Used 1996 Subaru Legacy Wagon Consumer Reviews
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Great car but 2.5L mechanically is terrible
emilyxmay, 11/25/2011
1996 Subaru Legacy LSi 4dr Wagon AWD
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Purchased 2.5L Legacy Outback 10/09 - 156k - w/o inspection. W/in a week $1400 transfer case repair...had no AWD. Wonderful AWD now, BUT has cost $4500 past 2 yrs incl transfer case, timing belt, radiator + bi-mo. repairs. A/C has never worked. Ck eng light on constantly altho turns off by itself several days later. Recently a long-standing misfire issue became full blown problem. Car barely started making noises like a starter problem, shook horribly, probably only running on 1 cylinder. Today, it does start, runs somewhat smoothly, engine sounds odd. Blown engine? Will miss my beloved Outback. R.I.P. Now allocating my Suby repair budget to buy new car.
220,000+ miles
Montana Wildhack, 09/24/2016
1996 Subaru Legacy L 4dr Wagon AWD
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
She goes and goes and goes. Great in the snow, holds the road, doesn't burn oil. Whenever I suggest at work maybe I should look for a new car someone asks, "Can I buy your Subie?"
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See all 0 listingsGreat awd car that thinks it's an SUV
pasublvr, 09/22/2010
1996 Subaru Legacy L 4dr Wagon AWD
3 of 3 people found this review helpful
After years of owning American made SUVs, and still wanting the roominess and 4wd of one, I settled on this. I am single and have no children, so friends and family thought I was crazy at first, but what a great car it has turned out to be! Am trading it in, 80k miles and no major repairs later, for a much newer Outback tomorrow.
Long Time Owner
Gonk, 11/12/2009
1996 Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
I owned this for over 13 years. Absolutely fun to drive. The most memorable drives were shortly after purchasing it in March 1996. We drove up to the mountains to get a good look at Comet Hyakutake. This began about 10:00PM and for the last 12 miles or so (past the road closed sign) we saw nothing but snowmobile tracks. I drove in perfect confidence. It was amazing. There were many other drives like that. I very reluctantly gave up on it after too many engine expenses.
Dead reliable , but clumsy & thirsty
WriConsult, 06/29/2010
1996 Subaru Legacy Outback 4dr Wagon AWD
3 of 5 people found this review helpful
I've had Subarus because I need a reliable wagon. Few choices in the decadent SUV era. Bought our Outback when our beloved '90 Legacy w/205,000 mi got stolen. Glad we got a '96 5speed, the only 2.2 L Outback ever. Great for camping/biking/ski trips but not so fun in town: too long for many urban parking spots, HUGE turning radius made tight spots even harder, big blind spots in the rear view. Would drive the smaller, nimbler Forester or Impreza if got better mpg (they don't!) and didn't have the troublesome 2.5 L. I'm a skilled winter driver & use winter tires, so I'd even do without AWD for the extra 2 mpg. Subaru's fuel economy will be unacceptable in the future era of $5 gas.