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2020 Legacy XT, buy again?


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Hi,

 

I have always liked the Legacy and currently own a 2005 Legacy GT Limited wagon as my winter car.

I was getting pretty excited with the new turbo 2.4 and already looked at one at the dealer (GT Limited in Canada) but couldn't drive it as it's sitting in the showroom.

 

From all the reviews about the XT so far on the internet, it looks like it is a solid car but the CVT and turbo combination is not as refined as it could be!?

 

What are your thoughts on this matter now that you lived with the XT for a while?

 

It looks like there are other little issues like start stop and driver monitoring nannies but it looks like those can be disabled to some extent.

 

Ah and one more question, as this infotainment screen is so huge and I drive mostly at night, can it be turned off so it's not blinding me constantly or at least quite dimmable? Dealer didn't know back then...

 

Thanks in advance.

 

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I've had my Touring XT for 3.5 months so far, and about 3,700 miles. I still love to drive it.

 

I'm coming from a 2015 Legacy Limited (and a 2011 Sonata Limited before that).

 

All the things you read in the forum have some truth in them. HOWEVER -- my personal experience is those are small things that in no way change my mind about how much I enjoy this car. It is such an improvement from the 2015 in so many ways. As in all forums, the posts are mostly filled with complaints about small stuff, as people that are generally happy with the cars are often not the most vocal in the forums. If I only read the forums without having the car, I'd be scared off. But as it is, I know what my reality is and read the forums with a grain of salt (including what you may choose to do with my own post, of course).

 

It's true the stop/start is a bit annoying. But for me personally, it's no big deal. And turbo/CVT combo is not perfectly linear with its power output. But wow, so much more get up and go compared to my 2015. So much fun knowing there's so much acceleration just waiting to be asked! I don't happened to get flagged with very many false warnings on the driver alerts. And I actually like the controls as they are, without as many physical controls and a cleaner look. It works just fine as my most used things are easy.

 

There are plenty of little things in the infotainment that should be made better, and are certainly able to be updated via software updates if Subaru chooses to do so. TBD whether they're interested/capable of doing that or not.

 

And yes, you can turn off the screen. Although in night mode with the navigation, it's not so bright anyways.

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Yes, I would buy again. There is simply nothing else out there with its combination of features.

 

Yes, it has some annoyances but no show stoppers. Some hopefully will be fixed in software. An stiffer rear sway bar will help the handling but none available for now. For me the biggest is the non-linear response of the turbo/CVT combination. Sometimes it is awesome but all too often it doesn't do what I want/expect. It decides how much acceleration instead of me so gives a disconnected driving experience.

 

In Canada I believe you can get the Premier (Touring) without the turbo. I would seriously consider going for that if I wasn't so power hungry.

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Thanks for the replies, looks like most of the little quirks can be adjusted to. Good to know the screen is capable of being turned off, too.

 

The dealer in my area has a limited with the 2.5 that is sitting outside, maybe I'll take that one for a spin and then just imagine another 78hp on top of that and see how it goes.

 

It would sure be nice to have all the little creature comfort gizmos, especially in the winter.

 

My two other contenders are the VW Golf R and Jetta GLI that has similar features minus the AWD (GLI).

 

I have been changing my mind almost daily on that subject, ready to just pull the trigger on one and be done with it. [emoji51]

 

What I mainly need is a comfy longer distance commuter as my way to work is 75km / 47 miles one way. But I also like some power haha.

 

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For comfort the Legacy is pretty darn good and with the adaptive cruise control you can almost sleep during your commute. Remember that it is a bigger car than the VWs and the handling is nowhere close to them. Look at your priorities. Legacy for highway, VW for the twisties. Edited by Stuff
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Thanks my commute is 99% rural highway in Northern British Columbia, I do see anywhere from 1-10 cars usually. I drove a 2016 Legacy 2.5 sport once and even though it was bigger it still didn't feel bad for handling, was pretty much perfect except maybe some lack of power so the 2020 should fill that gap.

 

I wish there was twistys on my commute but it's at the most a bit "curvy" haha.

 

I'll try and test drive to aid my wiffle waffling but I bet it'll have to come down to a coin flip, darn.

 

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I just picked mine up Monday, drove 150 miles on day one, and a couple of short trips since. Really enjoying it so far, but every time I get into it I identify a car setting that I need to change (like automatic door unlocks, turning off the acquired auto beep, etc.). It's a great highway car, I think the turbo is essential for driveability and quietness.
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I will say, that after about 2k miles I think the ECU and CVT programming has learned some things and it seems to be a better drive now then day 1.

