Legacy ride quality

[cferrari86]

I'm deciding between a few cars right now, and at the top of my list is a legacy gt. I've driven both the STi and the Legacy GT but when i drove them, i couldnt drive them for long because I am 19 years old so the salesman just sees a "stupid kid just driving it to beat it" which isn't the case at all. I would like to know if any of you are disappointed with the ride quality and how smooth it is. The one thing i noticed on the STi was that the ride was a little rough for me being fresh out of back surgery.It was also a little cramped for me being 6'. You're opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[jerami1981]

lgt should be a much smoother ride than the STi, thats just the nature of the beast. One is sport oriented, one is sport/luxury oriented

[TSiWRX]

^ +1

 

There's even a quite noticeable difference in ride-quality between my '05 LGT, and my wife's '05 WRX - not STi.

 

This is comparing the stock suspensions, as they come "from the factory."

 

I am quite curious to see what will happen to my LGT's ride-quality once I start to perform some suspension changes that will make the LGT more "sporty."

[showbo]

I use to own a WRX before i traded it in for my 06 LGT. The ride quality is not even in the same ballpark for me. the LGT is so much smoother at all times than the WRX. Road noise is lower, and a STI rides rougher than a WRX. So take your pick.

[STiNGER]

I would have to say the ride in my LGT, with cusco front and rear sway bars, and tein h-tech springs, is not harsh at all. It's no where even close to an STi. I would suggest a stock LGT ride is buttery smooth compared to an STi. My point is, there is so much of a difference that you can do some mods down the road without having to achieve the STi harshness.

[Sponge]

I just finished two trips since Friday of last week that added up to over 1000 miles (had the Legacy for a few weeks) and I am quite happy w/the ride quality.

 

I am use to driving a Grand Cherokee and this car rides better than it i would definately say on all accounts.

 

I am 6'3" and didn't feel cramped ever...with cruise on you can stretch out nicely

 

Seat did get a little hard after about 4 hours but getting out to stretch solved that issue.

 

All at 29.7 mpg!!!

[pillboy]

Our roads in Minnesota are all beat to s*** and I would have to believe Nebraska would be a little better. The ride is OK for now, but I wonder what it will be like after a few years of pounding. I can sympathize with the back surgery though (wife had it a few years ago). I am 5'9" (160 lb) and I have the seat all the way back in everything I have ever driven. I have no idea how you guys that are of bigger stature do it.

[starlabs]

Ride quality for me is great. The car rolls a tad too much for my liking but I've gotten used to it.

 

Seat quality on the other hand... That's a different matter. A number of people have complained about the comfort level of the seats (cloth vs leather and such) so I would suggest you try to get as much seat time as you can...

[needforsleep]

i had that same problem when i went to the dealer. The salesman only let me do a tiny circle.. lol i think it was like 1 mile or maybe less. And i'm not even as young as you are.

 

I've test driven both too and the Legacy is definitely smoother.

[psbreen]

Just got back from a trip to San Diego, about 780 miles each way. This was the first long drive in the Legacy GT. I thought it was very smooth at or above normal highway speeds. I typically cruise within 10 mph of the speed limit, but saw brief instances of much higher speeds while passing. Even at higher speeds the car is smooth and stable. The best compromise between speed and mileage appears to be in the 80 – 85 mph. At that speed I was averaging 26 – 27 MPG. I will have to agree with Sponge though, after 3 or 4 hrs the seat starts to feel pretty hard. I wonder if one of those gel pad stadium seats would help.

[Lie495s14]

buttery smooth ride in city. highway aboue 70 i start to feel the need of ground control as the road some times goes up and down, it felt like riding in toyota cammry. can others comfirm that am i right or wrong.

[lhsa]

wrong...i just drove my mom's 95 camry and it had less body roll:icon_surp

[SLegacy99]

Im 19, for a little while longer that is. THis is my second Legacy. I chose my 2nd one over buying my bros Impreza. Hope that helps guage things for ya.

[Elec]

My LGT seems to ride both smooth and firm. I came from a Mazda 626 that was really soft and wallowy. With the Legacy, it feels more isolated from the road, especially when crusing on the highway (just real smooth and easy) but at the same time when I hit a bump or expansion joint, I'm surprised at how much it's transmitted into the car and how little the suspension gives.

[VTGT]

buttery smooth ride in city. highway aboue 70 i start to feel the need of ground control as the road some times goes up and down, it felt like riding in toyota cammry. can others comfirm that am i right or wrong.

 

I find that above 70 is where the legacy is at home. Even speeds over 90 the car is extremely smooth and quiet.

[Lie495s14]

I find that above 70 is where the legacy is at home. Even speeds over 90 the car is extremely smooth and quiet.

did you lower your lgt ? compare it to my s14 which rides better on the high way, doing 110 without feeling it, stick to the ground because it has a much firmer and lower spring at stock than LGT i guess. maybe also aerodynemic wise, s14 body is flat.

[GTTuner]

I will say it rides as good or better than any car in it's class. I think the steering is more crisp than the STi also.

