2005 Outback

[LarryIII]

I just found out that the 2005 2.5L tubocharged Legacy Gt and Outback XT with the 5-speed sport shift automatic transmission have sport shift buttons on the steering wheel.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm..........things are finally looking up at Subaru.

[shoden]

I was just in at the Subie dealer today looking at those. I wonder how long it will be until one of those 5spd auto trannies with sport shift is swapped into a SVX... along with the 2.5 turbo

[NeedForSpeed]

Originally posted by shoden
I was just in at the Subie dealer today looking at those. I wonder how long it will be until one of those 5spd auto trannies with sport shift is swapped into a SVX... along with the 2.5 turbo

Someone lead the way,
I want that 5 sp auto!

[dcarrb]

There was a prominent Outback XT ad in last week's U.S. News & World Report... 2-page, center spread, surprising superlatives. Good looking car.


dcb

[immortal_suby]

Test drove an 05 legacy GT limited wagon with 250hp turbo and automatic and also an 05 legacy outback sedan with 250hp H-6 and automatic today. (yes, auto - this will be the wife's car)

The interiors of both cars were great. Holy crap the sunroof in that wagon is gigantic.
The turbo seemed pretty peppy around town but the car felt slow on the highway - passing was not as fast as in the svx. Also - the wagon has some pretty severe body roll.
The turbo lagged, then boosted hard, then lost its pep around 5k. I was disappointed in it - I was expecting it to me more of a screamer than that.

The outback sedan had much stiffer suspension but still leaned more than the svx does. The H-6 felt strong and even throughout. The salesman had no idea what the svx was.

Now I am confused - we were planning on an 05 gt limited sedan w/ turbo - but after driving these 2 we'll have to wait until one hits the dealer to test it out.

[immortal_suby]

One other thing I forgot about - the AC was weak.

Its cool how the turbo is bolted directly to the intercooler. If one was so inclined that would make a great car to modify.

[Chiketkd]

Car & Driver also had a lot of praise for the Outback XT in the July issue where they did a full road test. The re-disgned Subaru's look great!

-Chike

Originally posted by dcarrb
There was a prominent Outback XT ad in last week's U.S. News & World Report... 2-page, center spread, surprising superlatives. Good looking car.


dcb

[Royal Tiger]

They also liked the 2.5 Turbo over the 3.0 H-6. I'll have to drive both before I pass judgement. I really thought the 6 would have more torque then the Turbo 4 (250 for the 4, 219 for the 6) Both have 250hp. I also assume, both require 93 octane???

[LarryIII]

Saturday, Rosie & I test drove the 2005 Outback XT Ltd. and the 3.0R VDC. Both were wagons with the new 5-speed EAT tranny . Rosie & I both preferred the XT Ltd. Here are my impressions.

The XT Ltd. has the turbo 2.5L engine. It has tons of low end torque. It is very very luxurious yet quite sporty. It is super quiet at idle rivaling the SVX. I drove this car around town and on the highway. They are digging up the streets in the University of DE. To simulate off-road I took it thru the construction. It handled evrything easily. A few students, walking by, thought it was cool to see a new wagon climbing a mound of dirt and and pieces of concrete. Then I took this car on I-95 and topped 100 mph (yes I said 100). The car was rock solid at that speed. It did not exhibit any tendency to lift as our '97 Outback wagon does at 87 mph. The '97 OB lifts so badly at high speeds that at 95 mph it's downright twitchy. I never ever drive that car above 82 mph.
The 2005 OB engine was still pulling and the car was still strongly accelerating. I estimate that this car will start to peter out around 130mph. The ride is smooth and this car is powerful. It reminds me very much of our '92 SVX. That's a pretty good trick for a 4-cyl. wagon with a jacked-up suspension. Rosie drove this one back to the dealership. She kept going faster & faster. She loved it.

