clbourq Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I am looking at getting a 2015 Legacy. I am going from my 08 GT to this. I drove both, and really like the power of the 3.6r, but would love the fuel economy of the 2.5. The 2.5 does have a bit of power to it, but nothing like the 3.6r. Anyone else comparing the two? What are your pros and cons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Owned a 07 Impreza 2.5i, was fun for a while, first Subaru. Then got the 07 GT, no comparison. 100k miles on the Impreza and it just felt sluggish. Traded up for a '13 3.6, wife couldn't be happier. The suspension was tighter on the Impreza, but you are comparing a Legacy to a Legacy. It's up to you. Power vs MPG. I'll stick with the power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laserrs Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 How many miles a year do you drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clbourq Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 I only drive around 11,000 to 12,000 miles a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laserrs Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 At 12k miles getting avg 30mpg with 4cyl vs 25mpg with 6cyl and $4 per gallon it's $320 per year. For me that's a no brainer for the extra power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Not many now. Before 84 miles a day M-F. 3.6 the comp is showing 21 MPG, never reset it in almost 19000 miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgoodhue Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Get a 2.5i in the base or premium level and keep your 08 LGT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda_One Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 My 2015 3.6r Legacy 256hp is averaging 25.7 so far just around town. My 2014 Forester Touring 2.5 170hp is averaging 30.8 so I believe 3.6r is the best bet. Laughing at Oneself and with Other is good for the Soul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clbourq Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 I am leaning more towards the 4 cyl. The fuel economy looks great and there is decent (nothing to get excited about) power. The lag on the 3.6r with the CVT is very frustrating. A salesman told me the cut learns your driving habits and adapts. Anyone else heard of this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda_One Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 The only lag is when there is a turbo (Turbo Lag) until it spin up. That is one of the advantages of NA. The 2.5i has more than enough power to pull the Legacy for an every day driving the 3.6r is a lot more torque and make it more sport orientated. The driving feel between the two is totally different. They really could two be separate vehicles. The gas mpg both using 87 octane to sell one over the other should not be part of the equation but what you personally want. My prior post gives real world gas mileage between the two vehicles that I own not what the misinformed or catalog readers parrot squawk out. You will not go wrong with either model and they will be fun to drive. Laughing at Oneself and with Other is good for the Soul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gimpydingo Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Seems the CVT might give better MPG. I have a '13 with the 5EAT. No turbo, so no lag, not sure what that salesman is telling you. I guess he doesn't know the diff between a turbo and NA. Must be used to trying to sell WRX/STI's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08qsm Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I am leaning more towards the 4 cyl. The fuel economy looks great and there is decent (nothing to get excited about) power. The lag on the 3.6r with the CVT is very frustrating. A salesman told me the cut learns your driving habits and adapts. Anyone else heard of this? If it helps any, I came from a 2013 Legacy 2.5i to a 2008 Legacy GT so I do have some experience with the NA models. Power wise there is no comparison, obviously, but if you're someone like me who likes a bit of power then I would go with the 3.6R. The 2.5i is fine if you're coming from a 1.8L Honda Civic DX like I did, but coming from a GT? I love having the turbo in this car but if I had to go back and lease/buy the 2013 all over again I would have stepped it up to the 3.6R. Also in regards to the CVT learning your driving habits, I can't say for certain if this is true in the newer models but I would hesitate to believe this is true for any of them. I drove the 2013 2.5i with the 6 speed automatic CVT transmission for a little over a year and I had some mixed feelings about it. The good thing about the transmission is it shifts super fast, the paddle shifters work nicely when you change gears. I was pretty impressed at how smooth the shifts felt. The negative thing I have to say about the CVT is just that it can change how it drives from trip to trip. I'm still a little confused on the whole thing and maybe this is what the dealer meant by it learns you driving habits. If I had to guess I would say it might learn your habits for that "trip" specifically. Like if I start off driving fast and flooring it the car seems to change its torque curve based off my driving. But if I drive normal and then I need to floor it the car seemed to take a second to react and put the power down as requested. You have the SI drive now, it's almost like the car naturally switches between Sport/Intelligent mode. I could be way off here but just my experience with the CVT for the year that I drove the car. Not bad per se, just takes some getting used to. Even going up hills sometimes the car will drop more gears than it needs to and I find myself flooring it when i didn't mean to. Just strange but I wouldn't say I hated it. Nor would I worry about any differences on the CVT between the 2.5i and the 3.6R in terms of lag after pressing the peddle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob_m Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I went from an 2005 Legacy GT Automatic to a 2015 3.6r. Wasn't a fan of the CVT, and really wanted a comeback of the LGT because I loved the turbo and power, but got sick of waiting. The 3.6r is definitely more refined and has plenty of absolutely smooth power when I put the foot to the pedal. Not disappointed in the least. Also, getting 28mpg vs 22 with the LGT, and it uses regular gas. What's not to like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda_One Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 ^^^ +1 Laughing at Oneself and with Other is good for the Soul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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