I’m looking for input on the current generation Subaru Legacy. Particularly the 2.5 with a CVT. The wife is looking for a new commuter and this car seems like it would check a lot of boxes for us.
Her commute is mostly freeway and I’m a little concerned that the car won’t have enough power for merging here in SoCal. How is reliability? I can do basic stuff myself and I’m fairly competent so most things don’t worry me...except transmissions. The CVT is the biggest unknown in my book. Do they hold up okay? Would 50k intervals on the fluid keep it going forever?
What do I need to know?
Hal
UltraDork
4/8/18 6:10 p.m.
My wife has a 2013 Legacy. Since we are retired and use my Outback as the DD it only has 25K miles on it so far. When she was shopping for a new car she spent a month test driving every mid-sized sedan she could (12 IIRC). And ended up choosing the Legacy.
So far maintenance consists of oil, filter, and tire rotation every 5K miles.
I have driven it in the freeway traffic around DC and had no problems with the traffic. It is actually a bit faster than my Outback with the same engine.
Hal said:
So far maintenance consists of oil, filter, and tire rotation every 5K miles.
E36 M3, I didn't know I should be doing that.
I have a 2011 2.5i Premium as my DD that I essentially bought new.
You never open the CVT- it is a completely closed system, and per the dealers I've asked (and my stepdad who works with transmissions) they only open them if they have to. CVTs are built and programed to "feel" like an auto, so driving it won't be unusual except you'll experience a little less road feel. It's hard to actually get the engine to rev into higher ranges due to how the trans works. Despite all the hate flung at CVTs, everything I have heard and experienced is that they only need work when they have been physically damaged or when someone modded their car inappropriately. For power, don't worry. CVT keeps it in it's torque curve well, and I have never had issues merging. Mine has had no issues at 67K miles- you'll have ~170 HP to the wheels. If you do your own work, the engine bay is HUGE and you have tons of access.
The car is oddly quiet inside, and the sound system is nice for an OEM car. I haven't noticed anything notable with mine, except that it is a little hard to clean the package shelf and it tends to collect sunflower seed shells that I've tossed out the driver's window. Know that the cloth seat fabric starts to fray around 50K with daily use, but that might be due to the metal in my uniform scratching it and how I get out.