 

That or the driver has adjusted his right foot to the car, which I also acknowledge as being possible.

 

But in short, I still really like this car.

'20 Legacy XT Touring

13 Subarus and counting: http://jmaigroup.com/subarus/

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Any of you guys had the 2005 to 2009 GT's before and how the new XT/ GT feels power wise to it?

 

Was going to test drive today but ran out of time, nearest dealer is 1.5h away.

 

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I just took delivery of a 2020 Touring XT. I also have a 2012 GT that I feel is more responsive. I think if it were stick the Touring would be equally responsive. With 277 ft lbs of torque it’s been tuned down quite a bit. It’s a commuter car, but I think with good tune, sway bars, coil overs or bilsteins or some other setup with it could be decent performer. My GT is tuned so no need to do anything with my Touring. I plan to keep it stock except for maybe a tune once there is one.

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I bought a XT Touring in March.

Still own and drive my 06 Spec B and 02 WRX wagon.

 

I don't remember how my legacy felt stock, been tuned for 5 yesrs. But from a comfort perspective, the XT is definitely a Cadillac compared to it. The cvt is... Off in my opinion. The response when putting the pedal down to the ground can vary- sometimes it goes nice and smooth quickly and sometimes it tries but feels flat.

 

But compared to my old daily auto wagon, it's obviously night and day difference in every way- comfort, noise level, performance, etc.

 

 

 

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I bought a XT Touring in March.

Still own and drive my 06 Spec B and 02 WRX wagon.

 

I don't remember how my legacy felt stock, been tuned for 5 yesrs. But from a comfort perspective, the XT is definitely a Cadillac compared to it. The cvt is... Off in my opinion. The response when putting the pedal down to the ground can vary- sometimes it goes nice and smooth quickly and sometimes it tries but feels flat.

 

But compared to my old daily auto wagon, it's obviously night and day difference in every way- comfort, noise level, performance, etc.

 

 

 

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What I have learned from driving 3 generations of Subaru CVT’s is that you do not floor the go pedal if you want to go fast. You press half way and then you wait.

 

I liked the linear CVT of the 5th gen the best.

---
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What I have learned from driving 3 generations of Subaru CVT’s is that you do not floor the go pedal if you want to go fast. You press half way and then you wait.

 

 

 

I liked the linear CVT of the 5th gen the best.

Yup.

Subaru's mantra, protect the CVT. You'll never ever get WOT from a standing start without some computer hacking.

 

 

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Thanks for the replies, looks like most of the little quirks can be adjusted to. Good to know the screen is capable of being turned off, too.

 

The dealer in my area has a limited with the 2.5 that is sitting outside, maybe I'll take that one for a spin and then just imagine another 78hp on top of that and see how it goes.

 

It would sure be nice to have all the little creature comfort gizmos, especially in the winter.

 

My two other contenders are the VW Golf R and Jetta GLI that has similar features minus the AWD (GLI).

 

I have been changing my mind almost daily on that subject, ready to just pull the trigger on one and be done with it. [emoji51]

 

What I mainly need is a comfy longer distance commuter as my way to work is 75km / 47 miles one way. But I also like some power haha.

 

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

Any reason you didn't look into the Arteon? I feel its closer in size/purpose to the legacy.

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It's all timing and programming with these cvt.

 

I'm trying to find out if the cvt in the XT is different from-the wrx

 

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Doesn’t matter, the WRX CVT blows too. Every person I know with a 2015+ CVT grenaded their transmission once they went stage 2. Only plus side is having SI drive but it’s not designed for performance.

 

OP your best bet is keep the 2005 wagon and do a STI 6 speed and IAG Stage 2 block STI. 5th gen wagons are rare, keep it and have fun with it.

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Any reason you didn't look into the Arteon? I feel its closer in size/purpose to the legacy.
Arteon starts at $48k in Canada ($56k with tax [emoji51]) that's a lot of $$$ for what you actually get.

 

My daily driver for the last 10 years is a 2000 Jetta TDI heavily modded (26lbs boost, hybrid turbo) but still gets 47mpg consistently but it's getting up there in km and it feels small on the inside now compared to newer cars.

 

My concern with the 2020 XT is, it might not satisfy the hunger for hp especially with the CVT, despite all of its creature comforts and me kicking myself for not going with a Golf R instead.

 

Although the XT is probably the better highway commuter.

 

Did you guys wiffle waffle that bad when trying to decide which new car to get? It's driving me nuts, changing my mind daily, gahhh what's wrong with me lol.

 

Bonus pic of the Jetta and GT.

 

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