1984 Subaru GL GL10 Turbo review from North America
"I gave this car high marks because so far it has not left me stranded"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The Air flow meter (to the electronic fuel injection) started to fail, it would still run, but sound like it was being choked.
With the extreme turning radius this car has it's no wonder it blows out CV joints. With the new set installed I don't accelerate hard when making sharp turns.
The 3 speed auto trans sometimes tends to slip in first or stay stuck in second. The trick is to let it run a minute then put it in gear. The last time it stayed stuck in gear, I added some synthetic ATF and drag raced it a couple of times. That has seemed to remedy the problem for now.
General comments?
The 4 wheel drive works great, you just press a button when you want it on or off on the go. It has a stable front end with decent handling and good ground clearance. Even though the brakes are not all that great, I upgraded them to semi-metallic pads (front) which helped a lot.
This model is the 4 door wagon, with the giant Subaru logo on the bottom of the doors along with the word Turbo and 4 WD. By today's standards it looks kind of silly being on a wagon. There's tons of room with the back seats folded down, I've been out camping and can stretch out easily in the back.
Even though this is the turbo engine, the turbo seems to work whenever it wants to, sometimes it will show that it is boosting other times it will just stay in the negative. It really doesn't affect how the engine runs. Other things to point out are the oil leaks, and not so great gas mileage. On a plus side there are no timing belts on this year model (84), which saves on this maintenance item.
Recommended reviews
![]() ![]() | The only thing reliable about this car is that the next month there will be something else to fix |
![]() ![]() | Tough car mechanically, but resistance to rust questionable |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Model Year | 1984 |
| First year of ownership | 2000 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2004 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8Turbo Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8/10 |
| Reliability marks | 8/10 |
| Comfort marks | 8/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 7/10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 115000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 170000 miles |
| Previous car | Hyundai Excel |
| Date of Entry | 7th October, 2004 |



