2009 Subaru Impreza RS review - Long-term owner

Multimedia and safety technology: 8/10

Tech is old but simple, especially without the sat-nav head unit. The speakers are great and can be loud with the right inputs. Super safe with the AWD and 10 airbags. And the steering is perfectly weighted. Only thing I could say about the interior is that you can set the clock to a specific second.

Practicality: 9/10

Super practical, with loads of space given it is a hatchback. It can fit up to five adults (not so comfortably) or four adults (comfortably). The back seats fold completely flat, giving the spacious boot even more space. It's small so it's rather easy to park (the bonnet is a little long, so It takes a little to learn where the front of the car is). It has rear parking sensors which makes it super easy to reverse, and there are almost no blind spots. I have found that on this car they placed the rearview mirror very, very low, which causes a nice big blind spot in the middle of the windscreen. This car has nice big wing mirrors, which may be an eyesore at the start, but they help you see loads of the surroundings.

Driving: 10/10

The driving experience is awesome. When the automatic transmission wants to work, it's rather zippy, and the steering feel is great and perfectly weighted. The AWD system really helps to keep it on the road as well, especially during quick maneuvers. The car has plenty of power for overtaking at any speed, even at highway speeds, as well as plenty of power to get up to speed.

Running costs: 6/10

This car has horrible fuel efficiency. It may be because I don't do the longest trips, but I get from 12 to 14L/100km and get around 300km out of the 60L tank. Each fill is around 80 bucks on 91 and the car is recommended to run on higher octanes like 98, which would be even more expensive. Other than that, rego is rather cheap at $256 every three months, and I have full comprehensive insurance, which is around $250 a month, which may be way too much for this car. I wouldn't suggest getting full comprehensive. and the services arent the cheapest either. My last service was around $350, which was just a regular service without any big fixes.

Reliability: 10/10

This car has over 220,00km on it and it still runs a dream. I know the boxer engines have a bad rep, but this 2.0 DOHC boxer engine hasn't given me a single problem. Although finding info about the specific engines in the Impreza RS is hard as the engine they have is almost only found in the RS, which is not a worldwide car. But every day I wake up, get in and it always starts - hasn't stuttered once.