newuser Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Hello to everybody everywhere: I need help on deciding which Subaru Wagon to buy. The saleman at the agency says there is no difference to speak of. I am looking at a 2005 Subaru 2.5 XT Limited Wagon which is 4 cliynder Turbo and has 250 horsepower. The other Wagon is a 3.0R LL.Bean with 250 horsepower. All the sales people I have talked to cannot give me the pros or cons on the 2 wagons. They all say they are equally good. My thinking is that there has to be some kind of difference. Any info on this subject would be welcomed. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattocs Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 Nice user name...heh. The turbo 4 cyl. might be faster and lighter...I don't really know...but this is how I would deside: 1. Gas mileage - what does each get? 2. Look up reviews and see what kind of common repairs are needed and how much. They are new model likes...so there might not be anything on them. 3. How much each of them cost. 4. How comforable they are to ride in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbhrps Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 I'm jealous that you can consider either car! I wish I could rationalize that decision, but....Turbos need high test fuel, so does the H6.....Turbos need more frequent oil changes.....Turbos, if you have spooled one up for any length of time, need about 2 minutes of idling time BEFORE you shut off the engine, or you'll shorten their life expectancy substantially.....Turbos will eventually need to be rebuilt or replaced= much dollars.....The XT goes like stink and will embarass most other cars on the road that dare to challenge it, even though it looks like mother's grocery getter (all the better), the H6 is not quite in the same league, but should not be as breakable....You really can't make a wrong decision here, because you'll be more than satisfied with either car. The decision for me would be, "am I prepared to give the Turbo the extra care, and money it needs down the road", assuming that you're going to keep the car for a lenghty time. Good luck with your choice....and get back to us and let us know which one you chose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THAWA Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Some of that stuff you just mentioned doesnt apply to subarus. Turbo or not they have the same service intervals for oil changes. Also there is no cooldown period with the way the turbos are cooled. It's been this way for many years (at least 13, dunno if the ea-turbos were watercooled aswell). When you shut the engine off, there is still coolant in the turbo that cools it down. So there's no need for a cooldown period. Not saying I personally still wouldnt give it a bit to cool down, but its nice to know that it doesnt have to be done that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newuser Posted July 15, 2004 Author Share Posted July 15, 2004 Hi: Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to the board, but I have been having too much fun driving my new 2005 XT Limited Turbo Outback. It is like driving a sports car with a lot of power. It handles very well, takes corners great, has immediate power. Does not lag in sport shift or regular drive. I traded a RX 300 Lexus in on it, and quite frankly I like the Subaru better. You feel like you are driving the car rather than the car driving you. The only thing I miss on the Lexus is the GPS Navigation. Subaru has yet to come out with. Owning the turbo is and driving it, is quite a nice expierence. Thank you for helping me decide on the Turbo. I'm jealous that you can consider either car! I wish I could rationalize that decision, but....Turbos need high test fuel, so does the H6.....Turbos need more frequent oil changes.....Turbos, if you have spooled one up for any length of time, need about 2 minutes of idling time BEFORE you shut off the engine, or you'll shorten their life expectancy substantially.....Turbos will eventually need to be rebuilt or replaced= much dollars.....The XT goes like stink and will embarass most other cars on the road that dare to challenge it, even though it looks like mother's grocery getter (all the better), the H6 is not quite in the same league, but should not be as breakable....You really can't make a wrong decision here, because you'll be more than satisfied with either car. The decision for me would be, "am I prepared to give the Turbo the extra care, and money it needs down the road", assuming that you're going to keep the car for a lenghty time. Good luck with your choice....and get back to us and let us know which one you chose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benebob Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 Hi: The only thing I miss on the Lexus is the GPS Navigation. Subaru has yet to come out with. Owning the turbo is and driving it, is quite a nice expierence. Thank you for helping me decide on the Turbo. That's the difference. You don't need a destination when driving a Subie. Personally I would've gone with the GT wagon. Same size, better handling, better braking and a little lighter (oh yeah cheaper too!)