2011 Subaru Legacy and Outback Priced

mbp138 says:

05:10 PM, 05/13/2011

Re:orbit9090 Please accept this reply with equal respect. In reference to your last post, your assumption on my stature  is incorrect, my 6'1" 195 lb frame  does not qualify as vertically challenged or tiny. Sadly, I have not been mistaken as a "youth" for quite a long while. Despite these facts,  I find my Legacy quite comfortable in my daily 2 hr commute.

As my current '06 approaches 140k mi,  I still am still waiting for a new Subaru with attractive styling and less reminiscent of a "family truckster." ala Clark Griswold. I am pleased that you are happy with the current offering. I did not intend to offend as I apparently did. I still prefer the lower, more sporty Legacy that I am proud to own.  I continue to receive compliments on this vehicle despite its age. Nonetheless,  I still anxiously await a restyling of the Legacy.

Best Wishes

burntclutch says:

01:11 AM, 01/20/2011

rj_calif- Just because the vehicles do not have something does not mean it was not thought of. I can see where rear A/C vents would be nice for passengers considering they can now fit in the new model, but rear A/C isn't something you can just toss into a car. Someday it may get worked in but I can't imagine where the duct work, no matter how flat, would fit in.

leokbelo- yeah, it would be nice to see a Legacy Wagon. With the new EZ5 body came a higher ride height and an Outback only green. It would be nice to have an Legacy Wagon option where the lower ride height was retained and the plastic crap around the bottom was non existent. I could care less about the green though.

phoenixc- You should also then thank Toyota for the one piece side stamp. Stamping presses the size of a 32 unit apartment building do not come cheap. If not for the Camry coming in and being built at SIA, the new Legacy's and Outback's probably would still have the 2 piece stamped side with the braze bump on the c-pillar and not be as rigid as the current cars are. Also the size increase has made it possible for four adults to actually fit in the car. That you can mostly attribute to Toyota. Though I agree with you about the look of the EZ5 Legacy and Outback models. Well, at least I can say the cars look like when the designers sculpted the cars they forgot to add wheel wells so they just smashed the clay model on four milk caps and sent it to engineering. Those arches are ridiculous. I noticed from the inside though that the car looks amazing and drives amazing so as long as I stay behind the wheel I forget about the looks.

The Tribeca is a different story. A certain company (Don't know if I can say) was going to build their SUV at SIA due to same wheel base dimensions. Then they backed out because of legit reasons but the dies were already made. Dies cost millions and SIA was now sitting with dies to an SUV that was no longer going to be built. So they remodeled the Tribeca at basically no extra cost to them. And I'm cool with that cause the B9 Tribeca was as cute as an opossum. Remodeling the Tribeca may take a bit more people willing to buy them. They are only really built to offer a vehicle with 3rd row seating. Out of 350 cars built a shift, less than 50 are Tribecas.

scottyscooter- You are right about the fact that a Legacy Wagon should be offered. It really wouldn't add much, if any, to the cost of production or change how things are ran. I think simplicity is one of Subaru's goals and for the most part, the Outback and Legacy are not different enough for Subaru to consider adding what could essentially be considered one more car to the line up. But keep your fingers crossed as I am also wishing for a lower, tighter suspension-ed Outbacky Legacy like option. I don't think it is fair to say that Subaru doesn't have a wagon in the lineup anymore though. The older Outbacks had a higher ride height than the Legacys but it just wasn't as noticeable. Technically, since the only structural difference between the Legacy and Outback occurs after the C pillars it is the wagon form of it. Now if you want to call the Forester a crossover go right ahead. It's like all the non legroom inconvenience of a Impreza with all the tallness of an Airbus A380.

mbp138- I agree with your frustration. But you must understand the marketing of the new bigger Legacy. At this point you understand I don't like the styling either, but it has been selling like hotcakes, so you know that while you don't like the car, that most the other people do. Stick with Subaru and hopefully they can do something about those wheel wells for the next model change.

sbme- A car company cannot just add in things like ACC on a whim. There is more to it than that. Where do you put the radar? Where do you put the AC condenser now? How much will it cost to go to all fly by wire braking? How many people who buy a Subaru don't want to move their right thumb an inch and push a button down and would rather pay 5000 dollars extra for a system that does that for them? Is it worth the millions of dollars of investment while the economy is down?
What good is the AWD if a Subaru driver is just going to ACC behind someone in a Golf going 22 mph because snow is on the road? Those are all questions that need to be answered before a company can just start throwing in expensive and software intensive equipment. Oh, speaking of the Golf, they have turn signals on the mirrors. I've never understood the idea of having flashers on the mirrors. I guess it might help keep you from leaving your blinker on for 4 miles. Though the usual person who checks their mirrors less than every four miles probably won't leave an indicator on. Also, the only differences between an Outback and the theoretical Legacy Wagon would be a lower ride height and the black plasticky stuff around the bottom would be swapped for the Legacy's painted plasticky aero stuff. And you couldn't get it in green. It would still be a small SUV by your standards since following the same rule means SUVs are more or less big wagons.

sbme says:

12:46 AM, 11/04/2010

Around 10pm 3 weeks ago I drove into the Subaru dealership and I first passed a row of Tribeca's.  Once I got out of my car I looked at the Legacy sedans and then went to look at the "Outback", I could of sworn they were Tribeca's when I pulled up.  My mom has a 2003 Outback that she bought new and loves it. I've driven it a few times and really like it too, although I'm pretty sure I wouldn't buy a wagon.  But I agree with the others they need to have the old style Legacy Outback "wagon" model back.  They should of called the new Outback some other name since it is now just a small SUV.  

