3.0R (BP) to 2.5GT queries

[peas]

My 3.0R wagon is getting a little long in the tooth now (~240km) and I'm looking to replace it.

 

My options as I see them are a BP 2.0GT facelift with lower kms (wife isn't super keen on that) or the 5th gen 2.5GT. I have read that the 2.5na and the FA20 seem to have a higher than comfortable chance of developing CVT issues coming into the km range that I can afford (~100km mark). I'm not 100% on the styling when compared to the 4th gen but have seen some tidy ones around with contrasting wheels and a slightly larger but similar style to stock boot spoiler so its not a deal breaker for me. Manuals seem to be very rare and hence $$$ plus the wife can't drive them very well so I'm a bit stuffed on that front. These will all be a JDM spec which is the bulk of what we get here in NZ.

 

Has anyone owned both of these or has anything that they really don't like/do like about the 5th gen that may sway me?

[laufu]

Hi Peas

 

Sadly in the US, we never got a 5th Gen Legacy with the FA20 turbo and the 2.5GT was only offered with a manual transmission for 2 years. Worst of all, we did not get the wagon Legacy, only the Outback. Is the Levorg available in New Zealand?

 

Best of luck.