It’s not a bad car (I also have a 5-door; 2005 model, 45k and no issues so far) but it doesn’t function particularly well as a hauler - especially with the all-black interior. Also, VERY low-profile tires, expensive to replace, and quite a stiff road feel when the car is full. I had a 2002 Forester before the 3, and would pick the Forester EVERY TIME to haul stuff.
I think it all depends on what “occasionally” means - I need to haul stuff occasionally with my Corolla, and Home Depot has a large van available for $19.99 for just those occasions. 
If he’s hauling stuff regularly, then he probably does need that functionality in his usual ride. The Corolla might be a bit small for two carseats and large cargo - I carry large loads in my Corolla all the time, but not with carseats.
I believe the Subaru Legacy wagon is quite reliable. El Kabong, not getting a 2008 shouldn’t be a problem since they don’t want to buy new (and good for them - a lightly used car is your best value, in my opinion, plus it is more ecologically sound - reduce, reuse, recycle, you know).
Ahh, I see, so it’s got a case of Car Leprosy (or maybe it’s because it’s a ford product… sorry, couldn’t resist 
) in that case, a replacement vehicle would be the logical choice
If you want to be cool, get a Dodge Magnum. It’s a big wagon. It has 72 feet of cargo capacity, as opposed to 81 feet in your Sable wagon though.
The Magnum is 4-door, and rear wheel drive. If you drive in the snow it may not be a great choice. Also, kids in the rear seats may have a hard time seeing out, that’s part of what kept me from getting one. But if the looks appeal, it may be worth looking at.
An Accord or a Camry may be a closer option than you think. Typically, the back seats fold down allowing items placed in the trunk to fit into the cabin. 8 foot 2x4s would could be carried that way. Plus, both the Honda and the Toyota have exceptional reliability and economy and there is literally thousands of them available on the used car market.
We now own our third Saturn, and have always been very pleased with them. Our current car is a 2008 Saturn Aura XE four-door sedan, which last year won the North American Car of the Year award. Comfortable without being opulent, good looks, very reliable, with a peppy V6 engine.
Right now, Subaru/dealers is offering some very tempting deals on the 2008 Forester and Outback. Discounts + Low Interest financing.
Very reliable. Not luxury. Roomy. Safe. Does have AWD which is great if you ever see snow, dirt roads or a lot of rain.
Saturn Vue is also a good choice, they just had some deals.
I don’t understand the Saturn conundrum - every review I’ve ever seen of all Saturn products has them rated as complete lemons, yet so many Saturn owners swear by them. I don’t get it. 
ditto. When I was looking for a small SUV for my wife I had considered the VUE thinking that most owners liked their Saturns. When I dug deeper into their reliability it seems they are rated poorly.
She ended up with the RAV4. The SantaFe or CRV would have been second choices.
CR gives the Aura & Outlook a Recommended, and doesn’t say horrible things about the Astra or Vue. (They are new models so can’t be “Recommended”). In many small details, like Fit & finish, Saturn is nowhere near Honda or Toyota. However, Saturn is less expensive and the buying process is downright pleasant, rather than a Day In Hell.
JD Powers rates Saturn a nice middle-of-the road *** in relibility:
http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings/dependability-ratings-by-brand. Only 10 companies rate better and of those 8 are luxury cars, and the other two are Honda and Toyota. (A side note here- many dudes talk about “Japanese quality”. Not so. Mitsubishi and Nissan are only average. )
So, if you dread the new car buying experience (which is wise with Toyota, they are the worst in the business), then a Saturn is a good choice.
My last two cars were Saturns, and they were a good deal and I was happy with them.
The Ion and Astra had some problems, but the Aura won (as I said) North American Car of the Year last year, and you don’t get that with a shoddy product. The current model is very similar. I drive one and have been very pleased.
And yes, the no-hassle, no-haggle sales process is a bonus.
Well, assuming it checks out with the mechanic, we are about to be the proud owners of a 2007 Subaru Outback. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!
(We also tried out a Forester, a Mazda 5, and a Toyota Rav 4. My tall husband’s legs didn’t fit comfortably in the Rav 4 or the Mazda 5, and we decided the Outback was a better fit for our needs than the Forester.)
Congratulations! You guys are gonna love it.
I had a mid 90’s Legacy and loved it. Good room, good gas mileage, decent power. With all-wheel-drive in the snow you just pointed it where you wanted it to go and pushed the gas.
I agree completely, but the Subaru was a price level up for me. I would have bought one in a second if the prices were the same.
Ah, but there is an emotional factor as well…my very first new car was an '81 GLC. So now I get a wheel-of-karma/zen-like experience when I’m in the driver’s seat. 
Are you sure you can’t buy a new 2008 Outback instead? They are offering a rebate and low interest financing.
I have had 5 Saturns-and all ran very well, and never broke. the most expensive repair I had was $180.00 to fix a broken A/C line. other than that, all went >100K miles with no problems.
How did it work out for you?
Great! My husband really likes the car. (For a variety of reasons, I haven’t even driven it yet.) He likes the handling a lot better than the old Sable. It doesn’t have quite as much room in the back, but it seems to be enough for his needs. He commented that since he got it, he notices that there are Subarus everywhere around here. (When we moved across the country, we noticed that there were a lot fewer Tauruses than we were used to seeing in New England. I don’t know why, but apparently we got the “popular” car for the area each time. It’s particularly odd because we didn’t buy the Sable in New England, but in California - it was a one-year-old HP fleet car that my father got at an employee discount.)