Compare the2023 Subaru ImprezaVS 2022 Honda CR-V

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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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 Impreza are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The CR-V doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Subaru Impreza has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Impreza has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The CR-V doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Impreza Limited has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The CR-V doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Impreza. But it costs extra on the CR-V.

The Impreza Premium/Sport/Limited has standard STARLINK Connected Services, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The CR-V doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Impreza and the CR-V have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, 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 crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Impreza is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	Impreza	CR-V
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Compression	50 lbs.	70 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	117	309
Neck Injury Risk	34%	37%
Neck Compression	70 lbs.	96 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	76/57 lbs.	276/243 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Impreza is safer than the Honda CR-V:

	Impreza	CR-V
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	201	386

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Impreza, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 6.9% less likely to roll over than the CR-V, which received a four-star rating.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Impreza has a standard 530-amp battery. The CR-V’s 410-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Honda With 4 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Honda.

Engine

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Impreza lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The CR-V doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Impreza 5-door gets better mileage than the CR-V:

			MPG
Impreza 5-door
AWD	Auto	2.0 DOHC flat-4	28 city/36 hwy
		Sport 2.0 DOHC flat-4	27 city/35 hwy
CR-V
FWD	Auto	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	28 city/34 hwy
AWD	Auto	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	27 city/32 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Impreza uses regular unleaded gasoline. The CR-V requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Impreza higher (7 out of 10) than the Honda CR-V (6). This means the Impreza produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the CR-V every 15,000 miles.

Tires and Wheels

The Impreza’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CR-V LX/SE’s standard 65 series tires. The Impreza Sport’s tires have a lower 40 series profile than the CR-V Touring’s 55 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Impreza 2.0i Limited 5-door handles at .80 G’s, while the CR-V Touring pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Impreza 2.0i Limited 5-door executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the CR-V Touring (27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Impreza’s turning circle is 2 feet tighter than the CR-V’s (35.4 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

Chassis

The Subaru Impreza may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 400 pounds less than the Honda CR-V.

The Impreza 5-door is 5.9 inches shorter than the CR-V, making the Impreza easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Impreza is 8.8 inches shorter in height than the CR-V, making the Impreza much easier to wash and garage and drive (lower center of gravity).

Passenger Space

The front step up height for the Impreza Sedan is 6.3 inches lower than the CR-V (12.7” vs. 19”). The Impreza Sedan’s rear step up height is 4 inches lower than the CR-V’s (14” vs. 18”).

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Impreza is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the CR-V. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Impreza’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The CR-V’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The CR-V SE/EX/EX-L/Touring’s rear windows don’t close automatically.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Impreza’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Impreza Base). The CR-V doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Impreza’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The CR-V LX’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Impreza Premium offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The CR-V doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Impreza Limited also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The Impreza’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The CR-V offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Model Availability

The Subaru Impreza comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Honda CR-V isn’t available as a sedan.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Impreza owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Impreza with a number “1” insurance rate while the CR-V is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Impreza is less expensive to operate than the CR-V because typical repairs cost much less on the Impreza than the CR-V, including $15 less for a muffler, $64 less for a starter, $121 less for fuel injection, $59 less for a fuel pump and $311 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Impreza will be $2930 to $5077 less than for the Honda CR-V.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Impreza and the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance.