interior disappointment

Stopped by the local Soobie dealer today, and couldn't resist checking out the Legacy GTs any longer. The Bad: As far as the interior... Don't get me wrong, looks MUCH better than the WRX, and about the same as the revised Forester and probably revised Impreza interior, which is disappointing. Why, oh why is that silver painted plastic everywhere! Just give me black for the radio, and black or interior color-keyed for around the window controls. Not just Subaru mind you, just that silly faux metal seems to be back in fashion. Thought it died with boom boxes back in the late eighties. Steering wheel, while sized well, felt a bit on the cheap side. THE GOOD: Love the exterior, looks better than in pics, especially the wagon. Moving on, dash looked great and felt good, headliner was decent, and so were the seats. Glad to see metal door handles. One saving grace was that I was expecting the controls to feel cheap, but everything felt nicely weighted. Unlike the Forester and Impreza. Certainly still on my list, and after seeing the wagon, I'm certainly convinced that's the body style I'd get. Now to drive the Forester XT and Legacy GT wagon back to back... -B

Yeah, the painted plastic "faux metal" as you call it is all the rage in Japanese cars these days. I think some of the Bangled BMWs have some of it as well. I don't get it either... That said, it ain't stopping me from my impending GT wagon order. :D

[quote name='Beanboy']Not just Subaru mind you, just that silly faux metal seems to be back in fashion[/quote] I prefer 10-times metal imitation to wood imitation. [quote name='Beanboy']Steering wheel, while sized well, felt a bit on the cheap side. [/quote] I love the steering wheel, it gives me an impression of added control plus it's really comfortable. Also it's a genuine Momo steering wheel, the specialists in performance steering wheels.

I don't mind the "faux-metal" too much, and I agree, it's 10x better than "faux" wood as TeeLoo stated.

Why not spray it flat black, it's simple enough. A few matte clear coats will keep it looking good for a while. Don't mind me, I'm just a DIY type and if I didn't like it, I think of ways to change it. I'm comfortable with the interior for now, it's a small blemish compared to the whole package.

Its leaps and bounds above the old interior and if Subaru is serious on taking on BMW and Audi they will need to continue to step it up but its a great start. It does get a little boring the lack of contrast in the interior but thats what keeps the car affordable small things like that

I like the silver color inside, gives it some contrast to just black everywhere. Also the steering wheel can't get much better in quality seeing how its from momo, I really like it, a perfect size I think. Only thing I wish was the wheel could be lifted higher, my legs sometimes rub it when turning and shifting at the same time (Im 6' ").

I guess it was just all of the hype about how much better this interior was, blahblahblah. It certainly is better than past Subaru interiors, I guess I was just expecting it to be closer to the Audi standard than say Hondas. OMG I sound like a dash molester in my old age. Will test drive the Legacy and the Forester shortly. -B

Overall, I think the interior is really nice. The faux metal just really ain't my thing, but it IS better than wood, faux or real, IMHO. I think the steering wheel is good, but the rim isn't quite thick enough for my tastes. But I still can't believe they don't have a telescoping wheel option... :roll:

Ditto here. I think the Subaru struck a good balance between looking upscale without getting too flashy. It might not turn heads, but it certainly won't offend anyone and most importantly, it won't look dated in a few years time. Ken

[quote name='Beanboy']I guess it was just all of the hype about how much better this interior was, blahblahblah. It certainly is better than past Subaru interiors, I guess I was just expecting it to be closer to the Audi standard than say Hondas. OMG I sound like a dash molester in my old age. Will test drive the Legacy and the Forester shortly. -B[/quote] Have you ever owned a Subaru? It's light years better than my old 02 Legacy GT. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

