The car is great, smooth, and reliable. I live in the northeast so subaru?s are awesome cars in the winter and as a daily driver. Nothing better than a car that?s comfortable, reliable, and has performance. By no means at the level of a Mercedes or BMW, but not too shabby.

The 2004 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT (Gen 3) is a sensibly sized, well-designed, good handling and good performing all wheel drive sedan. I previously owned a 1996 Legacy 2.5 GT (Gen 2) that seemed a bit more agile, edgy and sporty than the 2004 version. Although the 2004 has more horsepower and torque, the 1996 had the twin overhead cam engine with a 6500rpm redline (vs 6200rpm) which made for better sounds higher in the rev range than the single overhead cam heads on the 2004. Overall, the 2004 feels more refined, structurally sound, roomier and quieter. The heated leather seats, side air-bags, in-dash CD-changer, 6 speakers plus rear shelf subwoofer, moonroof and SportShift auto trans is a step up in entertainment, luxury and safety from the cloth seats, 4 speakers and cassette deck in the earlier model. This car has 175,000 miles and still feels tight. But that is to be expected with a Subaru, considering my 2003 Baja has 415,000 miles and still looks great and is running strong, especially considering it has weathered through 15 sloppy, salty, beat up road Wisconsin winters. I'm hoping to sample a Gen 4 Legacy Outback 3.0 R someday as that has higher ground clearance for winter snowstorms and the more powerful flat-6 engine for enhanced driving excitement.

Bought it new. 14 years of faithful service should say it all. Here in upstate NY boonies, it loves snow like my Huskies. Just bought 4 new snow tires, so plan on keeping it. I take care of it and it reciprocates nicely. Since I start work at 6am, it's a toss-up whether Subaru or the xxxxxxhit the Highway first.