My husband and I have a Subaru, 2006. Love it. Drive through Utah mountains and western Colorado, up from Los Angeles, and we never have spit of trouble in the snow. Hit a deer and lived to tell. I can carry my dog, garden stuff, concert gear like speakers and so forth.
I have 239000 on my 95 Legacy Wagon. I got my wife a 2010 Forester. I used them to haul my guns until that tragic boating accident. They are great in the snow.
Apparently Outbacks do well in collisions with deer. We hit one while driving home from California last year in my mom’s ‘15 Outback. All it did was make a couple small cracks in the grille and dislocate the lower bumper slightly, which popped right back into place. When they took it in to the dealer to have it inspected, the guy couldn’t even find the cracks!
I drive one myself. ‘99 Outback Legacy with a stick-shift. Great car.