Compare the2022 Honda CivicVS 2022 Subaru Impreza

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The Subaru Impreza doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

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 Impreza 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 Impreza’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

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

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Civic its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 72 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Impreza is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2021.

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.

The Civic LX/Sport’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 6 more horsepower (158 vs. 152) than the Impreza’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder. The Civic EX/EX-L/Touring’s standard 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder produces 28 more horsepower (180 vs. 152) and 32 lbs.-ft. more torque (177 vs. 145) than the Impreza’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Subaru Impreza (automatics tested):

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

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

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Civic’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Impreza doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

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 Impreza doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

The Honda Civic comes standard with an automatic transmission, for driver comfort, especially in the city. Automatic costs extra on the Impreza.

A six-speed manual is available on the Honda Civic, with closer gear ratios for better performance and a lower final drive ratio for quieter highway operation, less engine wear and better fuel mileage. Only a five-speed manual is available for the Impreza.

For better stopping power the Civic’s standard front brake rotors are larger than those on the Impreza:

The Civic stops shorter than the Impreza:

For better traction, the Civic has larger standard tires than the Impreza (215/55R16 vs. 205/55R16). The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Impreza (235/40R18 vs. 225/40R18).

The Civic has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Civic flat and controlled during cornering. The Impreza base model’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

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 Impreza doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Civic’s wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than on the Impreza (107.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Civic Touring Sedan handles at .88 G’s, while the Impreza 2.0i Premium Sedan pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Civic Touring Sedan executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Impreza 2.0i Premium Sedan (26.7 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 27.7 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The Civic Sedan is 3.7 inches shorter than the Impreza Sedan, making the Civic easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Civic Hatchback has .3 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear legroom and .4 inches more rear shoulder room than the Impreza Sedan.

The Civic’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The Impreza has a lever-type parking brake that has to be strenuously raised to engage properly. It has to be lifted up more and a button depressed to release it.

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 Impreza can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Civic’s driver power window, power lock and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Impreza’s power window switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

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 Impreza’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Civic has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Impreza has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the Premium/Sport/Limited.

The Civic EX/EX-L/Touring/Sport Touring’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Impreza doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Honda Civic Touring/Sport Touring has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. The Impreza doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

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