Just In: 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6R Limited and Ford Fusion SEL AWD

During a morning chat in the lunch room, one of us was saying how our 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6R sedan test car was growing on him. Nicely trimmed, decent power, all-wheel drive – all for right around $30K. Then someone asked, “But would you buy that, or a Ford Fusion AWD?”
 
It was a pretty good question. So good, in fact, that we decided to buy a Fusion AWD to find out. The name Subaru is synonymous with all-wheel drive, making the Fusion a much lesser-known alternative. (Also see "Just In: 2010 Subaru Legacy and Outback.")
 
The extra snow traction of an all-wheel-drive sedan can add a lot of piece-of-mind in some locations without having to drive an SUV. Quite a few large and/or high-end sedans offer all-wheel drive, but there aren’t many all-wheel drive competitors in the family sedan segment anymore. Even with the added content of its standard all-wheel drive system, the Legacy costs the same (or sometimes less) than a similarly equipped, front-wheel drive Accord/Altima/Camry.
 
But there is a little more competition when you compare six-cylinder family sedans. Both our Legacy 3.6R Limited and Fusion SEL AWD have leather, moon roof, and lot of other creature comforts. They’re also priced right on top of each other. Our Legacy 3.6R lists at $30,094. Our Ford Fusion SEL V6, with nearly identical equipment to our previously tested front-wheel drive Fusion SEL, had a sticker price of $29,425. (Rebates and haggling cut a few thousand dollars from that.)
 
All-wheel-drive’s added weight usually comes with a fuel economy and acceleration penalty, so we’ll see how the Fusion AWD compares to its front-wheel-drive equivalent. And we’ll see if Subaru has some worthy competition in the all-wheel drive family sedan market. Look for a road test on these models soon.
 
—Tom Mutchler

Comments

[Chris]

Good idea for a test; be sure to get a good cross section of certain AWD driving conditions where AWD will come into play. I.e rain on windy roads, gravel, snow, ice. Cheers!

[mark]

Not all AWD systems are the same so important to test the performance of the AWD systems and perhaps contrast them.

Also, important to consider reliability history.

[Luke]

You have to factor in Subaru's excellent resale value, compared to Ford or for that matter any other car. Not to mention Subaru's simple drivetrain. It was designed for AWD. Buying a new Subaru for me, is like investing in a house. It doesn't loose too much value over the years, or quality. $30k for a Ford car? You gotta be kidding me? Truck yeah, but car, Nooooo. I would probably get it if it was around $17k with AWD and V6, but not a penny over. Subaru on the other hand, I would pay $35k if I had to.

[Brian Mullins]

Not all wheel drive systems are created equal. Will be interested to see how they compare.

[Jay]

Subaru is like the state car of Colorado so it must be doing something very right. But so is Ford -- reliability is way, way up. And having seen both, I'd much rather look at the Fusion for 3-4 years than the Subaru. Will be an interesting test.

[RBART]

This will be a helpful review. I am in the market for an AWD sedan and I looked at both of these cars. One of the main drawbacks of going with Ford is that it seems the AWD is only an option in the 6 cylinder. So for someone like me who needs to stay in the low 20s and who is concerned about mileage, the 4 cyl. 2010 Legacy appears to be the way to go.

[Al]

I've just purchased a Legacy 3.6 R limited and have put a good three hundred miles on it over mountains and thruways. It's a truly great car (I've had them all--Bimmers, Mercedes, Subaru LSI,) and I'm definitely enjoying it. Only negative is the poorly written and detailed navigation and radio system manual. It's sparse, as if the person who wrote it hated his job and was determined to give minimal information about the system. It took me all of two and a half hours to figure out how to make the radio full screen mode appear and I still don't know how to turn off the guidance system, which incidentally is very good as is the Harmon-Kardon upgraded radio system. Car drives like a dream!

[coolcar]

In CR's latest tests, you bought and tested a 4-cylinder Subaru Outback and pitted it against a V6 Venza. Are you going to test a V6 Outback to make it more comparable to the Venza? With the extra power, it should end any complaints about acceleration.