I've owned a couple of Subaru 4x4 wagons, a 1983 when I was in grad school and a 2002 for my daughter to drive. Very reliable and good in snow, with good tires that is. I drove the 1983 for two years, about 20K miles, and sold it for $1K more than I paid for it, but I had put $1.5K into it for struts, shocks, tires, and brakes. That said, I figure that $500 for 20K miles is $0.025 per mile, pretty cheap transportation.
EDIT: I had a Thule Combibox on the 1983 wagon, but it wasn't long enough inside to haul my 223cm and 220cm Downhill racing skis. Those traveled inside with the trails on the dash and the tips back near the liftgate. I once heard, don't know if it was true, that Subaru was, maybe still is, the most popular make in Colorado and Vermont because of their "go in snow" reputation.
