Subaru’s

only had one subaru i liked, one of the old dual range models from the '80s modified for trail riding/hill climbs.

had two others, a '98 and '04, both legacy wagons, both totally unreliable junk.

 

they both came from norms on rte1 in wiscasset, both had fresh timing belts/head gaskets when they came home. i really couldn't say what happened with them. the '04 is still on the road but only barely, it probably leaks 2qts of oil between oil changes. i also absolutely hate the automatic transmissions subaru used in those two generations i've owned, they never know what gear they wanna be in.

edit - oh yeah, my neighbor wrecked your car's twin this winter, don't know how it could've happened other than he was just going too fast. i've driven a crosstrek, at least those CVT transmissions can't get mixed up between gears lol.

 

to hell with that lol i guess i don't trust machines enough yet.

my neighbor was thrilled, it happened about a month before his new tesla was ready for delivery, we joke that it was jewish lightning. he missed a telephone pole by less than a foot, down into the ditch and then came to rest on top of a stone wall.

 

to be honest i don't like the way technology is advancing so quickly in that direction.

as a driving enthusiast, i'm scared the day will come that self-driving cars will be mandatory.

 

My first car was a subaru svx that I had for years. designed in italy by giugiaro with japanese engineering. this is the only production car I know of that was actually the same as the concept car.

that car was so unique and so fun, I loved it despite it's minor design flaws.

 

the model is SVX (Subaru Vehicle X), only one generation. i renovated a house in bath for a woman who owned one.

four speed automatic only as at the time subaru didn't manufacture a manual capable of handling the "power" of the 3.3L lol, FWD only variant available for one or two years. basically a six cylinder ej22, bringing displacement up to 3.3L.

edit - oh yeah, and the designer of the side windows must've been pretty high on the autism spectrum.

 

technically, it's the second generation of the subaru alcyone coupe. that flat 6 is an amazing engine, very overengineered with a non interference design like an aircraft engine. they under-rated the horsepower figures from the factory to comply with japanese market regulations, some svx's had well over 300 hp from the factory. the engine is absolutely bulletproof, but hard to find a skilled mechanic. The low end torque made it surprising quick off the line at city speeds, and because it has a linear torque curve, it pulls hard at any point in the rpm range. The acceleration from 40-90 was insane.
It's a total concept car, built for a record setting low coefficient of drag, and amazing high speed stability and endurance at the expense of everything else. I took mine over 160 mph in the California desert and it was steady as a rock. The sensation of driving without the rolling resistance of aerodynamic drag is a totally different experience than other performance cars.
The major design flaws were weight (over 4000 pounds, just like a 60's chrysler), weight distribution, totally inadequate ABS and disc brakes from a 92 impreza. The engineering for the proposed 4 wheel steering was never completed, so the awd differential and electronic torque vectoring systems are fundamentally flawed. between the weight, poor weight distribution, and running out of money for the active steering and active torque split systems, the awd system is a total compromise. it can only send a maximum of %25 power to the rear wheels in moments when slip is detected. this works great in ideal circumstances, but terribly in an evasive maneuver or panic stop. So not a great car for traditional subaru handling and performance, but perfect for highway cruising and straight line speed.
I never had any trouble with the automatic transmission, but I had my transmission control unit tuned. it was easy to control up and down shifts with careful throttle control. @docleary don't knock the crazy windows until you've driven one, there's no wind noise whatsoever and no matter what the weather conditions, you'll never feel any instability from a strong crosswind. you can drive with the windows down without getting buffeted by the difference in air pressure while driving at highway speeds. You can even drive in the rain with the windows down without getting wet. trust me, it's highly entertaining. plus, people mistake it for a lamborghini diablo which is fun.

 

I totally agree with this, even the traction control and active torque split on the svx was way too much interference.

 

We had one once and it was crap. The distributor cap kept crapping out resulting in damage to the catalytic converter. Something like that.

It was good in the snow though.

 

now I have a Saab 9-2x, but I promise I'm not derailing the thread, because it's actually a Subaru WRX with european styling and tuning. It has the classic 50/50 all mechanical 4 wheel drive with a unique posi traction rear end and the steering rack from the WRX STI. I slightly prefer the styling of the saab, only the doors and rear quarter panels are shared with the WRX. With the exception of ABS, this car is all mechanical with no traction control or other electronic assistance. The handling is amazing. This quick accurate steering rack has totally spoiled me.

 

Ours was older and probably a lemon. We know another that still has the exact same as we did and it’s without problems. Glad yours is working out. We’ve switched to Nissan and Toyota. So far so good touch wood.