Advice on buying Legacy Diesel please

[ProDave]

Background.  I have been driving Subaru's for 30 years, an L series, 2 Legacy's and more recently on my second Forrester.  All petrol and all found to be extremely reliable, no faults other than consumables and things you expect to wear out.

I am wanting to change for a bigger Subaru with a higher towing limit for my new larger caravan.  Not much coming up for sale local to me at the moment, but one that has come up is a 2011 Legacy 2.0D with the 6 speed manual gearbox.

I have not heard much in the way of good things about Subaru Diesels.  So a few questions for those in the know please:

This car has done 90K miles so probably low for the age.  The seller is at pains to tell me it is a "generation 5" engine, not the "generation 4" that was known for breaking crankshafts.  Is that fact or fiction?  This car complies with Euro 5, is that what makes it "generation 5"?  The engine type from the VIN plate is EE20ZLDALE if that helps clarify it.

My basic questions are is this likely to be reliable or not?  and second question is routine servicing possible totally DIY as I have always done with petrol, or are there things on this diesel that must regularly be done with special tools?

And more general questions is I see this gearbox reviewed as "clunky" and I note dual ratio seems to have been dropped.  I found the low ratio dead handy for reversing a trailer, that seems a backward step.

And one more, not wishing to overload in a first post, the other gearbox option on this age of Legacy is the "Lineartronic" that description fills me with fear of over complex electronics waiting to go wrong and cost a fortune.  Is that so? Are they any good?

[Bern]

I have a Legacy 6 speed diesel with a Euro 5 motor....the crank still breaks ..if you happen to drive on the A14 Kettering bound ,just near the Keyston turn off you may still see the four wheel skid when the crank let go for no reason apart from it's 149k. First gear is really too high to make it a good tow car,..doing a hill start with a 4 wheel trailer carrying a TVR  wasn't the best experience.Top gear is great ..80mph at a fast tickover . They are a great car , but not a great tow car.

[ProDave]

Thanks.

I am still looking for my next car, but nothing is coming up near me (Highlands)  I thought if a diesel had got to 90K miles without breaking it's crankshaft, then it wasn't going to.

I would still prefer petrol but it seems the age / price I am looking was probably "peak diesel" and petrol versions seem rarer.

Good job I am not in a hurry.  I might have to carry on towing an over weight (for my present car) for another season.