2019 Subaru Legacy Limited

Status
Not open for further replies.
They're nice cars. I had a 2012 Legacy that I 3yr leased. I didn't care for the low ground clearance and low seating. If you're used to that, you'll love the vehicle. Like said, I found the OEM tires to be horrific in winter conditions. They totally negated the AWD system on this car until I put a set of snows on it for the winter. The low ground clearance still hung me up a few times in brutal snow storms. I was able to work it out though. The top mount oil filter should make DIY oil changes a snap. My old 2012 had the EJ253. I had to put the vehicle on ramps to reach the oil filter.
 
Originally Posted by bobdoo
Get snow tires! Seriously!
AWD doesn't decrease stopping distance on snow, or the traction needed to avoid an accident.

AWD does help you get up hills, which I need to get home.
But, snows are probably good enough in Milwaukee...even though it is positively hilly compared to where I grew up N of Chicago.
 
Originally Posted by JTK
They're nice cars. I had a 2012 Legacy that I 3yr leased. I didn't care for the low ground clearance and low seating. If you're used to that, you'll love the vehicle. Like said, I found the OEM tires to be horrific in winter conditions. They totally negated the AWD system on this car until I put a set of snows on it for the winter. The low ground clearance still hung me up a few times in brutal snow storms. I was able to work it out though. The top mount oil filter should make DIY oil changes a snap. My old 2012 had the EJ253. I had to put the vehicle on ramps to reach the oil filter.

Good point about the tires, my FXT and my daughter's Impreza both came with tires that were brutal in winter conditions...which seems incredibly stupid on Subaru's part. They probably helped with mpg tests.
I run snows, anyway, so I put up with the OEM tires as "summer" even though I got caught in a 2" snowstorm with them on and they were terrifying.
Bought RT43s for my daughter's car after we had it for about 2 days. She is OK without snows as she doesn't have to drive during storms as a student.
 
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted by JTK
They're nice cars. I had a 2012 Legacy that I 3yr leased. I didn't care for the low ground clearance and low seating. If you're used to that, you'll love the vehicle. Like said, I found the OEM tires to be horrific in winter conditions. They totally negated the AWD system on this car until I put a set of snows on it for the winter. The low ground clearance still hung me up a few times in brutal snow storms. I was able to work it out though. The top mount oil filter should make DIY oil changes a snap. My old 2012 had the EJ253. I had to put the vehicle on ramps to reach the oil filter.

Good point about the tires, my FXT and my daughter's Impreza both came with tires that were brutal in winter conditions...which seems incredibly stupid on Subaru's part. They probably helped with mpg tests.
I run snows, anyway, so I put up with the OEM tires as "summer" even though I got caught in a 2" snowstorm with them on and they were terrifying.
Bought RT43s for my daughter's car after we had it for about 2 days. She is OK without snows as she doesn't have to drive during storms as a student.

Subaru I think is putting Falken A/S tires. I mean, AWD is ONLY good as tires. All point of AWD is to distribute torque properly and where it needs to be.
Most Subaru drivers buy them for AWD completely negating tire part. When I see Subaru in rear view mirror I just step on gas as I know 99% of those vehicles have horrid tires.
But, put snows on, and yes, they turn into animal going uphill.
 
Quote
When I see Subaru in rear view mirror I just step on gas as I know 99% of those vehicles have horrid tires.


I do the same thing on icy roads when I see a brodozer in the rearview mirror.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw

Subaru I think is putting Falken A/S tires. I mean, AWD is ONLY good as tires. All point of AWD is to distribute torque properly and where it needs to be.
Most Subaru drivers buy them for AWD completely negating tire part. When I see Subaru in rear view mirror I just step on gas as I know 99% of those vehicles have horrid tires.
But, put snows on, and yes, they turn into animal going uphill.

My FXT came with some flavor of Bridgestone Dueler...I had another type of Dueler A/S on my RAV6 and they were OK, used them for one winter before deciding to go back to snows. The Duelers that came on the FXT were completely unacceptable for winter driving. My daughter's Impreza came with some kind of Yoko, really had no siping to speak of as well as horrendous online reviews for winter conditions. As I mentioned, those were only on the car for a couple of days and I felt bad for the people who bought them on consignment for $150 or whatever. I guess they would let people pass inspection for a low cost, but I hope they only had to drive in flat areas and stayed home during storms.
I was surprised but shouldn't have been heading home last night, had less than an inch of snow at the time but it was the real fluffy stuff that can pack down to near ice very easily. Was climbing the hill to my neighborhood when I noticed tire tracks that were looking pretty squirmy, then at the steepest point (I know it well from biking up it) they suddenly went right and there were signs of a scrambling car on what little shoulder there was. Didn't look like they kept trying to go up, I'd assume it was a FWD car with nearly bald A/S tires that was in way over its head. Shook my head and kept climbing...
 
I had put a CraigsList set of Firestone Winterforce snows on my 2012 Legacy. Only the ground clearance would stop it at that point.
 
Had a 2012 I bought new. Legacy- Limited. Easily the worst car I have ever owned.
 
Originally Posted by edyvw
Originally Posted by r34dy2fly
I traded in my Q50 and finally moved into a Subbie. I had to move out to the Midwest for a job and needed a vehicle that could handle the snow a little better.

My wife is hoping to pick up a new Crosstrek as well.

Nothing too exciting for others but I'm pretty estatic.

Was Q50 AWD or RWD?


It was an AWD but I honestly got tired of Infiniti pretty quickly. It's not the same company it used to be. Car felt way too artificial.
 
