Faults:

Speed sensor and solenoid sensor on automatic transmission became faulty, causing shift shocks and irregular shifting, which won't allow transferring into 4th gear. However once the car warms up after couple of miles, restarting the engine clears the problem right away. Cleaning up the sensors may resolve the problem, but ultimately these parts need to be replaced with new ones.

Unfortunately the location of these parts are not accessible for average Do It Yourselfers; it must be taken to a professional, as with many of the repairs for Subarus.

General Comments:

I bought this car used with 113K miles on it, and it was my first Subaru. I had a vague idea about Subaru as a solid and reliable AWD car, but never knew why some people were thrilled about it.

But now that I am a proud owner of Subaru, you can say I am a big fan of this car, it drives amazingly strong and the handling feels very sturdy. It's a joy to drive it daily.

Overall as a 9 year old car, it feels as good as many newer cars, if not better. Definitely way better than the Honda's and Toyota's of similar class.

I would definitely keep this car and looking forward to buying another Subaru in the near future.

One negative thing about the car, is for subcompact car, the gas mileage is not really good. Some will say it's about 30 mpg, but I only get around 21 to 23 mpg in summer, and maybe 24 to 26 in winter, and I have done everything possible to improve gas mileage, like changing to K&N filter, changing fuel, oil, transmission filter, spark plug with narrower gap and change all fluids/oils.

Because the car is running on all wheels full time, and it's so much fun to drive, this car is not great if you want a gas miser. For me I am willing to pay a little more on gas for a little enjoyment in return.

Faults:

Bad battery when purchased, needed new one after I owned car for a few months.

Changed spark plug at 45,000.

A/C needed recharging at 54,000.

Nothing major!

General Comments:

I loved this car! It doesn't have the most stylish interior, and the cupholders are much to be desired, but overall I think this car is fantastic. I had a horrible dealer where I purchased the car from, but I am not quick to assume that all Subaru dealers are as awful as they were. And they were idiotic. The car itself is a quick, comfy, solid little machine that tends to hold up superbly compared too many cars in its class. It rips in the snow - I owned it in Vermont and it was great in any weather. Everything always worked in a very sharp, responsive way. Not as luxurious as some of the loaded outbacks, but its cheaper and smaller so what do you expect? Tight on corners, felt like a little tank when I test drove it. Great cruise control, fairly quiet on the highway, just be careful where you get work done because Subarus aren't the cheapest cars to repair. I don't think the dealers are known for their service, but I had a bad experience with them when my engine light came on, they said I needed a tune up (I got one for $250) and it turned out to just need a spark plug. Not THAT big of a deal, but it made them look stupid. Hey, I don't know cars, I expect the dealer to. I adored my Impreza. Buy one.