I used to hunt out of a 77 Corolla 2door. It was all I had when I was in college. Rear wheel drive, 1200cc engine with a 4speed standard. Worst thing about it was the engine noise, at highway speeds, it was a constant waaaa.
It sat surprisingly high and was fun to drive on old backwoods dirt roads. We didn't seem to carry as much gear so it all fit. We pass shot or jump shot ducks as we had no decoys. We hunted deer and there wasn't much snow most falls in the 80s.
One cautionary tale. I shot my first buck deer on Remembrance day 1989. I was going to school in Lethbridge and had drawn a buck tag in 102, one of 3 zones they experimented with draws for mule deer bucks. (It worked, mule deer bucks grew bigger with less pressure). November 10th there had been no snow, but on the 11th, I woke up to a heavy snow storm. I headed south towards Milk River taking my time as the plows were not out yet. There was some performance issues, so I bought some gas line antifreeze at the gas station in Milk River. By Writing on Stone, the car was not doing well. It was dragging a lot of snow that was stuck to it. I drove into the park as there was a pay phone there if I needed it. Across the river, near the sandstone rimrock, I spotted a big old heavy NT mule deer buck following a doe, his nose up her butt. Great to see. I kicked some snow off the undercarriage and let the heat of the idling car melt more off. After about a half hour, the car seemed like it was getting a regular supply of gas.
On the road again. A friend had spotted a 4x4 buck when we drove past on a field trip the week before. Sure enough, he was in the same spot with a bunch of does. I got permission from the farmer and walked in. I managed to get him even after firing a warning shot. A skinny 24" wide 4x4. I was very pleased. I drove around to the nearest access point and was able to get right up beside the buck by driving very carefully to avoid rocks etc.
I couldn't lift the buck after gutting, so I cut it in two. The unskinned hind quarters in a garbage bag on the back seat, the rest of the deer it managed to fit into the trunk.
I drove home to Calgary as I had no place to hang it in Lethbridge. I probably loaded it around 11 or 12, got home at about 8pm. Parents were out somewhere. I could get the hind quarters hung and skinned, but the front half of the deer had serious rigor mortis and it would not come out of the trunk. i called a friend and together we got it out without cutting it up.
So moral of that story, the car worked. If a deer barely fits in a tight space, cut it smaller so it fits easily.
I last looked at Subarus in 2009. I really liked the Forested. It fit me nicer than the Outback and was cheaper. I could see myself hunting coyotes out if a Forested. Great AWD system.
Be careful which model you buy. If you get the turbo, at least in 2009, you had to feed it premium fuel or void the warranty.
A Subaru will work for you if you want it to. I tend to sometimes have 3-5 people with me so the F150 Supercrew works best. Seems a waste the rest of the year, but it is paid for and I love driving it.
Give the Subaru a try.
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