... That is unless you're in that 2% of the population that needs that extra ground clearance more than safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganM Posted July 15, 2004 Share Posted July 15, 2004 If I had the money I'd prolly go for an H6 3.0L Outback Wagon with as many bells and whisltes I could afford I'd get that sick red/gold two tone paint job and gold badgets too. Seen a couple of those wagons running around the cities here. I get wood on sight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamhilow Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 Did you decide? I had the same issue with deciding. Lucky for me there are so many dealers in town that It boiled down to the color of leather I wanted. Keep this in mind. the 3.0r only comes with the ugly rump roast taupe interior. To get black on black you need to get the 2.5 xt limited which is what I did. Hello to everybody everywhere: I need help on deciding which Subaru Wagon to buy. The saleman at the agency says there is no difference to speak of. I am looking at a 2005 Subaru 2.5 XT Limited Wagon which is 4 cliynder Turbo and has 250 horsepower. The other Wagon is a 3.0R LL.Bean with 250 horsepower. All the sales people I have talked to cannot give me the pros or cons on the 2 wagons. They all say they are equally good. My thinking is that there has to be some kind of difference. Any info on this subject would be welcomed. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtsmiths Posted January 20, 2005 Share Posted January 20, 2005 newuser, for $150.00 (and less on sale) you can get a GPS antenna, USB patch cord, and software package that will run on any number of palm devices and 'voila', instant 'on-board' GPS navigation. Prolly wouldnt be hard to set it up in that funny mini glove box thingie on the dash for where the factory GPS install is gonna go when it comes out. I'll be getting one for my airplane. I really don't like GPS navigation for flying, but the damn charts keep blowing out of the open cockpit! Congrats on your new 'Roo, and welcome to the board ... whaddya gonna do about your handle when your post count hits 500? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ballitch Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 did you just commit a capital subaru crime.....you bought a turbocharged 2.5 litre, DOHC, stainless steel valved, automatic.................to each his own i guess. ~Josh~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave O Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 My wife and I got an 05 XT Limited back in September after nearly 2 decades of Saabs (Specifically SPGs, Aeros and finally a Viggen). We have always enjoyed high-pressure turbos but liked less the gruesome torque steer. After test driving the XT, we were very impressed. Obviously AWD negates the torques steer. We drove the 3.0 and the GT too. My wife had to have the Outback with AT though I would have preferred the GT--stealth wagons have always been cool but I could never afford the Volvo R wagon. Anyway, the XT is certainly more entertaining than the 3.0 as the extra torque makes it feel way more powerful. And the 3.0 did not come in black on black, a big disapointment. Some opinions I would like to share for future browsers however: Get the manual trans unless you really can't stand shifting. The auto stick is mildly entertaining but nowhere near as enjoyable as a true standard. Also, unless you leave it in sport mode, it will hunt (read constantly shifting) to the point of annoyance. Even sport mode has a drawback in that the shifts are very jerky, especially on deceleration. Subaru definitely needs to work on this. Anybody who has driven an automatic Audi will understand how much better an auto-shift can be. The dual climate control does not work too well at all. One minute hot air, the next ice cold. And yet when the AC is off in the warmer months, the lowest the temp will go is 65 and it is too warm. I would have preferred a standard hvac system. The upgraded radio offered in the 3.0 should also be offered in the XT. The huge sunroof is a gimmick, in my opinion. It creates huge amounts of buffeting with the side windows down or up even. A standard sun roof would have been preferable. The brakes are merely adequate. This thing needs better clamps and that is going to be my first upgrade--next to a set of sportier summer tires and rims. There is turbo lag though not too bad. Here again, the manual transmission would have made this more invisible. I'm hoping the boost can be bumped up without major modifications. The seats, while very good, could use a little more length in the seat especially for those of us over 6 feet. However, the multi stage heaters are most excellent. Why are the rear windows not factory tinted dark like almost any other make? While I don't mind getting them done, I would have preferred this option too--especially for a black car. Finally, the outback and GT need to be offered in WRX packages. I would have paid the extra for the beefed up engine, brakes, and suspension which would make this the ultimate stealth wagon. Now please understand that I am not offering up these opinions in an attempt to dissuade future buyers or to rile the Subie cogniscenti on this site. I thoroughly enjoy the XT and am very pleased with the choice we made. I just hope that in the future, Subaru addresses some of these concerns so that in several years I can return to my dealer for another equally cool wagon. Sorry to have rambled on, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who post on this site as it has proved to be very informative and helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamhilow Posted January 21, 2005 Share Posted January 21, 2005 Definitely, I was very disappointed that there was not a Blk on Blk option when buying the 3.0R, I was basically corned into the XT Limited for that reason. These cars are all Sube though. Nothing flashy, no dvd navigation or other g-whiz gimicks. It would only be more stuff to go wrong. Lets be real. Subes are seriously reliable and built to stay that way. I am totally happy with my new XT. The more I look at it the more I see what it really is- here today,here tomorrow. - The 17" tires rub the wheelwells going over bumps while cornering. - How do you change the Spark Plugs? Are you joking me? - I bet the clutch will be a real pain in the rump roast to change, it is entombed. - Only runs on 91 octane. Noticably sluggish, rough with the 87. - 5 star crash rating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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