1981 Subaru Leone DL review from Australia and New Zealand
"Cheap and reliable"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
I put a set of re-treads on when I bought it which was a bad mistake, they lasted all of 4 months on the front, before I had to replace them.
The radiator had a leak in it which was easily repaired with some stop-leak.
The accelerator has started to stick down badly at times, I haven't gotten around to fixing it yet.
A hole developed in the resonator, I welded that up, and it's fine now.
There was a lot of build up and varnishing in and around the carburettor which was easily cleaned up with some spray-on carburettor cleaner.
Replaced the CV boots.
General comments?
My Leone is a great simple car, easy to fix when something goes wrong, and very reliable for its age.
It has impressive performance for a 25 year old 4 cylinder car, and I have little trouble overtaking on the highway.
It is a dull colour though, being brown both on the inside and out.
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  | 1981 - Leone Deluxe 1.8 4-speed Reliable and cheap |
| A great little car with loads of character |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| First year of ownership | 2005 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8 horizontally opposed Manual |
| Performance marks | 6/10 |
| Reliability marks | 8/10 |
| Comfort marks | 4/10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 4/10 |
| Distance when acquired | 160000 kilometres |
| Most recent distance | 175000 kilometres |
| Previous car | Toyota Corolla |
| Date of Entry | 20th July, 2006 |