"I got this car 6 years ago and it is just the right size for hauling bikes, kayaks, and camping in the back end (barely but it works!). The only thing I have had to replace is the hydraulics in the trunk...great little car. Hope it lasts me another 6 years."
"i bought this car used at 96000 miles. up here in snow country, Maine, all wheel drive is the way to go and i would rate this car very highly as practical, safe transportation. it has started every day and gotten me through lots of snow and rough roads with all season tires.
the layout and dimensions of the car are convenient and practical for both passenger and cargo carriage.
i have run into serious mechanical problems that i did not expect with a subaru:
the transmission went, requiring replacement, at 120 000 and right now the engine is being rebuilt because of a ring failure and leaking head gasket. i am a careful driver and maintenance fusspot so this has not been an abused vehicle. the transmission replacement cost $1300 (parts and labor) and the head gasket/short block replacement will cost about 3000 +-. these sorts of main item failures seem excessive and make me question subaru reliability.
that said, my research suggests that both ring and manual transmission failures are pretty rare issues for these cars so i might have just had bad luck. head gasket replacement, though is pretty standard.
i would buy another one simply because, for the money, noone else offers the features i want= manual transmission, all wheel drive wagon."
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