2.5i vs. 3.0R - 4-gear auto vs. 5-gear auto

[EnkEli0]

After comparing many cars in roughly the same class (Accord, Avensis &
Mazda6 were also on my shortlist), I decided to buy a new (2005) Legacy
Touring Wagon.

I am leaning towards the 2.5i (it will be mostly used by my wife, urban
driving most of the time, with the occasional mix of motorway/secondary
road journey) but I have read mixed reviews concerning the 4-gear
automatic 'box. I don't think we need the extra kW of the 3.0R engine,
but it appears that the 5-gear auto 'box, which is not available on the
2.5i, seems to suit the car better.

I would be grateful if you could comment on your experience on either
of these two cars - i.e. automatic 2.5i or 3.0R 2005 Legacy. Is the
2.5i too sluggish?

 

[Scoop]

I went through exactly the same issue!...and ended up buying a 2.5i Manual.
The 5speed manual suits the 2.5 much better than the 4speed auto....which is
an old gearbox (compared to the 5speed auto) and Ithink has too mcuh of a
big ratio gap between 3 and 4. The manual is very smooth and easy to drive.
Hope this helps.

 

[Guest]

I would be grateful if you could comment on your experience on either
of these two cars - i.e. automatic 2.5i or 3.0R 2005 Legacy. Is the
2.5i too sluggish?

I was also wondering the same things before I bought in August. In the
end I got a 2005 Outback 2.5i automatic and find the power is quite
adequate. I did a 5200 km trip in the mountain states in September and
was easily able to keep up 120k (75 mph) on freeways and had enough
power on steep backroads etc.

The big advantage of the 2.5i is the gas mileage. The automatic high
gear ratio is such that the engine is at quite low rpm at cruising
speeds. For the whole trip, including some city driving, I got 8.0
litres/100 km.