Altima vs. Legacy

[monkeydo_jb]

Hey gang,

I've recently impregnated my wife and as such will be trading her two door in on a four door sedan.


I've narrowed it down to a Nissan Altima or a Subaru Legacy. I'll be in the market for the base model of each, so keep that in mind.

Please share your thoughts and feel free to suggest others. Ultimately I'm pretty set on these two.



Oh, my first pick would have been a Jetta TDI, but alas the nearest dealer is 1.5 hours away...

 

[livingfortoday]

Hey gang,

I've recently impregnated my wife and as such...

You had me at hello.

 

[monkeydo_jb]

You had me at hello.

I knew someone would enjoy that...

 

[adk]

My neighbor has an 06 legacy (I don't think it's the base model, it has alloys and a sunroof) and he absolutely loves it. fit and finish in that car is fantastic.

I'm pretty sure the new altima is a great car as well though, I think I've seen great reviews about it. I would think that the main difference between the two cars would be 4wd vs. 2wd, do you think you would use AWD that often? Also, as I drove home from work today gas was $3.49 per gallon, how does the mileage compare?

 

[FrankBlack]

I own a Subaru WRX. Had it since '03. I owned a base impreza for five years before that.
Love the cars! Fun to drive, no issues outside of scheduled maintainance.
I plan on going to a legacy GTi next year.

The base Legacy sedan would surely make a fine family car. Would you also consider a Legacy Wagon? The Outbacks can get expensive fast, but I swear, half the population of Vermont drives Outback wagons.

The bad news: In terms of fuel mileage, there is an overhead with the all-wheel-drive. Given today's gas prices, this may be a deal-breaker for you, depending on how much you'll be driving. Think about whether or not you require an AWD car where you live. Here in New England, I consider them to be essential. (Snowy winters, intensely rainy, cold springs, etc.)

 

[ErikCLDR]

I too would compare fuel economy. AWD is definitely going to hurt your fuel economy. However, one of my moms friends bought a new altima, and supposedly only gets 19mpg.