Legacy vs Impreza: the age-old generic question

[subie_newbie]

Doing a search I couldn't find anything immediately gratifying, so I just decided to ask.

 

I've got a 97 Legacy L EJ22, and I like it well enough. For a grocery getter.

 

But, my fun *other* car isn't so fun anymore (Corrado) so I'm looking to get something new, and I don't know what the major differences are between the Legacy family and the Impreza family. I'm aiming for good handling/acceleration and daily driver. Oh, and I'm cheap.

 

So between the two, what's the difference:]

 

Engine/Tranny

Weight

Suspension

Electrical

General Impression

General Reliability

 

I'd say 99% of the posts in this forum are about legacys - should that tell me something?

[86BRATMAN]

Motor, tranny, reliablity are all the same, unless you wanna talk ej18 impreza, then its just reliability the same.

 

Suspension is different components, but design is fundamentally the same. There are more off the shelf upgrades availible for the 93-01 impreza than the 90-99 legacy from what I've seen. Generally the 2 door impreza will weight anywhere from 200-400 less than a legacy, depending on options and such.

 

If I were going for a tunable car to mess around with, and looking for the easier to find stuff, I'd get an impreza.

[porcupine73]

cars101.com could probably tell you all the specs specific to the years and models.

[Bmm001]

My family has both; I can tell you that my dad's 97 Impreza definitely feels the fastest, by far, out of all our cars (95 Leg. sedan, 98 Leg. wagon, 99 Impreza Outback). And it's automatic. The handling and suspension are also much tighter. It's definitely the most fun to drive, and my dad gets 26 MPG in it (mostly city). Reliability and everything else has been as good as all of the Subarus we've ever owned.

 

Brian

[edrach]

I've had a '91 Legacy for the last 5 years as my DD. Great solid, reliable car. We bought a '97 Impreza last year for my wife to drive regularly. For economic reasons it became my rallycross car also (replaced my '94 Impreza 4 door). Impreza is also reliable but seems so much more fun to drive. Both are wagons and the Legacy definitely has more cargo space. If you don't need the room, the Impreza is certainly more fun. If you care, note that all EJ22's from 1977 model year and newer are interference engines.

[Snowman]

Basically, the engine, transmission, drivetrain, and electrical setups are identical between the two cars. The suspension is similar but not the same. Not sure about brakes, but they're pretty similar as well. The Impreza is smaller, lighter, and more rigid, so it's naturally going to be faster and have better handling. My understanding is that the Impreza was initially designed to be an "improvement" on the Legacy, albeit one that sacrificed some cargo room.

 

It all depends on your priorities. Fast and fun vs. cargo capacity.

[edrach]

Basically, the engine, transmission, drivetrain, and electrical setups are identical between the two cars. The suspension is similar but not the same. Not sure about brakes, but they're pretty similar as well. The Impreza is smaller, lighter, and more rigid, so it's naturally going to be faster and have better handling. My understanding is that the Impreza was initially designed to be an "improvement" on the Legacy, albeit one that sacrificed some cargo room.

 

It all depends on your priorities. Fast and fun vs. cargo capacity.

Correct on all counts except for the brakes. Legacy came with disks front and rear, Impreza (at least up to and including '97 model year) came with front disks and rear drums. It's my understanding that the rear disks from a Legacy can be retrofitted to the Impreza although I've never done that.

 

Another difference is that the starter motors are not interchangeable between the Legacy and Impreza. P/N23300AA381 for Impreza with manual transmission and P/N23300AA220 for the Legacy with manual transmission. Note that the starter for the automatic transmission is different on the Legacy; I suspect the same is true for the Impreza. I have it on good authority that the EJ22 manual transmission starter for the Legacy is the same for all years from 1990 to 2004.

 

Just checking my stuff for accuracy and I found this on www.1stsubaruparts.com:

Part number 23300AA220 was superceded by part number 23300AA220R1

[edrach]

Apparently the R in the p/n indicates it's a re-manufactured part.

[Snowman]

Good catch on the brakes issue, Ed. They did start offering rear discs on the "performance" imprezas such as the RS, didn't they? Did the legacy brightons come with discs or drums? (Just curious)

[porcupine73]

Did the legacy brightons come with discs or drums?

'96 legacy brighton here, she has rear drums....(but not for long).

[86BRATMAN]

I test drove a 97 impreza L way back, and I'm pretty sure it had rear discs.

[dmanaenk]

I test drove a 97 impreza L way back, and I'm pretty sure it had rear discs.

Nope. All 97s had drums.

[daehttub2000]

I drive both a 95 Legacy L Wagon AWD 5spd and an 02 Impreza WRX wagon 5spd. I think that both are terrific cars.

 

My short answer for your “cheap” Corrado replacement is to get a used WRX. In terms of size and “spirit”, an Impreza would be a better fit for you than a Legacy. A WRX on full boost is an absolute laugh riot on the road. If you have the “G-lader” you’ll already have practice at keeping the revs up to get the most boost:rolleyes: A non-turbo 5 speed Impreza with a good 2.5 (see head gasket threads) would be a more affordable sporty choice but the AWD will make it seem a bit pokey compared to the Corrado, especially if you have the VR6. You might find a mildly flogged used WRX but look carefully and stay away from tweaked WRX’s (any engine/turbo/ecu monkey business). If you’re lucky, the worst risk you’ll face is replacing an abused clutch as the rest of the WRX is pretty bulletproof. You might get a good deal on a 2.0 WRX as the 2.5WRX’s have been out for a while now.

