please help me decide which year-model Outback I want

[JGE]

Here's the deal. Got an 1997 Outback and love it. Want to buy a
new one.
Got the money. But Subaru has pissed me off with some of the stuff
they've
done since 1997. They've gone to a custom center dashboard, so it
no longer
has the double-DIN slot where I can put over 100 head-units from
Crutchfield.
More importantly, I want 5-speed manual tranny, but I also want heated
seats
(preferably leather) and moonroof; it seems the only way to get these
in a new
one is to get the 4-cylinder turbo or the 6-cylinder, both
unacceptable to me.

So it looks like I need to buy a late-model used one, but I'm not
clear on which
models have what I want. Can someone enlighten me as to which year
they
discontinued the DIN standard stereo slots, and which years allow
moonroof as
an option on a normally-aspirated 4 cylinder with manual tranny.

Thanks, John

 

[Bob Landry]

Looked for a used tranny on car-part.com, turns out there are 2 different
numbers for a '99 Legacy Outback 2.5L. How do I find out which transmission I've
got?

Bob

Just your basic flake, and official Old Fart!
"The missing link between animals and the real human being is
most likely ourselves."
Konrad Lorenz

 

[Hachiroku $B%O%A%m%/(B]

Looked for a used tranny on car-part.com, turns out there are 2 different
numbers for a '99 Legacy Outback 2.5L. How do I find out which transmission I've
got?

Bob

There should be a plate on the tranny, and I think the plate on the
firewall gives the trans number...