Autoblog

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: May 2010

Chris Paukert — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:29:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Subaru, Long-Term Garage

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT - Click above for high-res image gallery

Our 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT long-termer has over 4,000 miles on it now, and it's broken in nicely. The six-speed cable shifter has freed up nominally (it's still a bit notchy), and the turbocharged flat-four is singing as sweetly as ever.

As we mentioned earlier, we're pleased to note that Subaru has already begun making some nominal tweaks to the 2.5GT to make it a bit more special, particularly in the area of cabin furnishings. We find the interior to be a pretty comfortable - and hugely roomy - place to be, but for the range's dedicated performance model, the 2010 iteration just isn't adequately differentiated from other models in the series. Thanks to a slew of minor changes, the 2011 model's interior promises visuals that are more in keeping with the 2.5GT's sporting temperament.

Oh - another word about those front seats. We've taken a few longer drives over the past month, and while they're still very comfortable, the lower seat cushions are quite short and we can't help but wonder if this would become a problem for taller folks. We're going to try to cajole some of our lankier friends into taking a few long drives with us and see how they come down. Either way, we do wish that the GT would rank model-specific seats with significantly more lateral bolstering for the twisties. No such issues with the rear seats - knee, leg and toe room is epic, as is headroom.

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: May 2010

Simple switchgear a welcome trait

There's a lot to be said for simplicity over unnecessary complication.

Less wood, more sport

Subaru has recognized the opportunity to substitute faux carbon fiber trim for 2011.

Click here for all updates.

One other thing we've noticed is that not only are the Legacy's seats comfortable, the ride is extremely forgiving, even on 18-inch Bridgestone summer rubber. The 2.5GT has a surprisingly pliant sort of long-travel feel to it, which has proven to be an asset on the broken roads here in the Midwest. There might be a bit more lean in hard cornering as a consequence, but the tuning seems to mesh nicely with the idea of Subaru's rally heritage - we can see getting our Scandy-flick on and catching air on modest jumps with few issues in this thing. We plan to have the Legacy live out in California for a few months later this year, where our man Lavrinc will tell us if this somewhat softish feeling is a liability on the state's well-groomed curvy roads. For now, however, it's a pleasure, making short work of Detroit's broken surfaces.

In the meantime, our Subie continues to win friends on the streets and with family members, some of whom haven't encountered a modern product from Fuji Heavy. We've had a surprising number of unsolicited compliments curbside and at gas stations, and we're growing used to the design ourselves - those big fenders (purportedly to emphasize the car's all-wheel drive nature) now almost look like they're part of a sporty body kit to us - in a good way - and the deep maroon paint hides the car's size, while the finish appears to be of uniformly high quality.

CLICK HERE to check out all updates for our long-term 2011 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT.

Gallery: Long Term: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: May 2010 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: Simplicity of switchgear a welcome trait

Chris Paukert — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:31:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Subaru, Long-Term Garage

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT - Click above for high-res image gallery

After spending a week circumnavigating the country in a pair of BMW sedans on One Lap of America a couple of weeks back, you might think that the drive home to Detroit from South Bend would've been a bit of a disappointment. On the contrary, we were glad to see our long-term 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT, and have been so every day since then. Not that we didn't enjoy the 550i (2010 model) or remember why we absolutely love the 335d, but there's a lot to be said for simplicity over unnecessary complication.

For one, the cruise control switchgear on the steering wheel spoke in the Subie is infinitely easier to use than the hidden stalk on the Bimmers. The Legacy's arrangement is a model of ergonomic excellence, whereas the BMW necessitated that we give step-by-step how-to directions to our co-drivers from the back seat. Repeatedly.

And don't even get us started on the differences in navigation systems. While the 2.5GT's is far from perfect, its touchscreen is still much easier to negotiate than either of the two generations of iDrive we experienced in the BMWs - much improved though they are. We do wish that higher functions (address entry, etc.) could be accessed on the move - at least when there is more than one person in the car. Why can't automakers learn that this safety 'feature' should have an automatic override tied to the passenger seat weight sensor that's already there to govern airbag deployment?

Did we mention how much we like the utterly intuitive dual-zone HVAC controls? Crisp display, a couple of rockers and a handful of buttons - it's simplicity itself.

