Compare the2022 Honda Civic SiVS 2021 Subaru WRX

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Honda Civic Si 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 WRX doesn’t offer pretensioners for the rear seat belts.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Civic Si are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The WRX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Honda Civic Si 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 WRX doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

Using vehicle speed sensors and seat sensors, smart airbags in the Civic Si 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 Si’s side airbags will shut off if a child is leaning against the door. The WRX’s airbags don’t have smart features and will always deploy full force.

The Civic Si has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the WRX’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Civic Si has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Only the WRX Limited offers a rear cross-path warning system and it costs extra.

Both the Civic Si and the WRX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights and rearview cameras.

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 Si’s warranty.

A hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs, drives the camshafts in the Civic Si’s engine. A rubber cam drive belt that needs periodic replacement drives the WRX’s camshafts. If the WRX’s belt breaks, the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

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.

On the EPA test cycle the Civic Si gets better mileage than the WRX:

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Honda Civic Si uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended for maximum performance). The WRX requires premium, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Civic Si 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 WRX doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Civic Si higher (3 to 7 out of 10) than the Subaru WRX (1). This means the Civic Si produces up to 47 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the WRX every 15,000 miles.

The Honda Civic Si has a downshift rev synchronizer that automatically raises engine speed to make downshifts perfectly smooth. This keeps the car from lurching during downshifts, preventing loss of control during cornering. The WRX doesn’t offer a downshift rev synchronizer.

The Civic Si’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the WRX’s standard 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Civic Si has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the WRX.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Civic Si’s wheelbase is 3.4 inches longer than on the WRX (107.7 inches vs. 104.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Civic Si is .3 inches wider in the front and 1.1 inches wider in the rear than on the WRX.

The Honda Civic Si may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 600 pounds less than the Subaru WRX.

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

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Civic Si a Mid-size car, while the WRX is rated a Compact.

The Civic Si has 2.2 inches more front hip room, 1.4 inches more front shoulder room, 2 inches more rear legroom and 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the WRX.

The Civic Si has a much larger trunk than the WRX (14.4 vs. 12 cubic feet).

The Civic Si’s power parking brake sets with one touch and releases with one touch or automatically. The WRX 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 Si’s driver can lower all the windows from a distance with the keyless remote or at the outside door handle. The driver of the WRX can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Civic Si’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The WRX’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Civic Si 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 WRX has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the Premium/STI/Limited.

The Civic Sport was chosen as one of Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2 of the last 4 years. The WRX hasn’t been picked since 2003.

The Civic Si was chosen as one of Automobile Magazine’s “All Stars” for 2 of the last 25 years. The WRX hasn’t been picked since 2015.

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