Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2022 Subaru Legacy

The Honda Civic has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Legacy doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic deploy with different levels of force or don’t deploy at all to help better protect passengers of all sizes in different collisions. The Civic’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The Legacy’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

Compared to metal, the Civic’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Subaru Legacy has a metal gas tank.

Both the Civic and the Legacy have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

There are over 68 percent more Honda dealers than there are Subaru dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Civic’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Honda 17th in initial quality. With 18 more problems per 100 vehicles, Subaru is ranked 24th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 3 places higher in reliability than Subaru.

As tested in Motor Trend the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Legacy 2.5i 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic Sedan gets better mileage than the Legacy:

On the EPA test cycle the Civic Hatchback gets better mileage than the Legacy:

The Civic has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The Legacy doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Civic stops shorter than the Legacy:

For better traction, the Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Legacy (235/40R18 vs. 225/55R17).

The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Legacy Sport/Limited/Touring’s 50 series tires.

The Civic has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Legacy doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Civic Touring Sedan handles at .88 G’s, while the Legacy Touring XT pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Civic Touring Sedan executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.6 seconds quicker than the Legacy Sport (26.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Civic LX/EX/EX-L’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Legacy’s (36.1 feet vs. 36.8 feet).

The Honda Civic may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 600 to 700 pounds less than the Subaru Legacy.

The Civic Sedan is 11.6 inches shorter than the Legacy, making the Civic easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

To almost totally eliminate engine vibration in the passenger area, the Civic has a liquid-filled front engine mount. The liquid helps further dampen engine harshness. The Legacy uses conventional solid rubber engine mounts.

As tested by Car and Driver, the interior of the Civic Touring Sedan is quieter than the Legacy Sport:

The Civic Hatchback has a much larger trunk than the Legacy (24.5 vs. 15.1 cubic feet).

On a hot day the Civic’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the Legacy can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Civic EX/EX-L’s standard wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers and the Civic Touring/Sport Touring’s standard wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically according to the amount of rainfall on the windshield. The Legacy’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Honda Civic comes in sedan and four door hatchback bodystyles; the Subaru Legacy isn’t available as a four door hatchback.

The Civic Sport was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 4 years. The Legacy has never been a Car and Driver “Top Ten” pick.

The Civic was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” for 2 of the last 25 years. The Legacy has never been an “All Star.”

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2016 North American Car of the Year. The Legacy has never been chosen.