Faults:

Center differential went very bad. Expensive fix for a tiny problem (solenoid). Nearly impossible to drive without fixing.

The front control arms are puny, and I had a series of issues with alignment.

Everything that could leak, did leak.

Windows fell out of tracks.

Other, petty things that I forget.

General Comments:

It handled very, very well, and could get up and go if forced to (pedal to the floor, high RPM required).

However, it was generally sluggish and depressing to drive with an automatic transmission.

The car 'felt' cheap, like driving Tupperware.

Had the construction been more robust, I would have kept it.

Gas mileage was good, considering that the car is AWD. Averaged about 29 MPG.

Faults:

Apart from typical high mileage repairs, the car has never let me down.

General Comments:

Even with the 2.2, the car has plenty of power, and decent gas mileage.

Handles very well, no matter the driving conditions.

Just will not die.

Although parts generally aren't too expensive, the labor can cost you, depending on what the part is.

Faults:

Nothing at all has gone wrong with it, which isn't bad for an old girl.

General Comments:

When I was sniffing around for a Scooby, I was confronted with the choice of a UK Spec car or a JDM GC8c, and I'll be honest only an idiot is going for the UK spec car, as the first thing all UK car owners do is spend money on more power, why? When a Japanese car is cheaper and comes with the power already.

Mine came with after market exhaust and air filter, most Japanese ones do, the rolling road had it at 292bhp, which in a car weighing just 1280kg is plenty of horses to play with.

However there is transmission loss due to the nature of 4wd, meaning in a 60-100mph roll it'll take around 9 seconds give or take a 1/100th of a second.

Fast sure, from a standstill it'll kill 99% of cars on the road, but given the fuel economy not fast enough from a rolling start IMO.

So I spent £40 manual on a manual boost controller and upped boost to 1.05 kpa/bar, best £40 I've ever spent, brought the 60-100mph time down to 7.54 seconds, which when combined with a sub 5 second 0-60 time means it'll hit 100mph in under 13 seconds.

Under 13 seconds may not be supercar fast, but it's enough to beat almost any sub £30k car to 100mph, even the new Butt Ugly WRX STi.

Subaru don't built them like they used to.

Faults:

Struts went at 90,000.

Rear ball bearings had to be replaced at 140,000.

Got the valve seals? replaced at 120,000.

General Comments:

Great handling, love the engine, the 5-speed transmission is fun. Gets good gas mileage. Great in the snow. Repairs have been expected and affordable, the engine and the transmission seem unstoppable!

Faults:

Gear shaft for 1st and 2nd gear was noisy when I purchased the car, however the dealer repaired this for free.

Disc Rotors were warped when I purchased the car, however the dealer failed to recognise this fault, but I replaced these myself and they were not even that expensive to change.

General Comments:

This is the best car I've ever owned, its the 1st car I havn't wanted to sell within months of purchasing it. the performance is simply amazing for the price ($12995 NZD)

0-100k comes in 5.2 Seconds

1/4 Mile comes in 13.8 Seconds. (This was tested when the car was still stock standard).

Its not even the STi model, but it's a JDM Import with factory 260ps anyway.

My car came with a Cusco Mechanical LSD and GAB Rally Trial Suspension. The handling is incredible with this setup, so I havn't changed it at all.

Before I purchased this car I was warned that Subarus were unreliable and broke a lot and cost a lot to repair, however this rumor is usually started from EVO owners and people who have never owned one of these cars.

Its been more reliable than my Toyota Levin BZ-G was.