I think the Subaru cars are well-made. Problem is that around Boulder, CO I think they come with 0bama bumper stickers pre installed. I would not be able to convince my wife to ride in it. An old 1997 4Runner works fine for hauling dogs or firewood. My wife does not bounce off the ceiling if it gets dirty inside.
I got a MB C300 today. It had been a demo car and has 2,500 miles on it. But it has the premium package with really nice AMG instruments and pretty much all options. The dealerships are dumping the 2013 models, especially the demo models since the 2014 models are coming in. It is a “Certified” MB car and has the warranty bumped up from 5 year 50K mi warranty to a 6 year (from 6 months ago) and 100K mi warranty. And I got $8K knocked off MSRP making it less expensive than the mid-grade 2013 4Runners I had been looking at. It has almost half the horsepower of the Audi S6 I just got, but I think it is good for a long didtance commuter car.
I also congratulate you on having married well and I understand her reaction.
It's a surprisingly capable, comfortable, all-weather machine that has definitely figured out snow and ice, and should be as common as any pickup truck in a lot of the country.
So, it's too bad the Subaru Outback especially, along with some of their other cars, suffers from a certain segment of the population's loyalty, but it is what it is.
And it, in no way, handles as nicely or with that Euro feel like your C300. Enjoy!
I ordered a 2014 Corvette convertible.....3lt in blue....just got notified the build started and got my VIN number