Unique, affordable, with legendary reliability.
In terms of low-cost, reliable, all wheel drive cars, Subaru corners the market, and has for 25+ years. The 2.2 liter Subarus in particular, are some of the toughest, most durable cars built in the 1990s. The 1995-2001 2.2 liter Imprezas represent the best of the Impreza line. Noticeably more powerful than the 1.8 liter models, they were "premium" small cars in their segment. Unique in this class of cars is the available AWD (standard starting in 1997), which helps tremendously in going through snow or rural roads/mud. Also unique is a 1500 pound towing rating. This means you can use a small trailer when needed and not have to own a truck. The downside of these cars is rattly windows when they are part way down, noisy highway cruising, and body and subframe rust. Also, the manual transmission synchronizers are JUNK! Still, if you have hills and snow/mud to contend with, a 30 MPG (highway) AWD Impreza is a good choice!
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