Outback stands up front

2010 Subaru Outback

Ahh, my favorite class of cars – family cars.

It’s no secret that I have a thing for station wagons.

I don’t care if it makes me square or dorky.

I care about getting all my stuff and family in a car that offers safe and comfortable transportation.

And that point is never driven home more than after a week in a two-seater sports car – pretty to look at, not so pretty trying to figure out how to get the family somewhere when we don’t all fit in the car.

The Subaru Outback was a welcome sight in my driveway when it was delivered.

I’ve always been an admirer of the Outback, and the all new 2010 model doesn’t disappoint.

Subaru has given the Outback a new silhouette, more space and more features.

The Outback is noticably bigger. It was dark when it arrived at my house, and at first I didn’t recognize it.

There’s an extra four inches in legroom inside, and it’s taller off the ground now (8.7 inches).

The boxy compact look of past Outbacks is gone. The Outback looks like it got a conditioning coach and has put on some muscles.

Despite its increased dimensions, the Outback has gained little weight thanks to the added use of lightweight, high-tensile steel. This makes life easier for the four- and six-cylinder “boxer” engines.

The model I test drove had the 2.5 liter 4-cylinder powerbox offering up 170 horsepower. It was mated to an awesome six-speed manual transmission that made driving the Outback really fun.

Mileage was a little on the light side, with 24 mpg for the week I drove it. It’s rated at 19/27 mpg.

For many, the attraction to the Outback is the AWD feature. Popular in mountainous regions of the U.S., the Ouback continues to excel in offering AWD on all models.

If I’d had $27,780, I would have given the car guy a check when he came back to get the Outback after a week, instead of giving the car back.

Base price for the Outback 2.5i Premium is $24,595. That’s a little less than what you’d pay for a comparable Toyota Venza or Volvo V50.