Subaru Legacy, Mazda 6, or Toyota Camry? Opinions, please

Have you checked the Subaru Crosstrek? I had a '98 Outback (Back then it was "Legacy Outback") and adored it. Ice, snow, no problem. But now the Outback is a huge vehicle. The Crosstrek looks to be in the same size/height that my old Outback was, so lots of snow clearance without driving a monster car.

Full disclosure: I'm a member of the cult of Subaru. However, I also live in Pittsburgh, and feel you 110% on our needs with hills and winter weather. My "oh god our previous mayor has skipped town during the worst snowstorm of the century" car is our Forrester. But my everyday (save for maybe 10 days this winter, tops, and I leave for work before a lot of roads are cleared) car is our Legacy. I just wrote the check to pay it off, so it's probably 5 years old or so, but honestly, I don't see trading either car until they die. (The Forrester has over 100,000 miles on it and the Legacy over 50,000 - we road trip often.) So most of what I can address are winter weather issues (yes, with good snow tires, I'm comfortable living in Mt. Washington and commuting off of it), size, and comfort. We've comfortably fit three adults in the backseat, and I'm about your height, so with the seat pulled almost all of the way up, there is AMPLE room in the back for someone behind me. Plus some. The trunk is enormous (tip, the guys at Bowser aren't amused when you make jokes about hiding bodies in a trunk as big as the Legacy, especially if you also ask about stain proofing...) Our previous sedan was a Civic, and I feel like the Legacy is a step up in size, but also in comfort. I'm not a small woman, and I feel like the Legacy fits me better. Also, save for having the headlights burn out more often than I might like (I always run my lights), and regular oil changes, we haven't had much need to have it worked on either. Feel free to ping me if you have specific questions.

I know hybrid cars at least sometimes used to not have as much trunk space- is this true of the Camry hybrid? According to the manufacturers' specs, the current-generation non-hybrid models you're considering all have about 15 cubic feet of trunk space. (The Camry has the most with 15.4 cu. ft.) The Camry Hybrid has 13.1 cubic feet of trunk space, almost the same as a 2004 Civic 4-door sedan (12.9 cubic feet).

Oh, and addressing something librarianamy said with the headlights -- the Legacy (at least mine, and probably hers based on the year) use H7 bulbs for the lights. These bulbs just plain go after ~11 months. My boss has a BMW 3 series which uses H7s and has the same issue. I just watch the Amazon goldbox and pick up 4 or 5 pair whenever they go on sale. They're really easy to swap out yourself.

Hi! I live in Pittsburgh (south hills) and commute to Fox Chapel for work. I have an 05 Legacy. I have a 4 year old and a 2 year old. You would be very, very, very hard pressed to get me to purchase anything other than another Legacy for my next car. Fitting an adult in the back with the two car seats is tight but doable, depending on how wide your hips are. I think you're going to run into this problem with ALL of your choices though -- I can barely fit my hips between the car seats in my wife's Mazda CX-9 SUV. I am a relatively slim man. This problem is going to be worse with the full size booster seats than the two rear-facing car seats, surprisingly -- I fit tightly between the rear facing, I do not fit between the front facing. The AWD on the Subaru is fantastic. I have only ever fishtailed it twice, and both times I was driving like an ass. Both times it corrected just fine. The autostick feature is really great for the snow -- you can start from 2nd gear at a stop to reduce torque and spin, and utilize engine breaking for more gentle stops without risking wheel lock. My legacy is also really easy to work on. I will happily admit that quality tires are WAY more important than AWD for getting around in the winter (and I know -- I spent four years commuting from the south to the north in a Mustang). Do not underestimate this, regardless of your purchase. As stated, in another 5-10 years when I finally kill my Subaru, it's probably going to be another Legacy for me.

The Mazda5 minivan is actually 10 inches shorter than the 2015 Camry, but has more cargo and passenger space. Might be worth checking out. A small minivan is not very hard to park; the higher seating position and improved visibility can actually make it easier than a mid-size sedan. Is there still a separate Subaru Legacy wagon? Sadly, no. In the US especially, traditional station wagons are gradually being replaced with "crossovers" like the new Outback.

I have a 10 year old Mazda 3. The interior is not much different in the 6 (2730 vs 2824 litres) . You can fit two car seats but the space that's left between is very small. I've squeezed into it (I'm 5'4" 120lbs) but it was a very uncomfortable ride. Mazdas are brutal for rust, especially in snowy climates. All that salt I guess. Mine was fixed under extended warranty a few years back and there are still chunks of the wheel well falling off this winter. My 8 yo takes great pleasure in kicking at them. Other than that the car has been quite good. FWIW I'm pretty sure my next car is going to be the Outback, uncomfortable seats or not. More space, good gas milage, AWD, higher profile, long lasting and can tow. It's a winter friendly kidmobile. I also looked at the Nissan Rogue, Honda CRV, Mazda CX-5, Forester, Crosstrek and the Toyota RAV 4. The ones with the most interior passenger space are the Forester, Outback, CRV and CX5. The RAV 4, CRV, Outback and Forester have the most cargo space (with the seats up, I haven't calculated with seats down).

I bought a Mazda 6 in January and love, love, love it. But I live in North Carolina and my kids are grown. I specifically bought it as a rite of passage, giving up my Mom Car/Highlander; I'm not hauling around football equipment and slumber-party survivors any more, plus we hardly get any snow so the 4WD was overkill. If I still had little kids and lived in Pittsburgh, I'd be looking at a Subaru (my husband has an Outback and loves, loves, loves it).

Hertz has Mazdas; looks like Dollar has Subarus; pretty much everyone shows Camrys as rentable. You can generally reserve a specific car online, but you can also just call the local office of the appropriate rental agency and tell them you want to rent whatever specific model because you're trying before buying and you're not very particular about dates but you really want that specific car. They'll sort you.