09-24-04

I love my new car...its a 2005 Subaru Legacy GT Limited. 

The car I owned before the WRX was a Legacy GT but it was half as sophisticated a driver's car as the WRX or this new GT. The optional STI short shifter is very, very, very nice, with a crisp and ...SHORT... throw:) Under 3 inches I believe.  Its more like the manual tranny Acura GSR I had.  Contrary to what I had complained to my friends earlier, this car does have a throaty growl, but more subtle than in the WRX.  The car is very, very quick...it just doesn't make a fuss about it.  It has a detuned turbocharged WRX STI engine.  I made the right decision with the leather-seating (Limited) package, as I like the seat comfort and adjustability.  I've missed the ambient temp readout since my Jetta GLI days but its back now. It has dual climate control and of course airbags at all nooks and crannies.  The fog lamp and cruise control on-off switches are now on the steering wheel stalks where they belong.   The tires are reasonably grippy and silent, especially for all-seasons. The gauges are "way cool" and light up in a changing color and orchestrated sequence to make any 18 year old happy.  It makes my inner child smile too.  The steering demeanor is quite precise, even by sport sedan standards.   I'm most impressed by the quality and silence of the ride.   Very nice for a car with this performance potential.  It doesn’t have xenon headlights but I don’t think I’ll miss them. I suspect the shape of the headlight reflector is at least as important as the light source. Once upon a time I had quartz-halogen aftermarket headlights for my old land cruiser. They lit up the road bright enough to vaporize small animals in the roadwayJ. This month's Car & Driver magazine called the Legacy GT an adult WRX.  Very true.

The negatives so far are very minor.  There’s no place to put spare change as the ashtray is miniscule. It will only handle about one cigarette butt and I'll miss that extra "storage". The car also doesn't have home link which is a built in garage door opener.  I guess I'll have to suffer through these dreadful omissions:)

The sunroof air deflector is on back order 2-3 weeks so I'll have to wait, but it’s coming.