Faults:

No problems yet.

General Comments:

Power with non-turbo engine is acceptable. Have towed over 1500 lbs easily though hilly terrain.

Fuel economy is 26 mpg on highway at 70-75 mph, 24 mpg in typical commuter driving.

Frameless windows are well sealed, actually quieter than other cars I test drove with framed windows.

Car has unique combination of excellent ground clearance AND a low center of gravity. Handling is wonderful. Doesn't have the swaying typical of many taller SUVs.

Limited version is very well equipped, with leather, heated seats, heated mirrors, heated windshield, 2 sunroofs, security system, 6 disc CD, 4 wheel disk brakes, radio weather channel, auto dimming rear view mirror with compass and outside temp gauge.

I'm very, very pleased with the vehicle, but there are a few things that could be better. Neither my wife (130 lbs) or me (220 lbs) find the seats comfortable for long trips (over 4 hours) although they're fine for shorter trips. Don't care for the cruise control design where a separate button on the dash has to be pressed every time the car is started to activate the cruise. Oil drain plug must be tightened much more than other designs or it will leak. It uses a 'loose' metal o-ring which is easily lost, which will also result in an oil leak. Every other vehicle I've owned in the past 25 years had a 'captured' washer, which I feel is a much better design.

Faults:

Door window seal not sealing properly at about 2,000 miles.

Front windshield not properly protected by rubber seal. A chip near the windshield edge (i.e, glass not protected by the rubber) will propagate causing entire windshield to fail.

Clutch failure due to improper engineering. They have a technical service bulletin on this item at least. Clutch failure at about 20,000 miles.

Cold start failure repeatedly at about 0F. No start. We have to figure this out. Unfortunately, there is no error code, and the problem is inconsistent, therefore making diagnostics impossible.

Engine failure at 42,000 miles. Piston rod failure caused engine to lockup (actually blew a hole in the crankcase).

Bad bearing on idler pulley causing the timing belt to fail. Belt jumped by one tooth. This insignificant failure caused the valves to hit the pistons ultimately putting holes in piston. This completely destroyed engine. 50,000 miles.

Manual transmission failure at 65,000 miles.

Premature wearing of brakes. Front rotors warped. The rotors most likely warp because of too much drag pressure on the pads. Improper cooling at highway speeds in summer will cause this failure.

General Comments:

This is one of the most over rated cars on the road. I could never recommend this car to anyone. Subaru is now building an engine that has serious problems. For example, the second engine failure was unwarranted from an engineering perspective. Proper design dictates that the timing belt will fail eventually or prematurely. This failure should not cause engine failure. However, on this engine, timing belt failure will cause engine failure.

I purchased this car based on consumer reviews. Subaru customer care is terrible. Subaru refuses to admit that the car has serious problems. Completely over rated. Time to set the record straight.