1998 Subaru Legacy L review from North America

Replaced a CV joint at 169,000 miles.

Replaced the brakes at 196,000 miles, the front calipers were stuck, so it needed a lot of parts/labor.

Replaced a second CV joint at 196,000.

Engine rebuilt at 197,000 (due to operator error, see below)

Subaru makes great, practical vehicles, especially if you are going to be driving in winter weather. My parents owned two Foresters, replacing our Toyota 4Runner with one when they lived on 7 miles of snowy/icy gravel roads. This last winter I commuted 30 miles every day with regular snow/sleet/ice and was extremely happy to have the AWD.

They are not the most comfortable or luxurious vehicles, even compared to others within the same price range. The interior is decent, but nothing special. We do have some rattling/shaking, but nothing that I wouldn't expect on a vehicle of this age. The wagon model is long enough to haul 8' lumber inside as well as 4'X4' wide sheets of plywood. Our friends have a newer model and can fit two car seats easily in the back. We have also put a variety of items on the roofrack and have had no problems with it.

The engine is powerful enough to get around easily on the interstate, no problems merging or passing. There is a bit of a lag when the accelerator is pushed, but I have experienced this with other Subarus as well. I have heard the 2.5L is a better engine, but I'm happy with this one and the (little) better gas mileage. We get around 24mpg combined.

The maintenance is nothing more than with other AWD vehicles. The CV shafts will fail every once in a while, especially if the boot is torn or you drive through a lot of water. It is in your best interest to get torn boots replaced immediately. I did regular oil changes and fluid refills, which were very easy. The downfall of the vehicle came when I left the old filter gasket on when doing an oil change, which led to the oil draining and the engine failing. We decided to get the engine rebuilt though, as the vehicle will (hopefully) last a long time.