Safety

The 2010 Legacy is one of 27 cars to be named a 2010 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. To earn this award, a car must earn the top score of Good in crash tests and have stability control. This year, IIHS added a roof-strength test to its stable of crash tests. The additional test, which simulates a rollover crash, tightened criteria and greatly reduced the number of cars that qualified for the award.

In addition to stability control, the Legacy has standard antilock brakes and traction control. It also has six airbags, including side-impact airbags for the front seats and side curtain airbags for both rows.

While my kids were happy with all of the legroom in the backseat, one aspect of the second row was frustrating to me. The Latch connectors aren't easy to access; they're buried under a fabric flap that makes it a bit tricky to get at them. Once you do, a rear-facing infant-safety seat should fit in the second row without any problems. My kids' booster seats fit easily into the backseat because there weren't any bolsters to get in the way.

FAMILY LIFESTAGE

In Diapers: There's lots of room in the backseat for rear-facing infant-safety seats.

In School: There's enough real estate for everyone to be happy.

Teens: This is a good-looking first car with great safety ratings.

    See also:

    Effect vehicle modifications made for persons with disabilities may have on SUBARU advanced frontal airbag system operation (U.S. only)
    Changing or moving any parts of the front seats, seat belts, front bumper, front side frame, instrument panel, combination meter, steering wheel, steering column, tire, suspension or floor panel c ...

    Driving tips for AWD models
    All-Wheel Drive distributes the engine power to all four wheels. AWD models provide better traction when driving on slippery, wet or snow-covered roads and when moving out of mud, dirt and ...

    Examples of the types of accidents in which deployment of the driver’s/driver’s and front passenger’s SRS frontal airbag(s) is unlikely to occur.
    1) The vehicle strikes an object, such as a telephone pole or sign pole. 2) The vehicle slides under the load bed of a truck. 3) The vehicle sustains an oblique offset frontal impact. 4) The vehi ...