Faults:

We had this wagon for ten years and it was just routine maintenence of changing the oil and rotating the tires. Rock solid wagon.

General Comments:

This was probably the most reliable car, next to my Ford Ranger, that we have ever owned. It never broke down and left us stranded.

Body was very solid. No rust developed.

Very anemic acceleration. It was even slower when the air conditioner was on high. But, that's what you get when you combine a 4-cylinder boxer with a 4000-lb wagon.

Engine really spun fast. It did an outrageous 4300 RPM on the interstate at 80 mph. In comparison, my Ranger only does 2900 at that speed.

Highway performance was acceptable. It could go up hills at 65 mph without downshifting.

The seats were extremely comfortable and the trunk was great for drive-in movies.

I really miss this vehicle and I am currently looking for a Loyale wagon.

Faults:

When I got the car it had 110,000 miles on it. I paid $200.00 for it and it had bad spark plugs and wires. I replaced them and it ran great ever since. When it had 129,000 miles on it I rolled it over three times on a dirt road, we flipped it back on its wheels and started it back up. At 130,000 miles the water pump went up on it, so I replaced it for cheap. At the same time the water pump went up the muffler fell off. Recently it has been eating gas and running bad. Also the altenator is about to go up in it. It has lots of dents in it from rolling it, and the wheel bearings make a little bit of noise, but not too bad.

General Comments:

The car is very slow on take off because the muffler fell off, before it fell off it took off fast. It goes good once it is up to speed. I like it a lot because it is so light I can pick it up myself. It also handles good in the snow, I will walk right past all these new cars they got out. Also I think it is funny when I see a four wheel drive vehicle going so slow and I'm flying in my little subaru. It is very comfortable and the heater works good.

Faults:

The hydraulics that hold the hatch open have slowly died since I got it. They are now pretty much useless.

Alternator died and was replaced at 75,000.

Theft and hot-wiring of the vehicle at around 100,000 resulted in some minor electrical problems (brake light always on, no hazard lights).

At 105,000 the water pump needed to be replaced.

In that same week, a "mystery" fuel filter was clogged and had to be replaced... after we'd already replaced the other obvious fuel filter and the fuel pump.

General Comments:

Most of these issues are due to the fact she's an old, well-loved car. All of these problems were easily fixed between my step-dad and father-in-law. I've never taken it to the shop. This car is EASY to work on, and parts aren't too expensive.

My little GL won't win any races, but she's got enough get-up-and-go to get me where I need to be. She's got more oomph than one would imagine looking at her.

I think Subaru's had building quality products figured out for a while (20 years at least!). As a matter of fact, hubby is looking to replace his car and the Subaru lot is the first place we'll look!