I had heard the liberal stereotypes about Subarus, especially the Outback, it being a Lesbaru, etc. and honestly, when I was car shopping this car wasn't on my radar. At all.
Then, one of my gun nut radical neighbors showed me his new Outback and the more I saw, the more I liked. It is very comfortable, lots of space, one of the top safety ratings, gets good mileage and has incredible AWD that was designed that way rather than an add-on option like other cars.
I went to check the dealer to check out what they had, but they are closed on Sundays!! Just like the local Chick-fil-As and for the same reasons. Very cool.
Long story shorter, I bought one and living with it is even better than I thought. I've taken my OB every place I've taken my 4WD Tacoma and a few places I didn't try with my truck. The AWD and ground clearance is amazing, plus makes it easy to get in and out of. No wonder people are so loyal to these cars. I'm just surprised it took me so long to figure it out.
My only experience with actually driving Subarus was one day at an autocross where I took a friend’s ‘04 WRX out for a fun run.
In short, it’s the anti-Miata: very fast in a straight line, but it does NOT like to turn!