3000 for speeds you are talking about. There isn't a drone really, unless you have to be constantly on the gas at those speeds (meaning up a hill or something)

I dont believe the suspension setup changes at all between the models. So, the car you drive now is basically what it will feel like. Minus the little extra "stiffness" over bumps do to the decrease in tire wall size on the 18's. Say where abouts you live, someone on here will more than likely take you for a ride. Hell, I might even let you drive.

Oh, and also.. if you do that much highway driving... why not stick with a car that is better on gas and doesnt take premium?? Obviously you want a fun car too, but.. just own 2 different cars? IMO dropping 30+ thousand on a LGT only to drive it on the highway all the time isn't doing the car any justice. Cars that are meant for that would be your bimmers or even vw CC.. just a thought.

There is a difference in springs. Struts/shocks are the same.

Originally Posted by SBT

There is a difference in springs. Struts/shocks are the same.

Thanks!

I live in the Tampa, FL area.

To answer schnacko23;
I've been down the VW,Audi road before and when racking up 100k miles/year, I cannot afford the maintenance/service of the European cars (don't even get me started on the reliability). The qualities I look for are 1.Reliable 2. Quiet 3. Roomy. However, I am tired of boring. Based on my experience with my first Subaru purchase, the Tribeca, i bought a 2011 legacy 2.5i Premium(CVT) for my wife last year. As my Tribeca nears the 100K mark I thought the LGT would be a great compromise for me. The legacy itself is uniquely sized, very roomy in back seat, and fairly refined and the GT would add some fun. The dealers suggest a 3.6R, however if I wanted boring again, I think a 2012 Camry V6 is a better value.

The 3.6R is not boring, but it does come with a 5EAT instead of a MT. It supposedly would be cheaper to maintain and more reliabile due to lack of turbo.

I have that set up in my current Tribeca. Slow to rev, drinks oil like crazy, I have to say that the trans / motor, works well together pretty refined. If it was 6 speed auto, I would consider.

Keep in mind the Tribeca is much heavier than a Legacy. The 3.6 H6 doesn't have a universal oil consumption problem that I know of. I agree the transmission could use an extra gear. Just thought I'd throw it out there.

Yeah - kind of surprised by the 3.6 oil consumption mentioned as I'm looking to order a 2012 Tribeca for our travel/tow-car. Love the vast improvement over the 3.0 in the 06-07s. What would make the 2010+ 3.0R would be an STI 6MT tucked-in behind it. That would come pretty darn close to ultimate driver for me.

Ever since new the Tribeca used 1 qt every 2K. I even switched to synthetic, no dif. Oil has been changed every 5k since new by dealer. Car has been flawless until recently, idler pulley seized. Really good vehicle, the look has not grown on me,I think still ugly. I guess you can say it has character.

1QT/Per 2K miles - should have been a candidate for a replacement engine/rebuild since the interval is 7500 miles. I have never heard of the H6s with that kind of oil consumption. Idler pulley on the AC/PS belt or something else? I personally liked the 06/07 design a bit better - now that was polarizing and had character (or not for some people).

There's a 2011 LGT on the local lot that I'm going to go test drive. Hopefully, it's fully PDI'd before I pick it up as there's nothing worse than under-inflated tires to dampen the handling and an ECU that's still set to "limp" mode to reduce the acceleration quotient.

Actually is just slave a pulley , non spring tensioned. Subaru claims normal oil consumption on my car. Dealer gave me a bulletin from Subaru stating 1 qt/1000 miles is normal. I got used to it. Set the trip and every 2K like clock work, dump in a qt. Never uses more or less, really strange First vehicle I ever owned that used oil.