Faults:

The car was delivered with a defective battery.

Paint quality seems to be an issue, as bird poop left on the car for 2 days eroded the clear coat on two spots on the trunk.

General Comments:

I noticed that there are no reviews of the current model Subaru, so I figured I would share my experience with mine.

In July 2011, I was in the market to replace my Subaru Outback 3.0R, which had major electrical problems. I wanted to purchase a car that had a comprehensive list of options. Other cars I looked at were a 2011 Audi A4 and a 2011 Volvo S60 T6.

I choose the Subaru over the Audi and Volvo, because the maintenance costs and purchasing price was significantly less.

Dealer Experience:

After I made the decision to purchase the car, I went down to the dealer to fill out the paperwork (which included a credit application). Their administrative staff was so effective that I had the keys to my new car within a half hour of stepping into the dealer.

So far, I have done all maintenance at the dealership. Their service department does an excellent job of listening to my questions. At $125.00 an hour, I felt that their staff was doing everything they could to keep my business.

Exterior:

My car is a graphite gray, which looks great when clean, but I later found out it's almost impossible to keep looking clean. Weekly washing is required. The 3.6R has dual chrome tipped exhaust, which is a nice feature. The rim's are nothing special, and the rear end reminds me of prior model Hyundai Sonata's.

Interior:

I have the limited trim with the navigation, so the interior looks beautiful and upscale (to the eyes). Unfortunately, the interior quality is not up to par with prior years model. Soft, expensive plastics were replaced with cheaper hard plastics.

The new Legacy body provides ample space in the front and back. I would say space is not comparable to a Honda Accord, while prior years model was similar to a Audi.

The navigation system is touch screen, but the look and feel, along with the speech recognition is outdated.

The 440 watt Harmon Kardon audio system is acceptable for a top trim sedan, but the 10 inch sub woofer provides lackluster performance.

Something to be noted: After 15,000, no interior buttons or trim pieces have broken.

Performance:

The 256 horsepower Boxer engine provides decent performance from a stand still. I pegged the 0-60 times at around 6.8 seconds. This car really shines at highway passing speeds. The car seems to have a lot of power between 60 and 80.

The all wheel drive keeps the car planted during aggressive driving. I have not had much chance to test in the snow (we had no major storms here in MA).

Fuel Economy:

I have been averaging 21.9 MPG over the last 5,000 miles (80% highway), which is right in between the 18-25 MPG listed.

Reliability:

So far, I have only had a bad battery. There have also been two safety recalls; one for the wind shield wiper, and the other for the sun roof glass.

I think it is too early for me to judge the long term reliability of the car, but I would guess it is somewhere between what you could expect from an Accord and a Ford Fusion.

Conclusion:

So far, I am very happy with my car.