My DD is a 2006 Outback XT with automatic transmission. I bought it six years ago on a fly-and-drive with about 87K miles on it and now have about 130K. It's been very reliable for us. It gets only about 19 MPG. Everything has held up well on it. The dash is starting to cloud a little bit but it wipes off (this was a recall issue that is now closed, I think). I regret daily not buying a manual transmission but SWMBO, well, MBO. Rear-facing car seats eat up all the front seat legroom. Our 2009 Sonata seems to swallow more luggage and have more legroom in front of rear-facing carseats. Both my wife and I find the front seats to be uncomfortable after an hour. Stereo is great for my needs, power is more than adequate, interior is nice. I love having the winter package in the snow. It has no rust but only the last two winters has it seen salt. Automatic transmission calibration is poor and the torque converter is open most of the time in the lower gears I think, and I think this is part of the poor mileage.
It handles pretty well, goes pretty well, and has held up pretty well. It's not a great road-trip car due to gas mileage and seats but it's been a great DD and I love it every time I drive it, even after six years.
It is the nicest car I've ever owned and was the most I've ever paid for a car, including my race cars, so take that into account. But I worked in the industry and drove a ton of stuff so I think my experience is pretty broad.
