Faults:

Bought the car used and had a mechanic look at it with no major issues. Regular oil changes, check ups and all that. Next thing I know $2000 for a new head gasket. WTF.

Handling is great and the options are nice. I did not like putting in a new head-gasket on a car that does not even have 100000 miles on it. I know I bought it used, but that is a joke for a "reliable" car.

Contacted Subaru Customer Dealer services and they bought the head-gasket. Due to the fact that I had no history of the car, they did not forgive any price off the labor.

I just sold my Ford Ranger for $2000 and it would have probably lasted longer with less cost than the Subaru.

General Comments:

Interesting. I thought that Suburu was your typical, reliable Japanese car. Actually, you take your chances with most brands.

Nope, I'd never buy another Suburu. Too many issues to mention that the dealer can't seem to fix. Interesting also, if you listen to Click and Clack on NPR long enough you'll hear callers with an inordinate number of Suburu vehicles trying to get the Tappet Brothers to analyze the problem. The guys just chuckle a "knowing chuckle" as if to infer, "Yup! Another Suburu."

Suburu is living on their reputation. If you have a good one consider yourself lucky.

Faults:

Our car uses approx 1litre of oil every 4000 km.

General Comments:

This is our first near new car and we love it dearly, we don't think it should burn 1litre of oil every 4000klm and as it is still under new car warranty we hope that the dealer will see us right and fix the problem. (cylinder problems) We are very concerned that a lot of the factory seals will be broken fixing the problem and on going problems will accure from now on. will keep you posted.

Faults:

Accelerator cable - high RPM.

Transmission replaced.

Dash Rattle.

Two bad tires.

Erratic - jerky at 62-67 mph on slight hill.

Excessive play in drive line when letting off and re-applying accelerator.

Increase engine RPM when letting off accelerator in 2 gear going down hill.

General Comments:

Excessive number of repairs needed.

Service people polite, but not good at solving the problem the first time.

If you do not mind sitting in the waiting room and want to know the service manager on a first name basis, then this is the car for you.

Faults:

No particular problems at all.

However the engine and gearbox do not seem to match very well. Change downs are sudden at times. Change ups are variable - sometimes holding to 3500+ before changing 2 to 3 and 3 to 4 especially if you drive off uphill. Dealer says parameters, profiles and patterns in the box are OK. It doesn't seem right to me.

General Comments:

Car performs well, but for $55K you are paying a premium for the brand. This is their top of the range car and has very few features (eg. no sat nav). Radio/Stereo is poor.

The engine tends to be quirky when all the valve gear and technical stuff kicks in. Using cruise control is dangerous in hilly areas as it will kick down into 2 or 3 and just about blast into space. Big lag in kickdown on highway passing (a case of have I done the right thing when you've pulled out before everything kicks in). This may be a consequence of the electronic throttle. Best to slap it into sportshift and pull down a peg or two if you want to pass someone from say 70 or 80 clicks.

Unfortunately I'm comparing aspects of it to a Cressida which I had for 13 years. That car was seriously ahead of its time.

I've had the car for 18 months and can't say I'm in love with it. It was bought because the wife thought $85K for a Lexus RX330 was too much at the time - and of course now she has changed her opinion.

If Subaru made it a better behaved car and a smoother car then I might consider another one, but not at this point.