One area where our Subaru is arguably oversimplified is with its sunroof controls: It has two single-function switches - one for tilt, and one for slide open/close. Unless it's a small cost win, we can't see why there isn't a unified dual function switch as on most other cars. At least they are differentiated in look and feel for less fumbling about.

Autoblog Long-Term Introduction: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT

Long-Term Update: Touring our Subaru Legacy 2.5GT's birthplace

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: Hill holder a great feature, but why an idiot lamp?

More Long-Term Updates:

Visit the our long-term 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT page

Gallery: Long Term: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: Simplicity of switchgear a welcome trait originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 24 May 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Long-Term Update: Touring our Subaru Legacy 2.5GT's birthplace

Chris Paukert — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Subaru, Long-Term Garage

Subaru Automotive Indiana - Click above for high-res gallery

With the genesis of our 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT long-termer just a few hundred miles down the road in Lafayette, Indiana, we thought it only appropriate to pick up our bouncing burgundy baby at the factory.

Many folks we know still express surprise that our Legacy is built in the States, but the folks at Fuji Heavy Industries have been building the model at Subaru Automotive Indiana (SIA) since its production lines fired up way back in September of 1989. Like the Legacy itself, the plant was a much different animal at that time. Back then, it was a joint production facility between Subaru and fellow Japanese automaker Isuzu, which assembled its pickup, the Rodeo, and eventually, the Axiom (remember those?) before exiting the venture in 2004.

The plant presently builds the Legacy sedan, its tippy-toes-with-mukluks cousin, the Outback and Tribeca, and the Toyota Camry, a car it's built since early 2007. In the past, it was also responsible for North American production of the Subaru Baja and the Honda Passport, the Rodeo's mechanical twin. If you're getting the impression that this plant has been a remarkably flexible manufacturing facility, you've got it right. Follow the jump to read more.

Updates on our year-long experience with this Subaru can be found by checking out its long-term page. Bookmark it, subscribe to our RSS feed and follow our tweets (#ablongterm) as we start on the long road ahead with our Legacy 2.5GT.

Gallery: Subaru Automotive Indiana

Continue reading Long-Term Update: Touring our Subaru Legacy 2.5GT's birthplace

Long-Term Update: Touring our Subaru Legacy 2.5GT's birthplace originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: Automatic hill-holder is a great feature, but why the idiot lamp?

Chris Paukert — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:45:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Subaru, Long-Term Garage

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT - Click above for high-res image gallery

Like all new-for-2010 Subaru Legacy models, our long-term 2.5GT has an electronic parking brake that has a hill holder feature. We think these are great, particularly on manual transmission cars like ours, where rollback on uphill starts can be require a bit of pedal dancing that's particularly nerve-racking for newer stick-shift drivers. It's also mighty convenient for those that live in hilly areas where incline starts are a frequent occurrence.

So... great feature, right? Yes, but why does switching it on illuminate a green indicator lamp in the gauge cluster, and why does it turn itself off every time you turn off the car? We understand the advantage of a defeat button (usage is potentially ill-advised if you're towing something or carrying a heavy load), but we would prefer that once the feature is activated, that it stay that way until the driver specifies otherwise.

Oddly enough, Subaru actually offered a mechanical hill holder on its cars long before going to an electronic parking brake, but as best we can remember, that system wasn't defeatable. Still, we don't recall hearing anyone grouse about it staying on all the time, and we're not sure why the default setting for this new system is off, or why it requires an idiot lamp at all. As it is, we've stopped using it regularly to avoid the extra light in the cluster. That, and we couldn't get The Smiths' "There is a Light that Never Goes Out" bounding through our head every time we used it.

Gallery: Long Term: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT: Automatic hill-holder is a great feature, but why the idiot lamp? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Long-Term Garage Introduction: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT

Chris Paukert — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Subaru

2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT - Click above for high-res image gallery

Like others in our field, we pride ourselves on being able to offer our readers a surprisingly comprehensive assessment of a vehicle after only driving it for a few hours (as at an automaker's first-drive event) or living with it for several days (as with a normal media vehicle loan). But even though we've got our testing methodology down, there's simply no way to learn what it's like to live with an automobile without... well... living with the automobile.

Simply put, a year's worth of the day-in, day-out grind is likely to reveal more foibles and hidden charms than any number of test-drives could ever hope to expose. How does your backside feel after an 800-mile road trip? Does the clutch pedal feel like stirring molasses in subzero temperatures? How will the seat leather and interior plastics hold up over thousands of miles? Will the gearshift feel like a trusted old friend mile-after-mile? These are questions that can only be answered with a long-term driving experience.

