Legacy GT Wagon or Mazda6 Sportwagon

[Harry Wilke]

I thought I had it all figured out.
I've driven Subaru, almost exclusively since 1986 (GL Wagon) and 1990 Legacy
SI Wagon. I'm ready to go new and automatically went to my local Subaru
dealer. Test drove the 2004 L-Premium and GT wagon, but thought it would be
prudent to look at what else was available. I test drove the Mazda 6
Sport... wow! Zoom Zoom!

What a fantastic car. For essentially the same price this car has 220hp V6,
kinds of traction control and ABS (Though no All wheel drive), Side
curtains, looks like an Audi A6 and handles sweeter than any car I've
driven. I'm distressed, loyalty or excitment?

Comments appreciated.

 

[Marc Soloway]

Wait for the 2005 GT with a Turbo. It will blow you away, with all you want
plus AWD and the reliability of a Subaru, not a Ford.

 

[Bryan Lee]

I had the same problem. Before I bought my 04 WRX wagon I looked into the
Mazda6 wagon. I went as far as waiting for the Mazda 6 to come out. I just
bought a new MPV in jan. and I love the van and so, does my wife who drives
it all time. It has the same engine and tranny as the 6. When I bought the
MPV I told the dealer I I also wanted the mazda 6 wagon. He said he would
give it to me at invoice. I was a few reasons I got the WRX wagon instead,
I could not get the color I wanted(the wagon does'nt come in blazing cooper.
I love that color), I got the WRX wagon for 22,500 w/ short throw
shifter,subwoofer,and upgrade alarm, and the WRX is really fast. oh did I
say it's fast, no I mean really fast and has handles great with 4wd. Puls
for about $500 I can buy the cobb ECU upgarde and brings the power up from
227hp to 260hp with no other mods. You might want to wait for the '05 gt
wagon it has a 250hp version of the STI motor and look better then the '04
to me.

 

[CEG]

Do you like spending money on brake jobs????????????? Buy the Ford OH I
mean FORDZA,er Mazda made in MI. I just unloaded a 2001 Sable LS that loved
brakes, and at $700 a pop in 40K my ass is still sore. Wife didn't want
another Subaru wagon when I leased the FORD......at 19 mpg and ridiculous
repair prices guess what we're driving now. You bet....a 2004 Legacy 35th
Wagon 5 spd. at $18000 I couldn't pass it up to wait for a 2005. This is
our 3rd dating back to 1987 and I'll never not buy one again, at 200K my 95
is still going strong and my daughter has it for her family and once the oil
pump leakage problem is fixed again it will last a little longer! FORDS
HAVE A CHRONIC BRAKE PROBLEM AND HAVE FOR YEARS>

 

[Verbs Under My Gel]

Wait for the 2005 GT with a Turbo. It will blow you away, with all you want
plus AWD and the reliability of a Subaru, not a Ford.

....and it'll cost quite a bit more than a Mazda 6. We're not
comparing apples with apples.

Also, having owned a Mazda 626 of recent vintage (2001), and currently
owning a 2002 Leg. GT, I can safely say the Mazda was _far_ more
reliable that the Leg. ever will be. As always, your milage will
vary. Note that I like the Leg. far more than I liked the 626.

Remember, Subaru (or replace with your favorite make) is a car, not a
religion.

 

[Greg Reed]

Remember, Subaru (or replace with your favorite make) is a car, not a
religion.

I'm pretty sure Audi is a religion...



- Greg Reed

(recent owner of 1989 Audi 200 Turbo Quattro 5-speed and 1990 Audi V8
Quattro)

 

[Greg Reed]

Do you like spending money on brake jobs????????????? Buy the Ford OH
I mean FORDZA,er Mazda made in MI. I just unloaded a 2001 Sable LS
that loved brakes, and at $700 a pop in 40K my ass is still sore.
Wife didn't want another Subaru wagon when I leased the FORD......at
19 mpg and ridiculous repair prices guess what we're driving now.
You bet....a 2004 Legacy 35th Wagon 5 spd. at $18000 I couldn't pass
it up to wait for a 2005. This is our 3rd dating back to 1987 and
I'll never not buy one again, at 200K my 95 is still going strong and
my daughter has it for her family and once the oil pump leakage
problem is fixed again it will last a little longer! FORDS HAVE A
CHRONIC BRAKE PROBLEM AND HAVE FOR YEARS> "Harry Wilke"

Not to reinforce the Mazda = Ford thing, but:

We acquired my wife's 1993 Mercury Sable LS wagon in August of 1995 with
about 30k miles on the clock. When we gave it to her sister in September of
2001 and with 120k miles on it (we took delivery of the Astro on September
11, 2001 -- an easy date to remember), it had needed brakes exactly as many
times as transmissions: once. (The former at about 90k miles and the latter
at about 100k miles.) Perhaps you should tell your wife to keep her left
foot on the floor instead of the brake pedal...

- Greg Reed

 

[Nicolas Dore]

I thought I had it all figured out.
I've driven Subaru, almost exclusively since 1986 (GL Wagon) and 1990 Legacy
SI Wagon. I'm ready to go new and automatically went to my local Subaru
dealer. Test drove the 2004 L-Premium and GT wagon, but thought it would be
prudent to look at what else was available. I test drove the Mazda 6
Sport... wow! Zoom Zoom!

What a fantastic car. For essentially the same price this car has 220hp V6,
kinds of traction control and ABS (Though no All wheel drive), Side
curtains, looks like an Audi A6 and handles sweeter than any car I've
driven. I'm distressed, loyalty or excitment?

Comments appreciated.

Nice to have such interesting options, eh?

2 things come to mind: Wait for the 2005 Legacy models as they seem to
bring a lot of refinements (interior, styling, equipment) and have the
turbo GT option for not too much more money than the current (2004,
turbo-less...) GT. Second thing, how much do you value AWD? The Subaru
may end up costing a bit more than the Mazda, depending on equipment
and such, but AWD could tip the balance...

As to other comments, I don't buy the Ford thing: Mazda is owned by
Ford ands uses Ford platforms but it has a very good reliability
history, even with models shared with Ford, where the Fords did not
have a good quality record (1st generation Proteges and Escorts come
to mind...). You will find horror stories about any and all brands,
but looking at surveys of large numbers of owners (I like CR's surveys
myself), Mazda and Subaru are both very good brands, just below the
level of Toyota and Honda in quality.

Personnally, if the 6 wagon had been available when I bought my
Subaru, I would have been VERY interested, but then this is my first
Subaru, so AWD was a nice plus, not a requirement for me...

Nicolas

 

[Lance B]

Couple of things:

The Gt Legacy WILL blow you away. It is great. I own the new 3.0R
Outback (in Oz) and I also test drove the GT Liberty (Legacy) at the
time of my purchase of the Outback. I wanted the Outback but thought
I'd try the GT just to see what it was like. It really is a superb
car. They BOTH are.

...and it'll cost quite a bit more than a Mazda 6. We're not
comparing apples with apples.

But that was what he indicated in this thread he wanted to compare:
the Legacy GT Wagon or Mazda6 Sportwagon. This is the thread
comparison, regardless of price.

Also, having owned a Mazda 626 of recent vintage (2001), and currently
owning a 2002 Leg. GT, I can safely say the Mazda was _far_ more
reliable that the Leg. ever will be. As always, your milage will
vary. Note that I like the Leg. far more than I liked the 626.

Far more reliable than the Legacy ever will be? And what crystal ball
is that you are using? How will you ever know how reliable FUTURE cars
will be?