Next we drove the 3.0R VDC Outback wagon. (Hey, don't blame us. That's what they called it. Subaru marketing people still haven't learned.). This car is totally different from the OB XT. It is not sporty at all. It is refined and elegant. It does nothing super fast and never loses its aplomb. The best way to decribe it is: It is the kind of car that you drive thru 3 ft. of snow in a howling blizzard to the DuPont Country Club for their charity Chrismas Ball. Of course you must wear a Tuxedo and the Mrs. must be in a ball gown with $300 Cinderella glass slippers.
I drove this OB over the same course. However, I did not take it "off road" thru the construction site. The salesman in the back seat was relieved. This OB does everything in a very controlled deliberate manner. It is obvious that the engine has been tuned so that the torque comes in in the mid to upper RPM range. The tranny shift program is different from the one in the XT. It upshifts at a lower rpm. I also took this car up to 100 mph on I-95. It also was rock steady at that speed. The impression I was left with on this Outback, is that it is closer to my '97 SVX.
Rosie drove this one back to the dealership. She did not like it as much as the XT.
Rosie tested the sound system in both OBs by playing a Maria Callas CD of operatic arias (the saleman thought that we were both crazy). The 3.0R VDC si supposed to have the better sound system. Neither of us could see any difference between them Both sound systems were superb.

We never really tested either car thru "twisties." However both feel as though they will be better than our '97 OB, which handles well for a jacked-up wagon.

Fully loaded I estimate that I can buy a new XT Ltd. for about $29,600-$30,000. That's alot, but it's a great car. The color choices are limited. There are only 4 colors in an XT with a beige leather interior(I don't want the black interior). Black, red, champagne, and pearl white with a gray bottom. Subaru is pushing black for the XT. The colors are not as vibrant as the ones on the 2000-2004 OB models. It's disappointing.

We are going to get one, if not this year; than next year. I will keep everyone here posted.

[Royal Tiger]

Subaru's biggest weakness strikes again; too few choices of exterior colors. They need to expand thier paint selections. Too bland. Where are the blues, the silvers, and the greens. Too many tan/beige/champaigne/etc... Black looks great for the 16 hours it's clean, then it's all downhill. My black over titanium Pathfinder looks great, then it needs a bath again by the next day. White is worse.

[SVXer95]

Took the SVX into the shop today and my dad helped me. We decided to check out the new legacies while we were there. Took a test drive in the outback 2.5 turbo and we both liked it a lot. It had the 5 eat tranny and I was impressed. My father did the driving, but I got a pretty good feel of the car from the passenger seat. We were both impressed with the low end of the 4 banger (esp. my dad). The car seemed to do everything with ease. Acceleration, handling, and even tough roads were not a problem. The transmission was quite smooth and shifted quickly. My dad didn't try out the sport shift as he has never used one before.

This is quite a different legacy. My dad has never really liked Subies (except the SVX) and walked away with a different opinion of them. We thought it was very funny that the salesman was pushing the turbo 4 instead of the six. We expressed some interest in the 3.0r vdc ll bean model on the lot, but the salesman kept pushing the 2.5. All in all quite a car, now I want one

Hopefully my parents will get this as their next car. They were looking at a tourer with some luggage capacity and were also thinking Audi/BMW etc. I think I have them hooked on Subaru now

[Earthworm]

Originally posted by SVXer95
I think I have them hooked on Subaru now

Good job!

[immortal_suby]

Went back and test drove the GT limited sedan. Liked it alot but still wasn't blown away. I really just needed it to be alot faster in order to plunk down that much cash. Test drove the forester xt turbo and fell in love. That thing is fast as hell. Spent last week calling dealers trying to get a good price on an 04.

Spent the weekend driving to savannah georgia to pick up a black 04 forester xt w/ premium package. Grainger subaru treated us like king and queen.

I love it. Very fast. Kills the svx in a straight line. Sunroof is freaking huge. I actually had all 4 tires grappling for traction in a powerslide from a stop going around a curve (on a test track of course, Alan). Engine feels very strong on the highway - pulls as good if not better than the svx when accelerating without downshifting on the highway. Did I mention the sunroof is freaking huge?

Of course it doesn't look nearly as cool as the svx, and it leans more in corners, but its the wife's car anyway.


Must get ecutune stage 2. Cannot let wife be fastAr.

[wawazat??]

Congrats by the way!

Looking forward to seeing you guys.

Todd

PS - SRT-4 is fastAr!