The rotten truth is that Subarus aren’t really any more reliable than other vehicles, but uave much more expensive repair costs than comparable Hondas or Toyotas.
also the suspension and steering and acceleration and interior padding is all rough.
Yeah, my crosstrek has some of the stiffest suspension i have ever felt. And their symetrical AWD has always seemed like just a gimmick.
Subaru’s AWD system is legitimately better at putting down power to the wheels and getting traction than the vast majority of other AWD systems on the market. There are plenty of third party tests showing as much.
That said, it’s a question of whether you actually need that. The truth is the vast majority of people don’t need AWD at all for the kind of driving they’ll actually do.
I have an STi which has an active center differential beyond even the typical Subaru system and I absolutely love it. It’s magic feeling it at work. But my “likes to take the car on dirt and go sideways at 50MPH” use case isn’t needed for a commuter either.