1994 Subaru Legacy GL review from UK and Ireland

Rear exhaust silencer 128000mls.

Front brake pads 125000mls.

Oil leak from oil filler stem to engine block gasket.

Two rear shock absorbers 110000mls

four tyres 126000mls.

The car was bought as a cheap run around for £550, it has been exactly that!

The car has been well used even some light off road (fields etc) and is used all year round. It is excellent in the snow and mud, slightly more traction than my sierra 4x4 but not as much as an Audi 80 Quattro I have owned.

It handles reasonably well, given it's size.

The engine has plenty of low down torque which makes for a relaxed drive- it feels like the 2.9 Sierra.

It isn't a fast car, however it does well considering the weight and four wheel drive penalties.

I do get an annoying noise from the front passengers window at any speed over 60MPH, the car is not especially quiet at speed anyway. In fact the wind noise is probably the cars worst point- not enough to stop me buying the car, but if you did a lot of motorway driving at 60-70+MPH it would get annoying.

I get about 23MPG in mainly town driving and 30ish with mixed driving.

The interior is plain, all the cloth work is wearing very well, even the drivers seat bolster is still unworn and is still supportive.

The cabin has most of the electrical toys that you need; electric windows all round, electric mirrors, central locking and remote boot and fuel flap release, not Rolls Royce standard, but enough.

From the outside I found its unusual looks have grown on me, those cool rear windows that people think are broken when they are down are great! The coupe style frame-less doors are fabulous.

When I got the car it had minor rust areas, one or two patches maybe 20-25mm across, I don't know the paint process that Subaru use, but these areas have only grown by about 5mm in three years, the car is outside all year and we live near the North Sea! If only the Sierra had been the same!

To summarise; the car was bought as a cheap run about, very little has been spent on it- maybe £550 in three years. I bought it for £550ish, so it's done that job perfectly. In addition my Scooby has provided a comfortable, 100% reliable and moderately stylish means of transport that also makes a great exhaust noise (thanks to the flat4).