Looking at a 06 gt but think i should get a non-turbo

[Texan1983]

Hello all,

I am in the market for a new car for the wife. i think i just got the accord sold and am in the market. I have always wanted a legacy gt since they came out with the new style in 05 (should have bought the brand new 05 in the show room when i had no expences!) Anyways, my wife drives about 90 miles round trip every week day, so we rack the miles. my wife doesn't think we need a turbo car. and unfortinatly i somewhat agree... she drives alot of miles, turbo is more parts to wear out and maintain. and not to mention fuel wasted.

so i guess my question is what would you guys do in this situation? i need real numbers here so please don't lie about your MPGs to get me into a GT. i still love the looks of the non-turbo cars and think is would be a good comprimise of performance and economy.

Is there big MPG difference? our accord gets about 27 MPG on average, i think the non-turbo legacy gets 29 turbo gets 25. sound about right? Any car we got would have to be a 5 speed manual tranny.

while im asking alot of questions i did go look at/drive an 06 GT and LOVED it. it was a GT limited with 5MT and 58,000 miles and i could only get the guy to 15000 for it. what you guys think?

or there is a non-turbo 08 with 6,000 miles for 17000

Sorry for long post and thanks for the help!

[havanisda]

So drive a non-turbo and see what u think.

I drove an '08 non-turbo and it was way 2 slow.

I wouldn't feel comfortable passing/pullin in2 traffic w/an underpowered car like that.

Re: MPG: '08 non-turbo 20/27, '06 GT 17/24.

[Texan1983]

i would but there are only auto non-turbos around here, so not a fair comparison. would have to travel for the non-turbo.

does that sound like a fair deal for the 06?

[havanisda]

does that sound like a fair deal for the 06?Yea, according 2 KBB 4 my zip code, a private party sale 4 that car in good condition books 4 $16,500.

[Texan1983]

did subaru change color options in 09? found an 09 legacy thats listed as white with grey interior. was that a combo? all the white one i found have white interior.

[havanisda]

There's no white interior that I know of.

http://www.carsdirect.com/2009/subaru/legacy/colors

[Texan1983]

looks like they got rid of it all together then in 09. cool, that helps alot. thanks.

[TSi+WRX]

On the turbo, fuel-economy depends virtually totally on how happy your (or your wife's) right foot happens to be, on the happy pedal. :)

Of-course, highway will help, but stop-and-go city jaunts, particularly with idling and/or a bit of aggressive driving, will really tank your MPG figures very, very fast. In the winter months, with my driving habits (I typically let the car warm to 100 deg. F. water temperature, then start driving gently; all of my driving is in-city, stop-and-go, and I have a very short commute; I am a fairly "fun" driver, in terms of driving habits, and my car is your usual "Stage II"), I routinely see figures of no more than 14 MPG. I'm a 5MT.

On the other hand, on a recent road-trip from Cleveland to Washington, D.C., on a totally green engine, my wife's '09 Forester XT, a 4EAT, logged, easily, 20 MPG, and that's including in-city driving on both terminals (Cleveland and DC, at the start of the trip), as well as with DC's interminable happy-hour traffic-jams.

Like you said, it's truly a matter of sitting down, and grinding out the dollars and cents with a calculator.

For our family, due to our commute and typical yearly usage, when my wife and I sat down to figure this all out, some 5 years ago, with our first Subarus (I still have my '05 LGT, she's gone from an '05 WRX sedan, 4EAT, to the aforementioned '09 FXT), we discovered that it was going to be a false-economy, for us to go with the non-turbo models. We truly wouldn't have saved much, per year.

Even when gas prices were at their highest just a while ago, we did not really have any true concerns.

It's truly all about sitting down, and seeing just how much you will truly save. :)

I think that given your commute distances, and the fact that there is still a decent price gap between regular fuel and premium, going the way of the naturally-aspirate models would be much easier on your budget.

[Texan1983]

thanks for the honest feedback.

giving this is the wife's car and she flat out won't care or notice i pretty much desided that the non turbo is the best option for us. it's either that or a toyota corolla, and i would much rather have a legacy!

running the numbers has shown it beneficial to go non-turbo. maintenance, fuel, and the fact i can get an 09 2.5i with under 10,000 miles for the same price as the 06 gt with 58,000...

so i guess someday when I need a new car i can get a gt that i want!

[TSi+WRX]

No doubt about it, the Legacy is definitely a "safer" car than the Corolla, with the AWD, particularly in foul weather. Definitely more stylish, too, but we're all biased, here. :lol:

I honestly think you're making the right decision. It's hard to swallow that bitter pill, but in today's economy, it's the smart thing to do.

Really and honestly, the only time I actually "feel" a difference between the un-tuned/unmodified FI and NA models is between 40 to 70 MPH, at WOT. City-driving, the gearing as well as the better off-throttle response of the NA models truly won't make you miss the lost power. On the highway, unless you're really high-tailing it, the NA is just as fine of a cruiser.