 

General Impressions: Impreza compared to Legacy: Small, cramped interior, busier/sportier driving experience and tiny rear seat. The Impreza Wagon has limited cargo space with the seats up. The Wagon has tons of cargo space with the rear seats down but nowhere near the Legacy’s capacity. Note #1: Rear seats do not fold down in Impreza sedans. Note #2: in 02 and later, Impreza sedans have a wider wheelbase than the Impreza wagons. Also, if you thought a Legacy L was kind of a stripped base model, the Impreza will seem even more spartan. Legacy compared to Impreza: Comfortable, leisurely driver with loads of room and a good back seat (especially sans sun roof). I hear the Turbo Legacies are a blast to drive but they are pretty pricey.

 

Engines: Largely identical 2.2’s and 2.5’s (Some 2.5 Turbo tuning differences). Some older Impreza’s had the 1.8 liter. The 1.8 was a snoozer. Only the Legacy gets the H6 and only the Impreza WRX had the 2.0 Turbo. There is a huge selection of aftermarket go-fast add-ons for Imprezas.

 

Drivetrain: Largely identical (WRX/STi, and SpecB exceptions). Don’t get an automatic if you want a Sporty Impreza. An automatic combined with AWD really makes a Subaru lethargic IMHO. Some older Impreza’s and Legacy’s were 2WD only.

 

Weight: The Impreza has a shorter wheelbase and it’s considerably smaller and lighter than the Legacy and a lot sportier and quicker given equivalent engines.

 

Electrical: Different size stereo housing and consoles but underneath mostly identical (I think).

 

General Reliability: Both the Impreza and Legacy very reliable (watch out for 2.5 head gaskets – see related threads). Impreza was once named most reliable small car (by CR I think). I think the Legacy had a tad more issues (bigger heavier car with same mechanicals probably).

 

Legacy Presence at USMB: Subaru has sold a lot more Legacy’s than Imprezas (and more wagons than sedans!) so it follows that you’ll see more down-to-earth Legacy drivers here. If you are looking for the nitrous-addled Impreza crowd, you can peruse http://forums.nasioc.com/

 

[edrach]

Great comparison daehttub2000; about as good as it gets.

 

I just have a slight dis-agreement about the 1.8 engine in the Impreza being a "snoozer." Certainly not untrue when compared to the WRX and the 2.2 and 2.5 engines.

 

However, the 1.8L is a runner. You'll need to keep the revs up to get the some pickup, but that engine (in my '94 rallycross car) was a runner. It reved so freely, I kept bouncing off the rev limiter. One difference in its performance was switching to 14" wheels and tires.

 

When I first bought it, it was a stone with the 15" tires and I regretted buying it as my rallycross car. After reading an article about building a rally car from scratch in Subiesport magazine, they mentioned that putting 14" tires on their early Impreza changed the character of the car for the better.

 

I went to 14" tires and the car did change from a "stone" to a "runner." Certainly not to be compared to an RS or WRX but lots of fun to drive. So the secret is out, if you want a stealth car that others don't want to steal for a joyride or for the parts, find an early Impreza (with a 5 speed of course), put 14" wheels on it (cheaper than 15" or 16" wheels) and have a ball. The best "bang for the buck" that you can get from Subaru.

 

And, not exactly "cop-bait" either.

[86BRATMAN]

the rest of the WRX is pretty bulletproof.

 

 

Not true. The transmissions in the early ones are made like toothpicks. Get to upgrading and "driving spirited" and they break, well, like toothpicks.

[johnceggleston]

I went to 14" tires and the car did change from a "stone" to a "runner."

 

would the same be true for a legacy or an outback? or are they so much heavier that it wouldn't make a big difference.

 

i'd be courious to know what a 2.5L engine in a legacy drives like. would there be much of a gain from the 4.11 final drive ratio? or again, is the difference so small it wouldn't matter? and what if it had 14" wheels?

 

has anyone tried this?

[86BRATMAN]

My 90 ls wagon was a peppy little(not really) runner. Ej22, 4.11 5mt, and stock 14" alloys. It pissed off more than a few ricers.

 

If you can get 14's over your brakes, you'd notice a difference because of reducing the rotating mass. Any and all rotating mass you can remove without damaging reliability/driveability will make a difference in power transfer and gas mileage.

[edrach]

Any and all rotating mass you can remove without damaging reliability/driveability will make a difference in power transfer and gas mileage.

The gas mileage on my '94 was great. Fully loaded with rally tires, wheels, tools, etc. and "cruisin" up I-5 I got as much as 30 to 32 mpg with the car. Of course when you calculated back from the ~10% odometer error it didn't look quite as good, but it was still okay.

[daehttub2000]

Edrach: Thanks for the compliment. I didn’t mean to diss the 1.8 liter. It’s just as a WRX driver, I now have a permanently warped perspective on speed now. That’s a neat tire size trick. Now that you mention it, I think there are some reviews that have hinted that WRX’s with 16 inch wheels might be a bit more nimble than ones with 17 inch wheels. Makes sense.

 

 

85Bratman: I think your WRX “toothpick transmission” comment is unfair. If he stays away from heavily modded engines he should be O.K. The threads I read are related to people downshifting from 2nd to 1st at speed. Anybody who has driven manual Subies knows that Subie synchronizers do not like that. Besides, I was taught never to downshift into first at speed. My 02 WRX 5spd manual is still going strong and I haven’t exactly been nice to it : )

[86BRATMAN]

A guy on one of my local forums has an 02-03 bug eye, mild upgrades, nothing real special. He's broken his transmission a confirmed 5 times over two years. I agree that driving has the most to do with the issues. As many times people are just plain careless. But I would rather warn accordingly than say nothing, because you never know what one's been through before you get it, unless its new.

[subie_newbie]

Thanks for the input everyone. The Corrado and 68 Mustang are up on the chopping block, then I think it's an Impreza for me. Something with disk brakes and a 2.2... or a 2.0T