Subaru are just about to bring out a range of diesel engines for the Impreza, Legacy and Forester. All great cars to drive, utterly reliable, hold their value pretty well and oh so much less predictable than the VW/Audi/Skoda/Ford route; Dullsville or what!
Big H has a Legacy, I have an old Forester for the dog which I love and have had 3x WRX (as has Pretzel) and I'll be having another one in the furture. The new flat four diesels are fantastic from what I've heard and of course being horizontally opposed are naturally better balanced than any normal inline four cylinder engine could ever be. The traction and handling on all of them is a cut above ordinary cars, such as from VAG.
I guess you could make a case to the Missus about paying homage to McCrae , get some nice alloys on it and sideways round the corners you go...
Failing that, Barry is right, the Ford S Max is a simply terrific piece of kit.