During a morning chat in the lunch room, one of us was saying how our 2010 Subaru Legacy 3.6R sedan test car was growing on him. Nicely trimmed, decent power, all-wheel drive – all for right around $30K. Then someone asked, “But would you buy that, or a Ford Fusion AWD?”
 
It was a pretty good question. So good, in fact, that we decided to buy a Fusion AWD to find out. The name Subaru is synonymous with all-wheel drive, making the Fusion a much lesser-known alternative. (Also see "Just In: 2010 Subaru Legacy and Outback.")
 
The extra snow traction of an all-wheel-drive sedan can add a lot of piece-of-mind in some locations without having to drive an SUV. Quite a few large and/or high-end sedans offer all-wheel drive, but there aren’t many all-wheel drive competitors in the family sedan segment anymore. Even with the added content of its standard all-wheel drive system, the Legacy costs the same (or sometimes less) than a similarly equipped, front-wheel drive Accord/Altima/Camry.
 
But there is a little more competition when you compare six-cylinder family sedans. Both our Legacy 3.6R Limited and Fusion SEL AWD have leather, moon roof, and lot of other creature comforts. They’re also priced right on top of each other. Our Legacy 3.6R lists at $30,094. Our Ford Fusion SEL V6, with nearly identical equipment to our previously tested front-wheel drive Fusion SEL, had a sticker price of $29,425. (Rebates and haggling cut a few thousand dollars from that.)
 
All-wheel-drive’s added weight usually comes with a fuel economy and acceleration penalty, so we’ll see how the Fusion AWD compares to its front-wheel-drive equivalent. And we’ll see if Subaru has some worthy competition in the all-wheel drive family sedan market. Look for a road test on these models soon.
 
—Tom Mutchler