I bought my first 2002 WRX wagon in '04 to replace my Honda CRX Si for a growing family...the car had 48k miles...I had it up until 2017 with 268k miles running a Stage 2 tune. The car was bullet proof and I ran it hard! A car ran a stop sign and took out my rear axle and quarter panel totaling it. After my 02 was totaled (and a lot of sleepless and all-night weeping), maybe 2 months later, the stars were aligned and I was able to find an identical car (year, color, wagon) but with Stage 3+ modifications (300 whp) with only 110k (currently at 180k) and in immaculate condition. No matter rain or snow or w heavy winds, Subaru AWD felt like driving on dry pavement. You really do hug the roads and super stable. I actually LOVE how rough (and uncomfortable says the wife) the car feels because driving a WRX is all about the experience and really feeling the asphalt, dirt of gravel... add all the bells and froo froo whistles and you'll numb the senses of real Subaru boxer engine experience. It truly is a beast and hell of a driving experience that can barely rival it. I feel you'll get better reliability with the older EJ series motors than current/modern Subarus. The wagon (with my roof basket) allows me to carry nearly anything I've thrown at it...and I use the basket weekly...always toting things around. I'm after another Subaru to add to the family because you just can't beat safety, performance, reliability , and resale value of a Subaru...Looking for an 04-06 Forester XT.

I had loads of fun driving and owning this car. It had lots of mechanical feel to it that kept me connected to the road and car. Plenty of power for its age and weight, with decent enough room to haul stuff around. It just always felt like a compromise to me. It was fast, sure, but it still had less than 300hp. It had room for 5 people, but it had trouble hauling stuff around. It was reliable sure, but it needed very touchy maintenance. It wasn't awful on gas (22 mpg combined), but it wasn't great either. Overall I had a lot of fun and made some unforgettable memories but I am moving on to something else.

This well maintained, fully modified, classic rally car drives and sounds amazing, and still has a lot of years left. It is a great value.