5 things you love and hate about your car

Just to get a little more discussion/activity on the forum, and since most here have had their cars for awhile, I figured this would make for a good thread.

Love:

1. Low production number. I have yet to see another 5th gen GT, yet.

2. Comfortable and roomy.

3. Power when the boost kicks in.

4. 6 speed in a sedan. Makes every drive fun. (except that one time I lurched into 2nd and gave my wife a migraine)

5. AWD

Hate:

1. Factory Nav. I'll try it ever so often....and that reminds me why I don't use it.

2. Headlight bulb access.

3. Factory backup camera resolution/brightness.

4. Soft factory suspension. Wife's Crosstrek has a better ride.

5. Quiet exhaust

on your hate list

1. I agree, any phone has a better GPS nav, but keep in mind most phones are newer than your car.

2. 1000% agree, I just pull the bumper now.

3. don't have this option

4. same as #1, the crosstrek is way newer. I think GTEASER mentioned something about during the late 2000 early 2010 years, Subaru tried to go for comfort (read: boaty feel) with the suspension and then went back to a better performing setup.

5. I kinda like how sleeper it is, tho I do have some axlebacks I will one day put on

Love:

1. Sleeper status. Most people think of the legacy in terms of the 2.5i w/CVT.

2. Off-road capability. I love parking my sedan at trail heads next to jeeps and F150s and seeing people's faces.

3. Handling at the extreme. I've had a couple of times where she surprised me by being able to suddenly evade another driver ion an emergency.

4. Power. Plenty of it.

5. Civilized road manners.

Hate:

1. Power. It's never enough.

2. AC. I'm in Phoenix, so 'adequate' in the PNW is not so good here.

3. No good looking option to replace the factory radio for something with backup camera & Bluetooth.

4. The placement of the cigarette lighter makes the cord from my Garmin annoying, as well as for my cell phone charger.

5. That faux wood trim. (I covered mine up with faux carbon fiber vinyl)

Falcor: Axelbacks are petty cheap & easy... so is the ol' hogzaust mod. Just sayin...

In regards to my 3.6R.

Love

1. Fast, despite being NA & AT. Much faster than people expect from this body style, and even more so in the absence of a hood scoop.

2. Unique. It's not a car that's commonly modded, especially in my area, so it tends to stand out a bit, and I've gotten compliments along the lines of "You know, I've never liked this body style until I saw yours".

3. The engine note of the flat six. GOD I could listen to the noise this car makes all day long, and it plays into the previous point of uniqueness too. It's a Subaru that can sound anywhere between a Porsche and an RB/JZ motor depending on the rpm.

4. The looks. It's a big car with presence that also manages to look aggressive depending on the mods.

5. The handling since my Koni upgrade. The car is an absolute dream to drive now, comfortable, flat, and the easy adjustability is a wonderful bonus.

Hate

1. The driver's side corner of my front bumper that will not just stay fxcking popped in. The tab's not even broken, it just won't stay in and pops out after most drives.

2. The 5EAT occasional lurching around 1st and 2nd. Doesn't happen often, and usually only when I accelerate a bit hard and suddenly let off, but it's really bothersome. I have the Rallitek 5EAT bushing and Prothane rear diff inserts that will hopefully help soon. Could probably do with an AT fluid drain/fill too.

3. The USDM/North American front end. Though I'm happy with what I've done with my front end, I *HATE* that there's literally only one bespoke front lip option left, and that using any of the cooler JDM aftermarket options would require an extremely costly full front end conversion. Why couldn't they have at least left the hood the same damn shape?

4. The death of the GT. This is a bit of a selfish reason, but hear me out: I eventually want a scooped hood. I'd LIKE to avoid having to paint it. With the death of the GT in 2012, and only 227 cars being built, in addition to the facelift colors being added in 2012, that means that there are only 49 cars IN THE ENTIRE WORLD that I could source a scooped hood from in Ice Silver Metallic. (2010-11 was Steel Silver Metallic).

5. The lack of aftermarket support for the EZ36. It's such a great engine that I feel never really got a chance to shine as much as it could've.

love:

1) the hood scoop. makes me so happy to see it every time i walk to my car

2) the overall look of the car. even at stock height, with stock wheels, it's a good looking car

3) how responsive it is. it's quick handling without being twitchy. im sure with a sway bar and better shocks/springs it'd be even better, but stock it's still solid

4) it's still analog *enough*. it's not 100% decked out in the latest tech, doesn't have blind spot monitoring and all of that crap that I just don't like.

5) the transmission. love that it's a good sized sedan with enough power and a manual, and it's not german. don't see too many.

Hate:

1) the seats! they need some bolstering

2) the transmission. it's just not a great shifter. done some of the mods to help, but it's never going to be great

3) the nav/infotainment system...it's just so outdated at this point

4) it's kinda loud...some more sound deadening would have been nice

5) it's kinda quiet...the engine and exhaust that is. can't barely hear the turbo or bpv, and the exhaust is super quiet.