To that end, we're pleased to introduce the first-ever entry into the Autoblog Long-Term Garage: The 2010 Subaru 2.5GT. We fell in love with this, the most sporting of Legacy models during its Vancouver launch over the summer, but the popularity of the model and its production-line companion, the Outback, has been so great that it's been impossible to secure a 2.5GT up until now. Subaru's Indiana plant has been so busy building the necessary volumes of the brand's bread-and-butter models that production of the 2.5GT - an enthusiast's sedan, when compared to its counterparts - has only recently started to come on-stream.

We suspect our loaded-up Ruby Red Pearl Limited model has been worth the wait, but we're prepared to take a year to come to grips with our final judgment. How will we feel about this rally-bred all-wheel-drive sport sedan after 365 days of everything from daily commuting to opposite-lock dancing on abandoned fire trails? Will its assertive flat-four thrum and newfound size win over converts - or leave us wishing we had picked a more obvious, safe-as-houses alternative?

More importantly - what do you want to know about life with the 2.5GT? We'll be regularly updating you on our new Subie's progress, passing its keys between our editors stationed around the country, putting its 265 horsepower through the paces in different climates and over various types of roads in order to see if it's worth the asking price. While you're pondering what questions to ask us in the Comments, feel free to check out our high-res gallery below as well as the spec panel after the jump laying out what makes the 2.5GT tick.

How to follow our Long-Term updates:

Twitter: Follow therealautoblog and look for tweets tagged #ablongterm.
Visit the Long-Term Garage category on Autoblog | Subscribe to RSS.
We'll be launching a new Long-Term model page for the 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT in the next couple of weeks that will contain all of the information, insights and updates we publish. Stay tuned!

Gallery: Long Term: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT

Autoblog Long-Term Garage Introduction: 2010 Subaru Legacy 2.5GT originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5 GT 5-Door

Dan Roth — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:58:00 EST

Filed under: In the Autoblog Garage, Hatchback, Subaru

2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5GT - Click above for high-res image gallery

It says something when an automaker sees fit to give the tachometer a place of prominence in the gauge cluster. "We're serious," it implies. Unamused sports cars like the Porsche 911 assign the rev counter a level of gravity beyond being a glorified "engine is running" idiot light. Fortunately, the Paprika Red Subaru Impreza GT 5-door that recently arrived in the Autoblog Garage stated its intentions clearly by placing this most important gauge in its "proper" place. New to the Impreza range, the GT model is a chafing dish full of original WRX simmering through an automatic transmission. An autobox may seem anathema to the 224 horsepower turbo-fed boxer, but we were pleased to discover that all the fun is not sopped up by a spongy tranny.

Gallery: Review: 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5GT

Continue reading Review: 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5 GT 5-Door

Review: 2009 Subaru Impreza 2.5 GT 5-Door originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RR of the Day: 1997 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT

Alex Nunez — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:11:00 EST

Filed under: Subaru, RR of the Day

Flicker user and Autoblog reader Marnie (a.k.a. *Your Pal Marnie on Flickr) acquired the "97 Legacy 2.5 GT pictured above because she needed something with AWD to act as a winter car. As any of you who live in areas where the white stuff falls during the cold months, this is entirely understandable, and the Subaru is a capable machine for such a task. Marnie notes that the Legacy was way too nice to be called a "beater," but she soon discovered that it could be a fun car to beat on in a good way.

The black Subaru is now driven in RallyCross and TSD events, and when the weather's right, it's used for ice racing. It was lightly-modded when first acquired and it's seen some additional changes over the last few months. We love that the car's so versatile -- in addition to weekend racer, it's Marnie's daily driver -- and happily name it today's Reader Ride of the Day. Thanks, Marnie!

Follow the jump for a few more pics, the car's mod list, and instructions on how to submit your own vehicle to become our Reader Ride of the Day. And next week, our themed RR of the Day will be back and we're looking for beaters. If you've got a decrepit ride that still manages to get your from point A to point B, we want to see it. Rusted, busted or smoking, submit it by following the directions after the jump.

Continue reading RR of the Day: 1997 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT

RR of the Day: 1997 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 Feb 2007 10:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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