Even though I've only driven my mom's a few times in the rain and snow (2-4 miles), it was enough to know that I was interested in possibly getting a Subaru at one point.  What really sold me on it was when I took it from Minneapolis to an "up north" cabin and went onto state land in the woods to do some shooting.  That's when I fell in love with the AWD.

I am now really interested in a new car, so 2 weeks ago I went back to the dealership and drove the new 2011 Legacy 2.5i with CVT and really liked the car.  With the CVT it says that most drivers should get 25 to 37 mpg, so really, really good considering the AWD is always on.  The styling isn't the best but with the Blue one (pictured) and the White Pearl they look nice.  The only thing I would of liked on it was to have a turn signal mirror.  Hopefully soon they will offer adaptive cruise control (ACC) at a reasonable price, if they had the ACC it wouldn't be a question about buying the 2011 model.

I really want adaptive cruise control on a new vehicle in this price range, so I might just get a used Subaru to hold me over and then wait until they offer the ACC before I get a new one.  But then again a lot of other manufacturers will be offering adaptive cruise control in the near future on almost all of their cars too, let alone the turn signal mirrors.  So after typing this out and really, really wanting ACC I may just get a used Legacy or even a Impreza.  But that new CVT was really nice and even though the Impreza 2.5i has the exact same engine the Legacy's CVT provides 20% better gas mileage.

I also like they added the folding mirrors to the 2011 model, this feature is a must for me, it's small but I fold my Honda Accord driver mirror in from time to time.

orbit9090 says:

06:43 AM, 08/03/2010

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In courteous reply to mbp138's bizarre concern that the Legacy is overly 'high and wide':

In my opinion, the new 2011 Subaru Legacy is nicely tall (high) and deliciously spacious (wide).

I understand there are those who remain vertically-challenged in adulthood, and I appreciate that they may feel more comfortable driving something puny - something that is low & squashy.

Fortunately for these youth and tiny adults, there are a multitude of little-people choices - from the midget-esque Civic Si coupe, to the knee-height Volkswagen CC. Yes, there are many 'dive-right-in' vehicle choices for those special people who, shall we say, 'prefer to use the little drinking fountain.'

For the rest of us sedan shoppers, our legs and backs are better off with a little head and leg room...and the new 2011 Subaru Legacy sedan nicely complies with our sedan Bill-of-Rights.

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mbp138 says:

07:51 AM, 06/06/2010

As a loyal Subaru Legacy owner, I cannot overcome how completely repelled I am by the present Legacy offering. High and wide, it appears bloated, disappearing into traffic as just one more uninspired design.  Love the dependability and the sportiness of my present Subaru, but when I reflect on the fact that I will eventually need to replace this car, I cannot bring myself to even consider this new Legacy.  Blandness is not what makes "a Subaru a Subaru."

scottyscooter says:

03:46 AM, 05/17/2010

leokbelo says:
And I would love to see Subaru bring back the Legacy WAGON.

The Outback has really become more of a crossover thing rather than a station wagon, so Subaru doesnt really even have a wagon in their lineup anymore. I would love to see them bring the Legacy wagon back.

phoenixc says:

12:22 PM, 05/15/2010

I blame Toyota for Subaru's recent ugliness. Odd they have always been, but the last Legacy elegant in a way other off-road machines rarely are. Now it's full of lame creases, folds, and hideously large headlights. Why do I blame Toyota? Look at the door handles and the door skin, they now feature the poorly designed door handle with the useless indent, along with framed doors. These are clearly sourced from the Toyota relationship and add to a slab-sided machine that is trying to be too many things at once.

IMO they should have left the Legacy elegant and smart, and foisted all this wannabe 'rugged' styling on a revised Tribeca, at least it would make more sense and some of the shapes would fit better on the Tribecas bigger canvas.

+1 leokbelo - I too wish they would simply offer a Legacy wagon.

Dare I say it, Subaru is about to be awash in confused designs, need proof? Look at the Suabaru Corolla... wait, I mean Impreza.

Sheesh!

PS - I owned 4 Subarus over the years, so it is with love that I rant about these latest models. Luckily one can still find a wonderful 2008 Legacy/Outback with style and substance intact... and frameless doors.

leokbelo says:

05:30 PM, 05/14/2010

And I would love to see Subaru bring back the Legacy WAGON.