I've driven multiple Subaru vehicles and have never really understood all the Kool-Aid drinking fanboyism about them. The never ending head gasket problems do nothing to sway me as well. Seems like an average Japanese economy car to me.
The big deal with Subarus is the AWD system. Historically, the performance of Subaru's AWD system has been a good deal better than most competitors. A good AWD system improves performance even in the rain, though it also increases the weight of the vehicle.
We owned a 2002 Outback wagon, and it would go anytime we hit the gas, even in deep unplowed snow. It experienced the well-known head gasket issue even though Subaru insisted that our VIN was outside of the affected range. They would do nothing, zip, nada to help us out, going so far as to suggest that because we didn't have ALL of the recommended maintenance done at the dealer, we could be at fault for the problem. I knew that they knew there was still a problem, because they started dumping sealant in the cooling system of new vehicles in an effort to stop the problem. This qualifies as scum-baggery in my book, but I honestly don't think that I would have received a different response from any other auto manufacturer. As a car buyer, if you have a lousy dealer and encounter a maintenance problem, you're sunk. And most dealers are lousy. The quality of the dealership now carries significant weight in my auto buying decision.
Beyond that, I'm 6' 1" tall, and Subarus have always been cars that I "wear" rather than cars that I "sit in." In our Outback, neither front seat traveled backward far enough for my liking, but the passenger side seemed especially cramped.
With that being said, if I were in the market today, I'd probably still consider Subaru. I do live in snow country, and regardless of what was on the road or how crappy the factory tires were, our Outback always got us where we needed to go when we needed to go there.
JKG