I read a comparison test on five sedans, the LGT got a "10" in the ride category.

 

I have to agree. It has a little body roll to it, but nothing you cant throttle out of.

Buy it, you wont regret it.

[aldouse]

get an 07 specB

and a sway bar and you'll be happy =)

[VTGT]

did you lower your lgt ? compare it to my s14 which rides better on the high way, doing 110 without feeling it, stick to the ground because it has a much firmer and lower spring at stock than LGT i guess. maybe also aerodynemic wise, s14 body is flat.

 

No its stock but it feels very smooth at speeds above 70 miles an hour. At least thats how it feels to me.

[matt]

did you lower your lgt ? compare it to my s14 which rides better on the high way, doing 110 without feeling it, stick to the ground because it has a much firmer and lower spring at stock than LGT i guess. maybe also aerodynemic wise, s14 body is flat.

 

Agreed - I've never driven an S14, but I'm a little dissapointed by the LGT's high speed stability (90-120+ MPH). It all depends on your perspective though - if you're coming from, say, an Accord or Camry you'll probably be impressed. Okay, so I've never driven either at those speeds, but judging from their soft suspensions it'd be quite scary. In fact I've only ever driven one other car at those speeds - my last car, a Lancer Ralliart (sport compact sedan). Like your S14 it was lower and firmer than the LGT, and it too was a lot more stable at 100+ MPH.

 

No its stock but it feels very smooth at speeds above 70 miles an hour. At least thats how it feels to me.

 

Smooth != stable. For example, I'm sure a Cadillac DeVille or Lincoln Towncar would be as smooth at 100+ as they are at lower speeds, but they sure wouldn't be stable. In fact most cars ride smoother the faster they go so long as they don't start trembling/falling apart.

 

Btw 70-90 the LGT is fine, though still too much side-to-side swaying after even fairly smooth lane/direction changes. Maybe even up to about 100. But when I'm much over 100 I feel much less in control than I did with my last car, which was quite stable from my perspective up to about 120 or 125.

 

Edit: While writing that I pretty much forgot the general point of this subforum - should someone not buy the car because of these problems? If you rarely or never drive over 100 MPH (i.e. if you'll rarely or never drive for long distances in the middle of nowhere/between major metro areas) then the LGT's high speed stability is moot to you. I'll assume you do drive over 100 MPH though if you're still reading at this point. If that's the case your best hope is to find opinions from folks who've driven at least two of the cars you're considering at high speeds, cause chances are you'll have to go *far* to find dealers near roads/sections of highway that you can safely drive 100+ on aside from in the middle of the night (when the dealer will be closed). Do try to find such opinions though, because while some of us may be dissapointed with the LGT's high speed stability it's quite possible the other cars you're considering are no better or even worse at the same speeds.

 

To the original poster (who asked about the LGT's smoothness, not its stability): I'm very confident you'll find the LGT smooth enough. But no need to take my word for it - you'll find out one way or another when you test drive it.

 

If you want really smooth test drive the OBXT. It's both much smoother and much less stable than the LGT.

[emlevins]

I think the steering is more crisp than the STi also.

 

Respectfully disagree on that. I found the STI steering and braking vastly superior to the LGT but the LGT ride much more comfortable than the STI. Not sure I can live with the ride, but I am considering the STI Ltd for the steering, braking, and tossability.

[GTTuner]

I respect that. I have not owned an STI, just a few test drives with them.

[CreoSTi]

I found the STI steering and braking vastly superior to the LGT but the LGT ride much more comfortable than the STI.

 

I agree with this statement (having owned an '04 STi for 2.5 years).

 

Like matt said, "It all depends on your perspective." Personally, I found that even the spec.B suspension wasn't stiff enough for me, so I switched to a set of Cusco Zero2 coilovers.

 

-Mike-

[SWortham]

One thing to consider is that the Legacy has a newer and perhaps superior chassis to the STi. So suspension modifications take well to the Legacy. Also, the Legacy's wheelbase is nearly 6" longer than all the Imprezas. Typically a longer wheelbase will increase high-speed stability and improve ride quality. So for those reasons I think that with some mods the Legacy could be both a better handling & better riding car than a stock STi.

[X2Board]

Let me chime in on this one, for the past 5 years my route to the airport from my house has been the same, so I've had the opportunity to drive it in a lot of different cars (I usually change cars every 12-16 months) including rentals. There are some tight ascending switchbacks on part of the route and I've found that I can negotiate these at a higher speed in the LGT than the STI, which had a tendency for power on understeer due to the LSD in the front diff. I find it easier to stay on line with the LGT and apply power earlier on the exit without upsetting the car. High speed stability is a whole other ball game, at 160 + the STI is planted where the LGT feels floaty and laterally unstable at 140 + I have no doubt that with the correct suspension mods that a LGT would outhandle the stock STI.

 

NOTE: This has been an apples to oranges comparison, the two cars are vastly different and were engineered with different goals in mind.