When we went to Arizona for the weekend, we rented a Subaru Legacy 2.5i automatic. Here's my $0.02.

First, the engine. I think the car didn't "feel" like it has 170hp. Maybe its because its a relatively "old" rental car with just under 17,000 miles. The pick up (acceleration) was decent but nothing to call home about. On the freeway, I would have to downshift and get up the rpm to get some passing power to the ground. I guess 170 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm plus the power-rubbing AWD system means power available mostly up higher rpm. First gear full throttle start won't impress anyone. And it felt like the engine has a "truck" kinda idling and sounding (kinda rough).

Then comes the transmission, 4-speed automatic BTW ... It does have a sportshift feature that you can shift on your own. The up shift is slow (sometimes?) and no rev-matching with down shift (What do ya expect? You think its a Porsche? LOL). Leave it in automatic mode, and it will do its job. Shift when its time to shift. Nothing much to talk about. Put it in sportshift, and you can tell the automatic gearbox when to shift ... most of the times away. The gearbox will automiatcally upshift at (close to) red line. And it will automatic downshift only if you are way below the operating rpm. I guess I didn't really pay attention to that. But when you are in 4th gear and come to a stop, the gearbox will shift to 1st automatically. But if I am running in 4th gear and slow down a bit, the gearbox will still hold gear (maybe unless you really really slow down, then it will downshift to 3rd or 2nd for you).

The handling is a little strange. The steering is decent and its relatively quick in local street (not go-kart quick of course). But once it got onto the freeway, its a little nervous. Steering seems a bit too sensitive and too quick at freeway speed.

Ride comfort is not bad at all, and seems to have less body roll than Camry and Accord (and such). Seats are comfortable and the driving position is netural (no complains). The dash layout is ok, but there are quite a few things that Subaru needs to work on. e.g. the multi-function LED display will get very bad sunlight reflection if the compartment door right above is opened and makes it impossible to read. BTW, having a sunroof on the lowest trim is a nice touch. The AC isn't really good enough for AZ weather (it was only up to 103F ). We had to crank it up to 3rd sometimes to get the cool air going. And Even at night, will the AC off, and the themostat turned to cool and getting air from the outside, the vent seems to be blowing warm air? (maybe its the AZ weather that keeps the whole car still warm even after sunset?)

At the end of day, I don't really miss the car when its time to return it. If it were my money, I rather have something that behaves better on the freeway, and "feel" closer to its hp rating. (Accord 4 cyl maybe?) Of course, unless I lives in area with bad weather and the AWD will add value to safety and control.