Faults:

Failed the emission test due to inoperative oxygen sensor. Cabin plastic is very easily scratched, looks very cheesy and cheap, but no rattles.

General Comments:

I was very impressed with the handling of this car. Although take off is not its strongest point, once it's going it makes you feel confident. The pick up is very quick even from 100km/h in fifth gear without downshifting. It seems to be built robust, but mine one is extremely basic, so I do not know how those bells and whistles of the higher models hold up. It also has a very nice feature of being very serviceable even for an amateur.

The only thing that annoys me is the gearbox.

It downshifts very reluctantly.

There is no grinding noise when I push on the shifter, trying to engage gears, it just does not go for some time and after shifts smoothly.I'm getting used to it and, on the other hand I'm not a racer,but the speed shifting seems to be very problematic on this car. May be it has something to do with the AWD.

The car is very responsive in terms of handling.

Changing directions is quick and precise.

Braking is not that impressive-the pedal feel is mushy, but braking distance is OK.

All in all I think, that anyone can rely on this car. It's been soundly built, may be not that refined as a Toyota, but it definitely has a personality of its own.

Faults:

Wheel bearing needed to be replaced more often than I would have expected. Subaru issues a TSB saying to use a brake dust shield to protect them.

But over 143k miles, very little has gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

Very reliable and inexpensive car to drive. Not the most luxurious, but it'll always get you there. I bought it brand new, drove it for 9 years and 143k miles, and only sold it because I needed something larger. It was easy to maneuver around town, to avoid an accident, and great in any weather. When I sold it at 143k miles, everything still worked; it only had a few squeaks and rattles.

Go buy a Subaru!!

Faults:

1. Oxygen Sensor

2. Knock Sensor

3. CD Player

4. Airbag Sensor

General Comments:

Love this car. It has been so reliable and goes anywhere! The looks are aggressive and the ride is comfortable. However, the seats are a little on the cheap uncomfortable side... but overall okay. The knock sensor was the first thing that needed replacement, but with 190k miles already on it, it was no big deal. Real easy to change. Then the Oxygen sensor needed changing, also no big deal. These vehicles are a dream to work on. The CD player was factory and the lights quit working and then it quit working all together. Overall I would recommend this car to anyone.

Faults:

Front oil seal developed a leak (recall item fixed by dealer)

Clutch chatters some mornings until it warms up. (Known issue, updated part available)

CD Player has been failing and skipping intermittently. Does not depend on weather, time of day or anything that I can determine. All of my CD's are scratch free and perfect yet some CD's cause the skipping problem more than others.

Clutch pedal was sticking down half way on cold mornings and then it started happening all mornings until the car had been driven about 20mins. I removed the linkage and fiddled with it and it's good as new. I believe there is an updated master cylinder that addresses this issue should it occur again.

Cruise control went dead. This was due to a small plastic switch strike plate near the clutch pedal failing. The cruise control thought that the clutch pedal was depressed. Easy fix by the dealer was to stick a nut and bolt in the hole.

Batteries in key less entry remotes were not making good contact so I was having to twist and squeeze the remotes to deactivate the alarm.

The exhaust has developed a whistle starting at 3500rpm when accelerating under load. Dealer claims this is common.

General Comments:

This has been an excellent reliable little car. There have been a few issues, but overall I'm satisfied and would buy another one.

Car needs about 25-35 more horsepower to make up for the AWD drive train power loss.

Certain corners were cut on this car to keep costs down. Features that you would think to be standard on ANY vehicle. The one that drives me nuts most often is the lack of trunk light. The worst part of that is that there is an ashtray light!!! Worse yet, Subaru has a factory part available to add a trunk light and the hookups are already in place.

The Bridge Stone Potenza RE92 tires that came on this car originally are the ABSOLUTE WORST tires I have ever owned. If I were to buy this car new today and it came equipped with these tires, I would replace them immediately and DESTROY the old (unused) tires so no one else could possibly hurt themselves. They are unsafe and unsuitable for this car. I replaced them with Yokohama AVSdb2's and I could not be happier, especially in Washington State's rainy conditions. The RE92's are not fit for any automobile.

Beautiful styling, I wish they still make this body style or I wish they still made a two-door vehicle.