On Friday, April 3, 2015 at 5:26:26 AM UTC+13, JS wrote:
The Subaru was great at everything except uphill starts.

I've never had a problem, but then my 2.5l 1997 Grandwagon (Outback) has a ten speed box. (the normal 5 speeds are in as near as dammit to 1 : 1.414 : 2 : 2.828 : 4 ratios, and the 2nd lever splits the gap by dropping the ratio by about 20%.

The most fun to drive without a trailer. Also best build quality. Initially concerned about the passive rear wheel steering, but not a problem at all.
HOWEVER...
Subarus are famous for head gasket problems. Mine blew gaskets twice. First time replaced heads, second the engine.

The 90's ones definitely had weak head gaskets from the factory. They *all* blow eventually. It's not all that expensive to change them (~$1k) if you do it before you damage something else. When buying used, just factor that into the price. It's the *only* real weakness in the car.

In my experience, once they're fixed (they use WRX gaskets here) they stay fixed.