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:

    Operation
    A) Driver’s side B) Passenger’s side 1) SRS AIRBAGs deploy as soon as a collision occurs. 2) After deployment, SRS AIRBAGs start to deflate immediately so that the driver’s vision is not obstru ...

    Before driving your vehicle
    Before entering the vehicle, remove any snow or ice from your shoes because that could make the pedals slippery and dangerous. While warming up the vehicle before driving, check that the acce ...

    Turn signal indicator lights
    These lights show the operation of the turn signal or lane change signal. If the indicator lights do not blink or blink rapidly, the turn signal bulb may be burned out. Replace the bulb as soon as ...