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We reeally like the car. It gets surprisingly good fuel economy considering the amount of interior room. Pretty close to the C230, despite the slightly bigger engine and AWD.
The boxer four is torquey and very easy to live with. We've got the four speed auto box, and it's a good match for the low revving big-pot four. We tested a WRX, and truth be told, in daily life, the Legacy is nicer to drive. It's got lots less power, but no turbo lag to deal with and the low end grunt makes the car nice to drive in traffic.
Had it out for one small highway trip, and it's NOISY compared to a Mercedes, but then it's not a luxury car, and it is a wagon. Also, the Blizzaks are noisy, and that made it worse.
The AWD system is pretty transparent. Guess Subaru has been making them for a while, and they're pretty good at it. the turning circle is much bigger than the C230's, but almost everything has a larger radius than the C.
The interior fit and finish are very good, but the quality of the plastics could be a notch better. I saw a 2000, and the newer gen has been improved. It has no rattles or squeaks. The body is not as stiff as a Mercedes, but not many are. I can feel some slight flexing that you would never find in a Benz, but less than most "other" cars I've driven.
Took it in and had the 60,000 kilometer service done, and then some. Had most fluids and filters replaced, new plugs, and so on. Just to get 'er up to my personal spec and get us off to a new start. Cheap! Wow! The bill was less than $500! That's a $1000+ bill on the C230, and the last Acura we owned would have required a mortgage to get the car back. Nice. Parts were "normal" prices, but labour charges seemed pretty low.
The spare is in the car.
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