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BRZinPA the cricket chirping is normal and comes and goes with gas quality. It's only noticeable / annoying if you're in a drive thru and can hear it echoing against the wall. Really fuel injection noise is normal on new cars, I can hear other cars more than mine when I'm in traffic; like newer Hondas and Toyotas make louder valvetrain noise than these.
I think these cars run with few problems for most owners. I did the valvespring recall at the Subaru dealership last spring and my car is running well, 9000 miles later. I had issues with clutch throw out bearings burning up, but a revised part has remedied shifting issues. My car is at 115,000 miles. I've heard that some A/T owners can have some issues with their units. And the wheel studs were kinda weak, good to upgrade them or at least always keep some spares on hand when removing wheels.
As for warming up in cold, I think it's prudent to have a warm up procedure. If you can manage an engine block heater, go for it. On cold days, these cars will start up really loudly and warm up the catalytic converters for a long time. I like to start up, let the cats warm up, then I take a trip around the neighborhood, shifting through all the normal gears and getting the morning rust off the brakes, just getting some heat into everything before entering traffic.