2.2 vs 1.8 Liter

[Krag]

I guess I'll be driving a Subaru again after an odyssey through Luxury car fixup land. Have been checking out available Subarus, here and there--even went into NYC to check out a misrepresented Subaru seized for delinquent parking tickets. Another tempting Subaru, a '95 Legacy @120K and $1200 had more title reassigments than the family bicycle and an enamel paint job--the "dealer" was busy forging "his friend's" signature.

The '92 1.8 I'm buying has a running clunk in the rear wheel--their mechanic said it is a control arm or something, though it sounded like the bearing. Was wondering if rear bearings in the 92 are pressed in? Also the usual "check engine" light.

My main question is what are the advantages of the 2.2 vs the 1.8 engine? Will I get better mileage with the 1.8? Thanks for any feedback and am I thrilled to be getting back to a common sense vehicle...

[MorganM]

For a common sense, daily driver, I would go with the Legacy 2.2. I loved mine as a dialy driver; at the time I was putting on about 100 miles a day.

 

Plenty of room ( I had a wagon ) for hauling stuff and plenty of pep in it's step to merge and pass. I found the engine to be just as easy to work on as my EA82. Even at 180,000 miles I thought it was rather low maintanace.

[operose]

got to agree with morgan... you can't go wrong with a 2.2 unless the previous owner buggered it up real bad (like mine)

[iamtheq]

got to agree with morgan... you can't go wrong with a 2.2 unless the previous owner buggered it up real bad (like mine)

 

Slightly off topic...Driving through Phoenixville, PA today, I saw a first gen legacy sedan with a big tall wing on the back (the kind where the supports look like they came out of an errector set) and a cherry bomb muffler sticking out of the back. At least there was no coffee can tip on the exhaust.

 

That said, gotta love the 2.2.

[zyewdall]

Personally, I like the 1.8 better, but that's primarily because it comes with the dual range 4WD in the pre-90 ones. If you don't have low range, the bigger engine will do better if you are snowplowing. Little more power on the road (although it's a bit heavier car too). From comparing my experience with friends who own the 2.2, gas mileage is maybe a mile or two higher with the 1.8, but that small of a difference could also be driving style.

[Snowman]

I think the EJ22 is probably the best engine subaru has made. They last forever, have good power while being efficient, and they don't leak oil, tick, or blow HG's like the EA82. Subaru built the legacy to LAST.