Seeking Fun-AWD car & Take it to Ski trips.

I would take thr 4-xylinder/CVT transmission up your favorite pass as the engine in the 2.5l is not the most powerful and putting it on a couple of mile climb to go skiing with a co I please of people loaded might not be the nicest sounding. The 3.6l is much more expensive at $28,000 on cars.com and is one of the lowest outputs in the segment.

For mountain climbing I like the low rpm turbocharged torque and super efficent when on the highway. Look at the better rear leg room in the Ford Fusion 2.0T AWD or thr better warranty of the Regal 2.0T AWD for similar price or less.

I would go with the Limited with the 4 cylinder. 2018 brought some updates. The Limited is a higher trim than the Sport and the 6 cylinder is not the most efficient or refined engine. There are much better midsize sedan options available, but just not with AWD. That is where cross

Subarus usually have had head gasket failures. As far as I know, the new ones don't have these problems. You will still have a more reliable car if you go for a Mazda CX-5 or Toyota RAV4. There are not a lot of AWD sedans, so you may want a good-handling compact crossover.

The 2017-18 Mazda CX-5 is my first choice because it is available with AWD and is much more fun than a Subaru. It handles like a small car, has a decent amount of space compared to a sedan, and is beautiful and reliable. You could get a 2018 CX-5 Touring in your budget or a Grand Touring after you negotiate down a grand. It handles better than the Subaru and RAV4. You could get a 2017 Grand Touring heavily negotiated since they will be trying to get them off the lot. Smooth, quiet ride and fuel economy is pretty good. It gets the same city MPG as the Legacy and just a little less on the highway, but you have more interior room.

The Toyota RAV4 is the most reliable. It is a boring car, but it is more spacious and utilitarian than the Mazda. Also available in AWD. It has all safety features standard in every trim. It doesn't handle as well as the Mazda or Subaru. Still a good car, but not great if you want something really fun.

Be careful with the Ford Fusion because people have been having constantly dead 12V batteries, not because of wear and tear. I'd get the new Buick Regal Sportback AWD over the Legacy since they probably have tons of incentives.

Good luck and tell us what you buy!

For what it's worth, people have reported fewer problems with H6 Subarus than with H4 Subarus. The latter was somewhat prone to head gasket failures through 2009 or so and oil consumption issues starting with the 2013 (and possibly finishing with the 2014 or 2015).

While not blazing fast, the H6 is significantly quicker than the H4. Drive both if you haven't already to see if the H6 makes much of a difference for you.

In the past Subarus have tended to be reliable for about the first 100,000 miles, then have cost quite a bit to keep up. It's too soon to say how the latest ones will do after 100,000 miles. But are you likely to keep it that long?

A Subie is a a great choice for your skiing car! Although there have been a few reliablity issues with the brand, overall, it is considered a reliable car with top notch customer retention and satifaction rate. Also known to be one of the top cars to be on the road after 15 years. If they were manifestly unreliable that sort of "Subaru Love" couldn't exist.

I have had 3 Subarus (2004 Forester, 2010 & 2015 Outbacks, all H4s) and not had any significant issue with any of them. My oil change interval has been 6K while under warranty & 10K after and none of them ever need to have oil top off. That said, I'm a member of "Car Buyers Anonymous" so I have sold all mine before 80,000 miles -- not because they had problems but because I wanted the features of newer models.

I'm not sure how the roads are where you ski, but roads to some ski areas get rutted and can present ground clearance challenges. Same with ski area parking lots.

Likely you have already considered this, but if not I'd suggest being sure you will have enough clearance with the sedan model. The Legacy has 5.9" where as its wagon stable mate, the Outback, has 8.7".

Congratulations! I hope you like your car. Those safety features you got are really helpful and will significantly increase resale value in the future.

Congrats & thanks for letting us know what you choose. After a few weeks with Eye Sight and the other safety features you gonna love 'em!