What to replace 2011 LGT with

[dawkins20]

I'm surprised I'm not seeing more WRX/STi suggestions. The VA is not that much smaller than the LGT and the interior quality is very similar to my 5th Gen.

You aren't wrong. I peeked at a 2017 WRX , and from my understanding the chassis is basically the same size as my old 2008 LGT, which would be fine. A few issues for me with the WRX though.

 

#1-This is a daily driver in a city with garbage roads and a long distance highway cruiser in the winter. No track use at all. While the 2011 LGT stock springs are way too soft , the WRX and even moreso the STi is pretty harsh as a daily over crap roads. This is why even though I was excited looking at the RCE blacks/bilstein combo when the were first released, I steered clear after reading the reviews.

 

#2 Noise , both wind and highway, and exhaust drone is a bit annoying on 3+ hr drives and makes the car feel much cheaper than it is, even in the limited trim. 2018 supposedly addressed this a bit, and I would love a real world comparison

 

#3 Family situation is unfortunately pushing me toward an auto, and the CVT just doesnt seem like it compares favorably to other slushboxes , like the Audi DSG or even the beter 7-8 sp autos in comparable cars. I could be wrong about this since I havent driven the WRX CVT

 

So I may take a hard look at the 2018 WRX and see if there are more than cosmetic changes.

[cww516]

I'd have to imagine that a Subaru CVT would cost less to replace than an Audi anything, especially the DSG. I think I'd probably prefer a CVT over a geared automatic with anything more than about 6 speeds, though, you actually get to spend time accelerating rather than shifting. That, plus the fact that you can only shoehorn so many planetary gearsets into a transverse-mounted transaxle before you have to make the gears even tinier than they already are would have me on edge if it was in a vehicle with any kind of power.

[dawkins20]

I'd have to imagine that a Subaru CVT would cost less to replace than an Audi anything, especially the DSG. I think I'd probably prefer a CVT over a geared automatic with anything more than about 6 speeds, though, you actually get to spend time accelerating rather than shifting. That, plus the fact that you can only shoehorn so many planetary gearsets into a transverse-mounted transaxle before you have to make the gears even tinier than they already are would have me on edge if it was in a vehicle with any kind of power.

 

 

You may be right here, like I said I've not driven the CVT WRX before, but haven't heard great things about it. However I'm sure alot of that is manual purists (like I wish I could still be) complaining.

[Elegua]

You aren't wrong. I peeked at a 2017 WRX , and from my understanding the chassis is basically the same size as my old 2008 LGT, which would be fine. A few issues for me with the WRX though.

 

#1-This is a daily driver in a city with garbage roads and a long distance highway cruiser in the winter. No track use at all. While the 2011 LGT stock springs are way too soft , the WRX and even moreso the STi is pretty harsh as a daily over crap roads. This is why even though I was excited looking at the RCE blacks/bilstein combo when the were first released, I steered clear after reading the reviews.

 

#2 Noise , both wind and highway, and exhaust drone is a bit annoying on 3+ hr drives and makes the car feel much cheaper than it is, even in the limited trim. 2018 supposedly addressed this a bit, and I would love a real world comparison

 

#3 Family situation is unfortunately pushing me toward an auto, and the CVT just doesnt seem like it compares favorably to other slushboxes , like the Audi DSG or even the beter 7-8 sp autos in comparable cars. I could be wrong about this since I havent driven the WRX CVT

 

So I may take a hard look at the 2018 WRX and see if there are more than cosmetic changes.

 

I DD my '17 STi - it's very similar to the RCE blacks / Koni's on my LGT Wagon. I agree the road noise is a bit much on the highway, but the WRX should be better with the FA20 and CVT. Is it that much louder than a 4th gen LGT? I don't know how much better the '18 is than the '17.

 

What I can say about the STi is it got me cross country in January with all my crap and not much fuss in 4 days. The seats are good for 14hr days. How many sports cars do that?