2001 Outback wagon - 4cyl auto trans, 158k on it....
Its a wonderful appliance - I love its love-it-or-hate-it nature- examples:
-The outbacks are lifted a bit, I love the ground clearance, kids hate the "its not low enough" look.
-As an appliance, it gives me no trouble, but gives me no excitement. I see exact copies of my car on the road at least once a week (white with grey cladding...)
-Good room to hold people and stuff (its a wagon) - I've fit more than a few 8' boards in it before. I know lots of dog owners who love rolling with their large dog in the back. Week-long trip to FL for training ? no problem !
-You sacrifce fuel economy for awd - they got a LOT better in the 2004-2005 timeframe (my '01 only gets 24mpg, on the highway or in town, for a 4 cyl...)
-awd means you never worry about snow.
-awd means you have to chance diff fluid in 2 more places (if you plan on keeping it that long)
-'98-'02 4cyl engines had head gasket issues - I'd stay away from these years, but since all these are now 10+ years old, the occurrence should be going down.

Stick with something newer and you'll be fine. I keep my '01 becuase it works too well to dump it for something else. Note that a LOT can change in 5 or 10 years of model changes.

-John

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2009 Kia Sedona
2009 Honda Odyssey EX-L
12006 Jetta Pumpe Duse
(insert Mercedes here)

Husband, Father, sometimes friend =)