Faults:

Climate control would turn off and on over bumps.

Transmission would slip out of second and third into neutral.

The car would bottom out pulling into the driveway.

Driver's side motorized seat belt was stuck in the "belted" position.

General Comments:

I really hope that I just got a poorly maintained car. I loved the styling and performance of my SVX. I knew that they were notorious for transmission issues when I bought it, but the extensive test drive I took didn't reveal them. Turns out the owner had just tightened down the band and added a bottle of Lucas Stop Slip to the transmission fluid.

The car was really fun to drive. The AWD and the height of the car really make it handle well. I would buy another in a heartbeat if it had a recently rebuilt transmission or a WRX 5 speed swap.

Faults:

Bad freon leak in the AC system, probably due to a shoddy R134a conversion.

Transmission failed 1 month after I bought the car.

Electrical gremlin in the dash caused the AC to come on when going over bumps.

General Comments:

The car was fun to drive for the first 1,000 miles. The previous owner had lowered it, which further improved the experience. It could turn on a dime, and the brakes, which had been upgraded with cross-drilled rotors, were magnificent.

Unfortunately, the transmission died about 1,000 miles into my ownership of the car. Along with that, the AC stopped blowing cold and electrical gremlins started to pop up. The car was fitted with an aftermarket transmission cooler and filter, but I guess expecting all to be good at 160k was too much.

For someone who has the time and money to swap in a transmission from an Outback or Legacy, this is a great and FUN AWD sports coupe.

Faults:

Alternator at 129,100 miles.

Starter at 131,430 miles.

Transmission leaks fluid and noticeably slips when at low levels, since 136,200 miles.

Air conditioner stopped blowing cold air at 137,503 miles.

Transmission pan fixed finally 137,711 miles.

General Comments:

I like this car as a 2nd car, but not as my primary. Still quicker than my Saturn, but did not get the best gas mileage.

This car seems to only want to get 19 mpg, sometimes 20 mpg on good days. I drive this car whenever I want to drive something else. It is an alright car, but do not expect it to be a primary daily driver without having to fix parts fast or have some more problems than you would want to.

Faults:

Jeez, where do I begin??

Had transmission problems, rear-end, front-end, electrical, head gasket (2x), heating, air conditioning malfunctions, lighting and seat belt problems, power window and door locks didn't always work, sunroof worked on and off.

General Comments:

This was the worst car I ever bought and owned - paid top dollar for it when I bought it, but ended up practically giving it away.

I found it very unreliable, HORRIBLE on gas economy, parts and service hard to find (even Subaru mechanics would cringe at the sight of me driving up!!), it was unique for its day, but poorly built, uncomfortable with lots of idiosyncrasies.

My advice to anyone wanting to own one - DON'T!!! Stick with a mainstream Subaru or Honda, Toyota, etc. The Subaru SVX isn't worth the time and money to keep the thing running. They are almost worthless on the used car market. Unless you find one with really low mileage and in MINT condition VERY cheap, then run away from it.