From emit-rtl.c: /* ??? x86 sse code makes heavy use of *paradoxical* vector subregs, i.e. (subreg:V4SF (reg:SF) 0). This surely isn't the cleanest way to represent this. It's questionable if this ought to be represented at all -- why can't this all be hidden in post-reload splitters that make arbitrarily mode changes to the registers themselves. */
Confirmed.