We have a Subaru Outback and our son has the smaller (eg similar in size to a Ford Focus hatchback) Subaru XV Crosstrek (he used to have the older model Outback...had it for 7 years, totally reliable and never had a problem with it, other than a silly young woman going into the back of his car when she was too busy texting).

We are in the north east (20 miles west of New York City) and the winters can be brutal (as they can be in Washington DC too, I don’t know where you will be moving to in relation to DC?). After a very nasty storm earlier this year and we had no power for four nights/five days and no snow ploughs for a couple of days due to downed live power lines in our neighbourhood, our Subarus were brilliant on the road and getting up hills (we knew which roads were passable even when a few hundred yards from our house one end of our street was impassable). I saw other cars without AWD unable to cope and had to be towed up the local small hills. I love our Outback....very roomy inside, we got the largest 3.6 engine and it pulls away like a dream. Sometimes rather than attach the bike hitch to the car, I just turn down the seats and throw my bicycle in the back. Servicing is inexpensive (especially compared to the Volvo XC90 we used to have, now that car was a money pit once it was out of warranty). As already mentioned, these Subarus hold their value well and quite sought after in the second hand market, although it’s common for people to keep them for a decade or longer.

Will you be planning to go to any ski resorts in your car eg. The Poconos in PA or upstate New York, Vermont etc? You would feel more comfortable in the knowledge that you have an AWD car, it’s not really worth buying special snow tyres unless you live up in the mountains.

Subaru often has a promotion for 0% interest free finance for 4 years (which we took advantage of nearly two years ago and some friends have just bought their new Outback on finance. I doubt you could take advantage though without a US credit rating, but it may be worth checking out via the dealer....print off your UK credit history reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion (formerly CallCredit), bank statements and if will or you have transferred to the US on an L1 visa, your offer letter and social security number....you may need to speak to a few finance managers but you never know, a deal may be possible but don’t count on it.

Beware.....in some States you can’t purchase a car (from a car dealer/garage forecourt) until you have a US driving license (you can’t here in New Jersey, a UK license just won’t do.

Which model Legacy are you interested in, the saloon/sedan or estate/station wagon (although I think they don’t do the Legacy these days as an estate car and just have the Outback instead, although a few years ago you had the choice of Legacy and Outback station wagons,

My other friends lease two Subaru Foresters (smaller cargo space than an Outback but higher seating position) and they are on their second set of leases as they love their cars too.

The Toyota Sienna was on the national TV news a few days ago (Friday?) stating that it has failed the crash safety tests in a front collision crash.

Mrs L had a Legacy for 7 years. It was a very nice car, only in workshop for routine service. The only reason we traded it in was because she needed something a bit bigger because she was involved in disaster response and was carrying lots of gear around. When we traded it in it had held its value very well.

All three are decent cars IMO. I have an Outback and often have the other two as rentals. If you want AWD, the Subaru is hard to beat at the price point because it has an active AWD system. Certainly mine performs better in snow than anything I’ve had before.

Most cars that are not of a new design fail that test. The front collision standards were changed about a year ago and just about all cars designed before the change fail the test. Doesn’t mean they are not safe, just that they not able to meet the very latest standard.

Yeah, if you drive an active AWD car (Subaru, Audi, etc) hard even on dry roads, you’ll always be slightly disturbed by a 2WD or passive/reactive AWD. I used to have a CRV, and while it handled better than 2WD vehicles, it could never hold a candle to Subaru.

if you want AWD, get the Subaru. If you don’t, the Fusion (while you can still get them) is a nice car. You may be able to get a Sonata cheaper but IME, there is a very wide range between top and bottom trim levels, so keep that in mind. Hyundai might have a ‘reputation’ but I know several who feel they’ve had very good value out of that brand.

I should add that the downside to the Subaru AWD is that the other two will probably give you better gas mileage, and that some Subarus start burning up engine oil after some time.