Faults:

Rear differential broke at 22k, possibly abuse by the previous owner. Replaced under warranty.

Possible DCCD issues, unsure.

General Comments:

Stock, the car is modestly quick. It handles pretty damn well. It is quite easy to make the car quicker. A full exhaust and a few other parts plus a pro-tune can yield 100hp over stock, reliably. After that, it's going to cost many thousands to make more power.

Stock seats are terrible, worse I have ever felt. I replaced them with fixed back racing seats as soon as I could.

I like the car, and the Subaru community is great, and helpful. But, I'm really sick of these fan boys saying how much better the STi is than the Evo. Out of the box, or even when you begin modding, the Evo makes a better racing car. Evos have stronger motors, make way more power than the STi on the stock turbo, and has better seats. Not to mention the Evo handles much better stock, it has more aggressive suspension, a quicker steering rack and better AWD system. Take it from someone who has driven both.

So, for the track/pure performance, the Evo is a better car. Now, for a daily driver that sees occasional track days, then it's really up to you. Honestly, one of the main reasons I got the STi instead of the Evo is because the STi has much much better mid range (aka more torque), something important to me. Also the same year Evo is not as safe. If you're going to stay stock, or close to stock, the Evo has a much much better warranty.

Faults:

Nothing so far.

General Comments:

I am privileged to have owned two cars that I am genuinely happy with.

I traded my Corolla in for this Impreza, and seldom find myself missing the Corolla. The Impreza is a newer buy, and therefore in many ways a better buy. However, this being the sedan, it is not quite as versatile as my previous car.

AWD is something that you very rarely take into consideration when buying a car. The car has great handling, and is quite comfortable on long drives.

The downside is that it is slightly heavier on fuel. On the long road the fuel economy is round about 9L/100Km, and in city it is 11L/100Km.

The gear ratios is pretty good, but I think it could have been better.

The interior is cheap plastic, something I am a little disappointed with, especially if you compare it to other Japanese make or European makes.

On the freeway the car is relatively quiet. This being the base model, you can't expect high quality.

Good car in most areas, but I think for the same money you could get something that would be more economical, better looking, and handle almost as well as the Subaru.

Thank you.