I've owned a few Subaru's and my friends/family as well. Overall they are a great vehicle and have what many claim is the best AWD system on the market. They are not perfect though, many models/engine combinations are notorious for head gasket leaks. Everyone I know that has owned one into high mileage years has had to deal with the the head gasket failure ~120k miles. The last one went a year with constantly feeding and flushing coolant and oil before he moved on to another vehicle.
For me, the used '98 Forester manual I purchased as a short term junker for $500 was a tank. Drove that car for 4 years before selling it for double on craigslist. Just had to do oil, replace rotted brake lines, seized calipers, tires, and added a little transmission fluid when it sounded odd. Drifted off road a few times into snowy ditches but was able to get out by gunning it, incredible AWD.
The '14 Impreza hatch my wife drives now is pretty good, very stylish outside and within, but the CVT is comically weak. I did drive 40 miles through a pretty nasty blizzard with it though, didn't get stuck until I slowed down too much in my driveway and sank too far into snow. Thing is able to pass people going up icy hills, other SUV with snowtires and AWD struggle (drive it in Duluth MN hills). For maint, had to replace electrical switch because of recall, front body panels crack easily during winter driving conditions, wheel bearing failure, PCV valve leak, some other seal replaced because of oil leak dripping to exhaust manifold, A/C compressor leaking, and I currently have mystery oil pooling on my block. She is about 120k miles, no accidents, not driven hard.
You might consider the Crosstrek as it has a better suspension, tires, and higher ground clearance for a comparable price. The latest models have an option for more HP as well. Otherwise, if you enjoy driving manual, the WRX would be really fun.
This post was edited by RedFromWinter on Jan 2 2022 09:20am