I absolutely luv the new LegGT interior design, BUT agree that some material upgrades would significantly gen upscale feel. Real brushed aluminum with carbon fiber accents, better carpeting and a few of the elect features mentioned many times would be nice. Charge me more for a Super Model, but give it to me. (Bet Suby has one on the way on their timeline.) I think the recent BMW 3 series interior is far better than Audi and is the standard IMO (not so for Bangled X3 interior) The new Leg GT is very similar (some copying?) to the BMW 3 with even better door panel design and seats on par with BMW sport seat. I luv the functional dull black dash and shape of dash. G35 dash or new Volvo S40 dash are so ugly, IMO. With exception of materials, I luv console design and all have reported that controls feel good, not low budget. Audi interior is very tasteful, excellent materials, but you feel like the doors and dash are higher and you feel like you are lower in car. Leg GT/BMW have a more open command driving position for me. BUT price aside, I do not want to give up Leg GT performance, handling, build quality, AWD and great new look for other choices with somewhat higher quality interior. Audi A4/3.0 lacks performance, soft suspension, Audi quality problems. S4 has great seats, but is heavy, V8/14 mpg, lots of weight well forward front axles, Audi issues. Posche Cayenne “S” has amazing interior, AWD, build quality, but is very heavy V8, SUV size and is at least a second slower, 0-60 than Leg GT with less space behind rear seat. So $$ aside, none of these AWD cars give me everything I want, but the Leg GT, for my wants offers best performance, good looks, well designed interior, in an efficient, relatively light wagon package with outstanding performance. I assume we can eliminate snob appeal from decision making because the “end game” there is the new Bentley Coupe or your own Jet. I think the Leg GT wagon is not just utility, but the most unique/best looking Leg. The decision process above gets even easier if you are talking about AWD wagons only. AND, if you do consider $$$ to buy and operate, living with the less than desired console plastic is a none issue and the Leg GT wins hands down.

the way I see it, "Faux-luminum" [pronounced fo-LU-mi-num] is a great excuse for me to paint things. When I get a legacy, and want to kit it up like an STi, in the interior, with the blue alcantara/leather seat inserts, red stitched STI momo steering wheel, and spherical shifter, I'll paint the sides of the console, and the bits in front of the inside door pulls. I'll either paint them to match the exterior of the car, or cover them with the same blue alcantara as the seats, or paint them low-gloss black, and and add some sort of red detail to the edges to look like the red stitched steering wheel. If I were really in love with the taupe interior, I would go for gloss-coating the fake wood to make it look like the OB's mahogany wheel, and use a wood shift knob, which I had suggested in other threads. I am also thinking about putting a couple of dim red LEDs in the overhead light unit, in a hidden way, pointing down at the console, like the new A4s have for ambient console illumination at night. I also like things like aftermarket auto-up and down on all the windows an moon roof, aftermarket parking distance beepers, Tire pressure indicators, and all sorts of fun stuff. Someone mentioned aftermarket automatic headlights, which sounds cool. Griot's Garage has a cool headlight-flasher garage door opener, if the homelink visor won't work in the Legacy. you flash your high beams twice and it triggers the hidden opener. no dorky boxes on the visors. Y'all need to think more along the lines of modifications. A car is my canvas, and I just try to be a good and tastefull painter.

They are putting "faux-metal" interiors in the new Corvette as well. NGG

[quote name='NewGTGuy']They are putting "faux-metal" interiors in the new Corvette as well. NGG[/quote] ...and leaf spring (Vietnamese according to Top Gear) rear suspension.

[quote name='Beanboy']Stopped by the local Soobie dealer today, and couldn't resist checking out the Legacy GTs any longer. The Bad: As far as the interior... Don't get me wrong, looks MUCH better than the WRX, and about the same as the revised Forester and probably revised Impreza interior, which is disappointing. Why, oh why is that silver painted plastic everywhere! Just give me black for the radio, and black or interior color-keyed for around the window controls. Not just Subaru mind you, just that silly faux metal seems to be back in fashion. Thought it died with boom boxes back in the late eighties. Steering wheel, while sized well, felt a bit on the cheap side. THE GOOD: Love the exterior, looks better than in pics, especially the wagon. -B[/quote] My impressions where exactly the opposite. I found the interior to be well executed, yet felt the body was lacking a bit. I perfer the faux metal over faux wood or an all black interior. I find the Legacy GT Limited to be an excellent car. The gauges are well done, the controls are well made, the steering wheel fits just right and has a great feel to it. The only thing the Legacy lacks is a high end sound system. - Mike