I see there is a Legacy diesel road tast posted on Autocar today, which makes interesting reading :-
www.autocarmagazine.co.uk/CarReviews/FirstDrives/S.../
230393/
Made non-clickable in accordance with site policy
(Interjection by Honest John:
Fair comment about the Autocar test. There should have been a test of the Subaru diesel on this site last Thursday night. But the writer supplied his copy late. Here it is: www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=306 )
Edited by Honestjohn on 23/01/2008 at 20:07
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I've always had a hankering for a Legacy. As I start to feel my age and with the nippers legs getting longer, this could well be my next car.
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Sounds good!
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Sounds superb when you read this as well.
www.channel4.com/4car/rt/subaru/legacy/16539/2
{as per earlier mention of non clickable links}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 21/01/2008 at 21:10
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{as per earlier mention of non clickable links}
Oh yes sorry mods - I was just being a bit thick - no change there then.
Edited by Pendlebury on 22/01/2008 at 18:58
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Sounds superb when you read this as well.
A good report though they give it four stars to the Mondeo's five.
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A good report though they give it four stars to the Mondeo's five.
The Mondeo doesn't make any shortlist that needs AWD.
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>Made non-clickable in accordance with site policy
This is a bit confusing because in "Welcome to the Backroom. Please Read" it says you should make links clickable:
Quote:
Posting links
When typing website addresses into your posts, don't just write the www. address, but use the full www. address including the at the start of it. That way people can just click on the link without having to copy/paste.
End quote.
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The Legacy is one of my favourite cars since driving a petrol one for a day in the hills in Jordan and Beirut in 2003. Though no private diesel cars allowed there (at the time)!
Edited by Billy Whizz on 22/01/2008 at 05:50
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Have had immense respect for Subaru ever since I repaired a written-off one back in 1984. Drove it for a while, then sold it to a neighbour (who had watched it coming off the delivery transporter, so knew the condition it had been in when I bought it). He ran it until 1993, when he changed it for my father's ten year old Sierra.
Anyway, that's by the way. I have one big cautionary question. Have Subaru built a bullet-proof diesel power unit, or is this going to be their Achilles heel? With modern (common-rail) diesels from the likes of Ford, VAG, PSA and BMW all developing less than perfect reliability reputations, what confidence do we have that Subaru have got it right first time? It's an all new design, but it has all the bits that are causing problems elsewhere, e.g., EGR, DPF etc.
Subaru has become a manufacturer from whom we expect perfection. Can they deliver on diesel?
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Subaru has become a manufacturer from whom we expect perfection. Can they deliver on diesel?
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Agreed this is the acid test, because so far the Japanese haven't been great at diesels it just doesn't seem to be their bag. Even the much vaunted Honda CDTi is far from perfection.
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>Made non-clickable in accordance with site policy This is a bit confusing because in "Welcome to the Backroom. Please Read" it says you should make links clickable:
Billy, there was once reference that links to some sites should be non clickable - eg, rival car websites such as whatcar, channel4/car, etc. Looks like it was accidentally missed out when the policy you mention was re-written.
DD.
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Having just read the linked roadtests, it looks quite enticing. The diesel engine might just be the 'fix' needed to make their saloon & estate cars more attainable for buyers like me - the CO2 governed BIK values made the petrol versions (however delicious on paper) just too expensive BIK-wise - even 2nd-hand. I wouldn't be necessarily be put off (as some posters caution) by it being their 1st effort at a diesel - I assume the same expertise & assiduity has been applied to their diesel as their other engineering efforts. Let's not forget also, that although it's their first diesel, they can & probably have, learnt from the lessons of other manufacturers over the past 10-15years or so years of modern diesel development.
Only thing that bothers me is that due to low (expected) numbers, discounts might not be easily available - but maybe that will help residuals, so wait & see on that. I'll definitely be up for a test drive at my local (65 miles away!) dealer.
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What's the betting they don't make it with an auto box (the 'other' problem with Japanese diesels) . . . .