1) the seats! they need some bolstering

There's a DIY for that, it makes a world of difference.

There's a DIY for that, it makes a world of difference.

Yep, actually already have the foam for it, it's just a matter of doing it. But overall they're still not the most comfortable seats...seems to be a trend lately across all manufacturers. Maybe I'm just too tall and too fat, but aside from a couple acuras I've never found any amazingly comfortable stock seats.

Love

1- Engine, the engine has good power and good low end torque. With only a tune the engine really wakes up.

2- Handling - I really like the handling and feel of the car with Koni, Eibach and rear sway.

3- drivetrain - 6MT and Subaru AWD enough said.

4- size, the interior is roomy and car is large enough but doesn’t have an excessive curb weight

5- styling, the car is a sleeper but the curves of the car are unique. With the proper sized rim and offset it is a good looking car.

Hate

1- Buyers didn’t buy the 5th Gen GT in large enough quantities and Subaru discontinued it.

2- Some prior mods - my rear passenger door rattles (I suspect from the tinter), I dislike all the poly bushing the prior owner put in my suspension. The poly bushings only make the rattlin worse. I will find the rattle and eventually rebuild the suspension and remove all poly bushings. I also hate the the prior owner rolled and pulled my fenders.

3- the interior materials could be better. Better door cards and softer dash materials. The 4th and 6th Gen have nicer interior materials than the 5th Gen

4- stock suspension was too soft for performance variations.

5- stock shifter sucked as did the factory MT oil. The effect to shift when cold was rediculous.

Ditto in regards to my 3.6R.

Love

1. AWD

2. Quiet

3. Relativity maintenance free

4. Large cabin for a mid size

5. One of the best automatics I've driven for lack of lag and response. Puts my 4eat WRX to shame.

6. Wayyyyy easier to work on then a Mazdaspeed6.

Hate

1. Seats, one day I like them the next day I hate them.

2. Remove the inner fener to service bulbs?!

3. Every grandma in my area has one, in 2.5l form.

4. Coked to death 3.6r is like a chastity belt on a hot chick.

5. GOD DAMN SUN GLASS HOLDER RATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad::mad:

Ditto in regards to my 3.6R.

 

Hate

 

5. GOD DAMN SUN GLASS HOLDER RATTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:mad::mad:

What is rattling? My glasses used to rattle, but i cut a piece of drawer liner to size and fixed it.

What is rattling? My glasses used to rattle, but i cut a piece of drawer liner to size and fixed it.

Its not the glasses its the door, you can tap tap tap it with your finger and the studded snow tire pocked roads here make is jiggle like a pair of jugs across a cattle guard. I've tried some felt it wasn't thick enough. I'm old too, so i'd rather just bitch about it.

Love:

1) Unique Aspect – In a valley of 3 million people, I’ve only seen one of this car

2) Handling – The best AWD in the business is even better when lowered and wider tires put on it.

3) Jack of All Trades – It is sporty, but not at the expense of lousy fuel economy

4) Roominess – There is lots of space in the back seat to fit adults comfortably. The trunk also is pretty good

5) Easy Upgrades – Many of the upgrades that make it better don’t take mechanic skills which makes it fun to always have a project or two in the pipeline.

Hate:

1) Hard Fixes – A few upgrades are much harder than they have to be. Changing the front headlight for example

2) Premium Fuel Requirement – Over time the cost adds up

3) No Seat Memory – It’d be nice to assign a key to each driver and have it remember your settings for seats and mirrors

4) Turbo Down Low – I fear that I might damage it over steep entry ways. This week I scraped a bit, but it must have been the exhaust.

5) Lack of Secondary Parts – Flip side of unique is that parts are hard to get. When they become available, you have to get while the getting is good.

Love:

Drivetrain - Engine with low mount turbo and equal length manifold give pretty good response even with an automatic. These auto LGT's can run with automatic WRX STI's. AWD is confidence inspiring under most any conditions. The 5EAT is worlds ahead of the 4EAT.

SI Drive - I thought it was a gimmick, it really is a gimmick playing with throttle mapping, but I am enjoying it! S# feels great in cut and thrust aggressive driving, S on long open stretches, and I for relaxed motoring or in traffic.

Styling - It gets a lot of flak from the motoring press but I happen to really like it! Lots of presence, very sporty.

Interior - Very roomy! Looks good too!

Potential - Lots of possible mods. Less than an Impreza but so much carry over that you can pretty much do whatever can be done to a WRX.

Hate:

Paint quality - I have Crystal Black Silica and it scratches if you so much as look at it wrong. Seems Subaru paint in general is pretty soft.

Interior quality - Nice design but poor materials compared to, say, a Toyota. Not unacceptable but could be better.

Suspension - I'm on the fence with this. JDM Bilsteins that come with the car are borderline harsh on our cratered roads. But they really come on their own at a full gallop.

Aftermarket support - So much less than a WRX/STI, or even the 4th gen Legacies.

And lastly, not a problem with the car per se but...there is no place to mount gauges that looks decent!