Originally Posted by SubLGT
Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
...I'm wondering if Subaru is going to start pushing the 2.4 Turbo down into the Legacy/Outback to replace the 3.6 as it's getting long in the tooth...


The 2020 Outback will allegedly arrive this summer, and be available with the 2.4L turbo motor.

https://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/233-gen-6-2020-future/499107-gen5-3-6-vs-gen6-2-4t-engines.html

https://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/233-gen-6-2020-future/500709-2020-outback-worth-wait.html


Yeah. They're moving over to the turbo starting the 2020 and the N/A will have start-stop option. I honestly wouldn't haven't minded the turbo option but I don't mind the 2.5i. I got it as my daily and loving the regular gas prices and 30+ mpg.
 
Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
Originally Posted by bobdoo
Get snow tires! Seriously!
AWD doesn't decrease stopping distance on snow, or the traction needed to avoid an accident.

AWD does help you get up hills, which I need to get home.
But, snows are probably good enough in Milwaukee...even though it is positively hilly compared to where I grew up N of Chicago.

I just moved to Milwaukee. One of the main reasons I changed cars after the recent polar vortex.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
Had a 2012 I bought new. Legacy- Limited. Easily the worst car I have ever owned.


Why was it easily the worst car you ever owned?
 
Originally Posted by sopususer
Nice. Welcome to the ever growing Subaru family. Great choice for a sedan; we've owned many.

Yeah, I starting to fear that Subaru is like the Borg (not the -Warner kind - the StarTrek ones...) - sooner or later we're all going to be assimilated, and resistance is futile. . .

Originally Posted by Virtus_Probi
. . .
AWD does help you get up hills, which I need to get home.
But, snows are probably good enough in Milwaukee...even though it is positively hilly compared to where I grew up N of Chicago.

And then, there's Florida. Oddly enough, Subarus seem to be selling well down here. That's despite the fact that the highest elevation in the state is a nose-bleed-inducing 345 feet (yes, that's with only three digits). That's found in my part of the state, the western end of the panhandle. Down in the main part of the state, you'll find what some wag has named "Sugarloaf Mountain" - all 312 feet worth of it! Don't forget your Oxygen tank. Never mind an AWD Sube, I could probably summit this lofty peak with my Prius in N and 80 mph of momentum. . .

Seriously though, the cars still sell well down here. I can only conclude, assuming most buyers aren't totally irrational, that they're selling because they're really good cars. And yes, you CAN get away with skipping snow tires here! A good choice, I hope the OP enjoys the Subaru.
cool.gif
 
Originally Posted by SeaJay
Even with stock tires, Suby's are pretty danged good in the snow.


I agree that this used to be the case. Totally not so with the 2012, 2014 and 2016 model year Subarus we had in the family. They were a mix of bridgestone and yokohama factory tires. Terrible in winter conditions. Basically low rolling resistance junk to last just long enough and give good MPGs.

Sorry if it's been mentioned, but the HVAC systems in newer Subarus is geared for fuel economy as well, so they struggle to maintain cabin temps in extremes of ambient temps.

The other anomaly I found across the board is my factory rear brakes pads and rotors would be shot by 36K mile. Could be my specific driving? Luck of the draw? Fronts would be about 50% at that point. An easy and inexpensive DIY swap out though.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by JTK

Sorry if it's been mentioned, but the HVAC systems in newer Subarus is geared for fuel economy as well, so they struggle to maintain cabin temps in extremes of ambient temps.
.

Not been an issue on my '18 Forester XT
 
Originally Posted by JTK
Sorry if it's been mentioned, but the HVAC systems in newer Subarus is geared for fuel economy as well, so they struggle to maintain cabin temps in extremes of ambient temps.


I wish... In my Forester, I gain about 10mpg in the winter by turning the heater off. They've programmed it to burn more fuel when the heater is on and the outside temperature is low, until the engine gets up to around 75C.

You're right in a way, though: the heater doesn't come on until the engine has warmed up to 30-40C, and the A/C seems a bit underpowered for the size of vehicle in the summer. There's a reason it came with heated seats.
 
Originally Posted by emg
Originally Posted by JTK
Sorry if it's been mentioned, but the HVAC systems in newer Subarus is geared for fuel economy as well, so they struggle to maintain cabin temps in extremes of ambient temps.


I wish... In my Forester, I gain about 10mpg in the winter by turning the heater off. They've programmed it to burn more fuel when the heater is on and the outside temperature is low, until the engine gets up to around 75C.

You're right in a way, though: the heater doesn't come on until the engine has warmed up to 30-40C, and the A/C seems a bit underpowered for the size of vehicle in the summer. There's a reason it came with heated seats.



10mpg difference? Wow! That's very different than my 2016 Forester 2.5i CVT was. In the worst of winter I might average 28mpg tank to tank. In the summer it would be 32mpg average. This is all hand calc'd. My other 2 Subarus would also loose about 4mpg average in winter use. Using the A/C full blast in summer saw no difference in fuel economy for me.
 
Would you be willing to share likes and dislikes after owning it for a month with some cold and snowy WI weather?

I rented a Legacy Limited in Portland last year and loved it so much, its on my short list later this year. Best seats ever and perfect suspension tuning were what really won me over. To my surprise, i loved the adaptive cruise... wonder if its finicky in the rain or snow (does rain mist or salt spray bother the cameras)?

Also curious if you bought from Schlossman witt their lifetime warranty (not sure if gimmick or not?)

Welcome to WI!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top