klier

Absolutely none of these. But if I HAD to choose, it would be between the Volvo and the VW

CarGuy

I knew the ES doesn't really belong here and was going to get a post like that.
The IS is to small and compact IMO for this kind of "segment" comparo.
Plus I wanted to keep the candidates more or less from the other poll: Camry(ES 350), Accord(TL), Infiniti(Maxima) etc.

martinbo

Yes it does seem that the Legacy's nose gets a little light at speed Monster. As the power steering isn't speed sensitive it can be a little unnerving but I can tell you that on the good side of 220 km/h the car is reassuringly stable. I wouldn't waste the money - for reasons other than cosmetic - on an STI splitter as the aero effect at 100 km/h will be negligible.

In my experience the manual Legacys feel a little more responsive in cornering than their auto cousins, but, isn't that the case with all autos vs. manuals? I think that this has less to do with the torque split and more to do with the level of driver interaction.

On perfectly smooth surfaces I have never experienced any torque steer in the Legacy - the only form of kickback would be road surface related, which is a good thing (steering feel).

ree

Here I chooses the Volvo!! But I miss my absolutely favourite car in this class. The "old" facelifted Saab 9-5 2.3 Turbo Aero!!

edit: Because it's the year 2008 - I would also go with the new 9-5!!!

Merc1

I see what you're saying, but the Infiniti isn't based on the Maxima. Infiniti no longer does badge jobs here in the U.S. Well at least on their cars. All Infiniti cars use some variation of the FM platform. The Maxima is on a totally different fwd platform.

M

Mr. M

The Subaru surely.

martinbo

^ Well you couldn't put it more succinctly than that eh, Mr. M? Good choice.

Mr. M

This car just can't get enough of praise. I have nothing else to add.

I'm starting to have a thing for scoobies... Everyone's telling me to avoid Scoobs, it's pretty sad.

martinbo

Who's everyone else? I've owned turbocharged Scoobs since 2003. And, I've driven dozens upon dozens in some of the most challenging conditions and I've never had a mechanical failure...

So, what's to avoid?

Word from my connections over in Japan is that the new diesel is terrific. New STI is unbelievable and that the new Forester is just fabulous.

Mr. M

Just family and people who don't know a thing about Subarus... There are the people who see Subaru as a second-rate manufacturer, producing cars with god-awful interiors and sub-par designs. And then there are the people who know that there's no other car manufacturer in the world who does a boxer and AWD like Subaru can, and that's us.