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:

    Map light
    Models with moonroof Models without moonroof To turn on the map light, press the switch. To turn it off, press the switch again. When leaving the vehicle, make sure the lights are turned off t ...

    Key reminder chime
    The reminder chime sounds when the driver’s door is opened and the ignition switch is in the “LOCK” or “Acc” position. The chime stops under the following conditions. • when the ignition switch is t ...

    Turn signal lever
    To activate the right turn signal, push the turn signal lever up. To activate the left turn signal, push the turn signal lever down. When the turn is finished, the lever will return automaticall ...