We have two, our second and third. Our first was my wife's 2007 Outback, which did well except for a couple of things. The few times I drove it, I found it cramped for my legs, and uncomfortable to drive for long periods (such as here to Woodland CA to visit RottsOfFriends*). It had the older engine design, and just over 100K it got to the point it was going to need the head gasket problem addressed. It also only had the 5speed manual, and its legs were too short for highway driving IMHO. (Out here, 70+ is typical.) Given the head gasket issue and some other work needs, it was going to need enough work to cover roughly 4 months of payments on a new car. Given her weekly drive from her workplace and the house there to this house, and her bad back and aging dog, that seemed an easy decision.
I was impressed even as a passenger with how stable my wife's car felt in the snow, and bought my 2011 Legacy in February of that year. Roomier (I asked a taller cop I met at a class about he liked it for room, and he was all about it.) 6 speed manual - while first it a bit too talk for my preferences (old truck driver habit, I like to start by easing out the clutch with no gas), the longer legs really helped on the highway. Mine was about 900 rpm lower at highway speed, and I got a good 6 MPG better than my wife's car; usually more. I had a cooling fan die on a trip (with a dog, in the summer, so the car had to be on for the A/C when parked). That was a problem, as the closest dealer I got to did not have a replacement, but they were able to cobble up a temporary fix that got me by until I hit Champaign and had it replaced. At about 150K, I had to have the clutch replaced. Other than that, no real maintenance issues, and it is over 154K now, with no indication of needing other than regular maintenance.
My wife went with a 2018 Forester, nicely equipped (which forced us to have a sunroof, and I hate those). Mileage was poor initially, until we took another trip to RottsOfFriends (700 miles, 12 hours, each way, in 2 days). It did very well, and the mileage went up a lot during and after the trip. It had enough room for a Rott sized crate, which was a useful thing while introducing Ted to his new sister Ruby.
Impreza/CrossTrek: these are smaller and cheaper, more like starter cars. Still adequately reliable, and decent in the slop from what I am told. When trade time comes, I might do that, with the goal of renting something bigger for trips. I might get another Legacy. Overall, we have been happy with them. The dealers we have used have lifetime oil change plans, which are cheap compared to the miles we drive - on my Legacy, it went through a change a month during my busiest commute period (62 miles each way to work for 3 years). Subarus will not be perfect for every purchaser, but have been good for us. One of the ways in which they have been really great is that although most of Washington does not get significant snow (6-9" inches overnight is not a storm, you ninnies, it is flurries)**, the road plowing is utterly abysmal. In the 25+ years we have been here, I have not seen anything that is big enough to be considered a plow - they are little toys. There have been several times when the capability of the cars has kept us from being stranded a a result of the poor plowing (close an Interstate? Really? And still have a job? Oh FFS.).
*Dog rescue in Woodland, mostly Rotts, some other hard to place dogs. Renee is a tough, no BS lady, but really savvy. We have adopted two dogs from her, and even with all the baggage of adult rescues, they are good dogs. Someone needs to go adopt Rhino (RottXBoerboel, kinda ugly with his bumpy head, but a really good boy other than with other dogs) and Keeva (sweet pitty girl who managed to anger Ted; very muscular and LOVES people).
** I grew up .5 mile from where the Genesee River runs into Lake Ontario. I've seen 40" in 24 hours - which closed the schools for two days. The wimp mindset here is galling.
