1997 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport review from North America
"Poorly made gas guzzler, one of the worst cars I've owned"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
Front seal at 86,000 km
Clutch at 86,000 km (I have had two Hondas which went over 200,000 km on the original clutch!)
Speedometer at 60,000 km
Front struts at 53,000 km
Master cylinder at 115,000 km
Squealing brakes from day one - 4 trips to the Dealer couldn't fix, finally had to fix them myself!
Passenger door speaker died after 70,000 km (we don't listen to music loud at all!)
Power window switch broke at 50,000 km.
General comments?
We bought this car because it had very good ratings. Nothing but problems and poor quality.
Very poor quality carpet - worn out at 90,000 km
Cheap plastic interior - very easily scratched.
Uncomfortable seats - you can feel the wire frames if you need to get anything out of the back seat.
LOTS of squeaks and rattles because they use push in plastic things to hold the cheap plastic interior rather than proper screws.
Very poor service from dealer - had to argue with them that there was a problem and they hadn't even seen the car yet!
Very poor warranty of only 60,000 km - obviously there was a reason for the short warranty period!
Poor performance: 137 hp is barely adequate for a vehicle this size.
Huge gearing hole between 4th and 5th - major loss in performance.
Out-dated cable adjusted clutch linkage - you have to adjust it every 10,000 km or less otherwise the clutch burns out. Any modern clutch is hydraulic - no adjustments.
Poor gas mileage.
The cup holder is directly over the radio, guess what gets covered if your drink spills!
On the plus side - excellent AWD and ABS - fantastic for winter driving.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Model Year | 1998 |
| First year of ownership | 1998 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2008 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.2L SOHC Manual |
| Performance marks | 4/10 |
| Reliability marks | 3/10 |
| Comfort marks | 5/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 2/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 0 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 120000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Honda Civic |
| Date of Entry | 10th August, 2008 |