Davros
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Subaru already do petrol turbos with automatic so there isn't a torque capacity problem - their existing autobox would need ratio revision to suit the diesel.
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That MIGHT be enough to tempt me out of Citroens....
I've always quite fancied a Subaru, but 25mpg and 25k miles / year just doesn't add up. 150BHP and 50 MPG is a bit more like it :-)) Have to see how they go in the depreciation stakes - may even consider buying a NEW one if the prices are holding up (and running it for 10 years / 250k).
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The review [Autocar?] suggested the auto box would be delayed and fitted only in the next Legacy model, in 2009.
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I predict it will be a big hit for Subaru. A couple of friends have moved away from them (and one of whom had owned nothing else for 25 years) mainly due to fuel consumption. One issue remaining though is the number of dealers, since Subaru had a cull a couple of years ago they are a bit thin on the ground.
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Let's face it , Subaru engineer brilliant cars, but fuel consumption has been their achilles heel.
I think we'll be seeing a lot of Subaru Diesels within a few years
Also noted, a Subaru dealer in the Slough area, is offering free LPG conversions/3 years servicing on Foresters...
MVP
2003 Forester 2.0x owner
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Great, but the already small boot would probably be rendered useless with an LPG tank! Where else would it go?
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I have a 2007 Impreza 2.0RX (160bhp engine). I don't think the fuel economy is too bad, at least not with this engine. The car is still relatively new (only 3000 miles) but on a long trip at a steady 70mph it has given me 36mpg overall, which I think is quite acceptable for a petrol engine of this size and power.
I think possibly they have a reputation for poor economy because there is a temptation to drive the cars quite hard. The engine is very smooth and revs easily and its very very tempting to boot it along all the time. The worst I have seen, driving it hard in mixed urban and rural driving, is 26mpg. I can't see any other 2.0 petrol delivering significantly different figures.
There is a depth of engineering in Subaru which is almost tangible. I already have the feeling that I will be sticking with the brand in future.
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It goes in the spare wheel well and you have an aerosol of goo instead of the spare. It's a Subaru-approved installation, available at all dealers on 2 litre Foresters along with three years free servicing (or 30k miles). So you end up with a good range as you keep the petrol tank as well.
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Our 2.0x Forester usually does 30+ to the gallon on mixed driving - with LPG I guess that would equate to about 60mpg for the same cost - not bad for £17k car of the size if you are doing high milages
MVP
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It goes in the spare wheel well and you have an aerosol of goo instead of the spare. >>
After experiences with a can of goo in a Honda Civic at work (it has failed to fix 3 punctures but wrecked the tyre in the process), I refuse to drive a car without a spare wheel.
Surely a soft-roader of all cars would need a spare wheel rather than a can of goo given the rougher surfaces it might be expected to drive over wheel in using its 4x4?
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Replacing an Volvo XC70 latest this year,and this is top of the short list.
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Thank goodness HJ's review is so lukewarm. Maybe there will be the chance of a discount.
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It seems refinement is a bit disappointing. I wonder if this will put off the wellie-wearing pony brigade?
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From the "test", I gather that a Danny Cobb started it up. Says very little except that required to fill a blank page, using the data from the makers press pack. I wonder, did he drive beyond the drive?
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Comparative tets elsewhere will be useful, if they've space after all the Fiat 500 hype.
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What's the betting that bearing in mind the sheep mentaility of whoever is doing the comparison (which, to be fair, matches the decision making processes of my colleagues who have the option of opting out of the company car scheme) a car with a German badge will be better?
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G5TcWg0TMc
This should get the techies excited.
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I've been reading in Autocar and What Car that there is a new Legacy out very soon (March or sometime in the spring). Is this a completely new model .... considering the current model has been around since 2003 or is this Diesel engine the new Legacy?
Anyone have any knowledge of this?
I'd be very interested in knowing this as I hope to buy a new car in the next 6 months and a Legacy Diesel is now on my short list but I don't want to buy a model that is about to be replaced.
Many thanks.
ScottieP
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