Introduced on Thursday: 2010 Subaru Legacy and Outback-Are they real? Yes and yes. What they said: Roomiest ever. Bolder and crisper new design. More capable. Enhanced performance, comfort and economy. Actually shorter. Those were just the talking points used by Subaru executives when introducing the new stablemates.

What they didn’t say: Despite a redesigned chassis under these vehicles, Subaru really didn’t want to change much. It was enough just fine-tune a so-far recession-proof winning combination. Who else in the auto industry recorded an increase in sales last year? Subaru must be doing something very right.

What makes them tick? A naturally aspirated 170-horsepower 2.5-liter boxer 4-cylinder is the base engine for each model. So equipped, the engines are clean enough to get Partial-Zero Emissions Vehicles ratings. New transmissions include a 6-speed manual, or a continuously variable automatic. A new 3.6-liter 6-cylinder boxer replaces the old 3.0, increasing in horsepower from 247 to 256, and the bigger engine will run on regular unleaded instead of premium. For the Legacy only, a turbocharged 265-horsepower 2.5GT engine based on the WRX is optional.

How much, how soon? The “less is more” theme does not apply to the window sticker. Prices will be announced closer to the late-summer release, but expect the Legacy to start around $22,000, jumping to $27,000 for the turbo and $30,000 for the 3.6. Outbacks should range from $23,000-$33,000.

How do they look? There’s hardly anything to make fun of anymore — no Edsel grilles, no bug-eye lighting, no toad-like styling, just a fairly well integrated, carefully sculpted design for each. How disappointing that must be for the Subaru faithful; they thrived on weird.