With either engine, Outback offers an attractive alternative to a bulkier, truck-based sport-utility. Even the powerful six-cylinder versions rate 20/26 mpg city/highway, and while that's not exactly economy-car territory, it's significantly better than the 15/20 mpg you can expect from even a mid-size SUV. Four-cylinder Outbacks deliver more than adequate performance, and get 22/27 mpg.

An Outback won't wring your wallet dry, and it it'll ride and handle much better than a truck. Yet it will give you a tall seating position, large cargo capacity, and foul-weather capability. In other words, the Outback will give you most of the positive attributes of an SUV. Unless you're genuinely interested in serious off-road adventure (and most SUV buyers are not), the Outback gives you everything you need. It works great on wet pavement, dirt roads, and on snow and ice. It's even fun to drive on dry pavement. And isn't that really where you drive most of the time?