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IT WAS a day of simple choices: watch the local football team lose its opening game; enjoy the unusual quiet of a home absolutely childless for the first time in 24 years; or, take a ride.

We chose the road and took the 1995 Subaru Legacy L AWD wagon for our conveyance. We could’ve taken an available Corvette or Cadillac. But our psyches were flattened by tuition payments. We were in an economy mood.

We headed for some back roads in Northern Virginia — favorite haunts in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. We were taken by the Legacy wagon’s roadability — its competence in tight curves, its sure-footedness on gravel-strewn passageways, its highway gumption. “Doesn’t feel like a wagon at all,” my spouse said; and I said “amen” to that.

We cruised for nearly four hours, choosing different routes at whim, putting the Legacy L AWD (all-wheel-drive) through its paces.

On the trip home, we picked up groceries, enough to fill the wagon’s cargo area — 36 cubic feet with the rear seat up. The silliness of that act didn’t hit us until we pulled into our driveway. The house was dark, which was never the case when the children were home. “All of those groceries,” my wife said. We looked at one another and laughed.

Background: The 1995 Subaru Legacy marks the second iteration of that car line, replete with wagons and sedans with all-wheel-drive and front-wheel-drive layouts. The Legacy has always been a good car, though it seldom has sold well in the United States — largely due to Subaru’s marketing.

For example, when the Legacy was introduced in America in 1989, Subaru attempted to pawn the car off as a kind of Acura Legend. Problem was, real Legend customers didn’t buy that ruse; and Subaru loyalists were turned off by the pretense.

The new Legacy isn’t pretending anything. It is what it is — a solidly built, exceptionally well-designed, versatile, practical car that rivals anything in the compact sedan or wagoncategories.

The 1995 Legacy wagon has a tad more interior space than its predecessor. Exterior styling is smoother and more rounded. The instrument panel is less Legend wannabe and more Subaru common sense, which means that it’s simple to read and more user-friendly.

There are dual-front air bags in the new car (It’s about time, Subaru!); and Subaru’s engineers say that the car’s side-impact protection system finally has been brought up to snuff — meaning that it meets 1997 federal standards.

All 1995 Legacy models are equipped with a 2.2-liter, 16-valve, horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine rated 135 horsepower at 5,400 rpm. Maximum torque is set at 140 pound-feet at 4,400 rpm.

The Legacy wagon is offered in several ways. Trim, or styling designations, include base, the tested L version, the more upscale LS and the spiffier-than-thou LSi. There’s also the Legacy Brighton wagon, which includes traction control and all-wheel-drive; and the Legacy Outback wagon, a sort of wagon as sport-utility vehicle.

A five-speed manual transmission is standard, and a four-speed automatic is available in most Legacy vehicles. Anti-lock brakes are optional on the L model, but are standard equipment on the LS and LSi.

Complaints: Discernible, but not terribly worrisome down-shifting in the tested automatic Legacy L AWD wagon; a confusing array of options and vehicle styles.

Praise: Excellent overall construction and roadability; ease of use; exceptional five-passenger comfort in a compact wagon.

Head-turning quotient: Pleasant, classic, very acceptable.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Excellent ride and handling. Acceleration marked by engine down-shifting; but when it gets moving, it moves! Braking was excellent. Standard brakes in the tested L AWD wagon include power, ventilated front discs/solid rear discs. The test model was equipped with optional anti-locks.

Sound system: Optional four-speaker AM/FM stereo radio, cassette and compact disc, installed by Subaru. Some vibration from speaker in right door. Otherwise okay.

Mileage: About 25 to the gallon (15.9-gallon tank, estimated 385-mile range on usable volume of regular unleaded gasoline), running mostly highway and back roads with two occupants and a load of groceries.

Price: Base price on the tested Legacy L AWD wagon is $18,755. Dealer’s invoice is $16,778. Price as tested is $19,700, including $500 in options and a $445 destination charge.

Purse-strings note: A solid value. Compare with wagons: Honda Accord, Saturn, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable.