I bought the 06 Subaru when I moved to new England. I was told to buy an all wheel drive car for snow. At the time there were not many options for all wheel drive. The car performs excellent in the snow, and the rain. It doesn't get the greatest gas mileage (23 city, 28 highway) compared to what I am used to, but it is better than most trucks that age. It is a wagon, so I do have plenty of room to haul stuff, especially weekend projects and hardware store runs.

The car was a emergency purchase as I drive 80 miles each day to work and back and my 05 CRV had just gave its last gasp @230k miles. The color is absolutely hideous, it is supposed to be some type of champagne but it looks either gold or light green depending on the distance from which it is viewed. It drives fairly well and the all wheel drive will be a boon in the New England winter. The roof rack whistles on the highway. I've had to replace the battery within 2 months of purchase but came to find that it was 10 years old and no longer taking a charge. One of the calipers was locked up and the right rear wheel bearing failed. That being said those problems aren't entirely unexpected for its age.