The Essentials

• Price from £26,900
• What Car? says:
• Fuel economy: up to 49.6mpg
• What is it? The Subaru Legacy is a roomy, well equipped, four-wheel drive estate, but it's dated and pricey.

• Drive

  Comfy, if a little wallowy through corners. Four-wheel drive will keep you feeling safe in sticky conditions

• Inside

  We love the standard electric driver's seat adjustment but some of the stylish silver switches can be tricky to decipher

• Safety

  Plenty on board to keep you and your precious car safe and sound

• Reliability

  Subaru is a brand with a fantastic and long-held reliability record

• Space

  There's masses of space for passengers inside and their luggage/dogs/hay bales in the boot

• Standard and extras

  You won't have to lift a finger - standard kit includes everything from automatic headlights and wipers to Bluetooth connectivity

• What's it like to drive?

  There's a simple choice of engines: a diesel with a manual gearbox, or petrol with an automatic. The flexibility and pulling power of the diesel make it our winner. Add the grip from the four-wheel-drive system and you'll make short work of icy driveways or muddy gateways. The ride is comfortable but take things easy on twisty routes ? the body lean might make the Labrador feel queasy.

• What's it like inside?

  Subaru, with this luxury interior you're really spoiling us. Everything from dual-zone climate-control to an electrically adjustable driver's seat is fitted as standard ? so no excuses for not getting comfortable. Automatic lights and wipers, Bluetooth connectivity and a sunroof are also standard. There's no shortage of space either with plenty of head and legroom, and a big boot that expands with the seats folded completely flat to an impressive 1677 litres.

• How reliable is it?

  It shouldn't: the previous Legacy was the top-performing family car in What Car?'s 2012 reliability survey, while Subaru was ranked 5th overall. As for safety, every model has six airbags and stability control fitted and the Legacy scored the maximum five stars in Euro NCAP crash tests. Its score of 79% for adult protection and 73% for child protection is no match for that of a Toyota Avensis (90%/86%) and quite as impressive for children as a Mazda 6 (77%/81%).

• Should I buy one?

  There are cheaper family estates which are more economical to run, and which will hold their value better, so the Legacy doesn't make a very convincing buy. However, if you're one of its devoted following you will at least enjoy lots of luxury goodies and have plenty of room to play with.