Compare the2023 Subaru ImprezaVS 2021 Honda Civic

Safety
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
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 Civic 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 Civic 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 Civic 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 Civic doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

The Impreza has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Civic doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Impreza (except Base)’s optional rear cross-path warning system uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. The Civic doesn’t offer a cross-path warning system.

The Impreza Auto’s driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The Civic doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Impreza and the Civic 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 and rear parking sensors.

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 Civic:

	Impreza	Civic
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	198	201
Neck Compression	50 lbs.	53 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	117	265
Neck Injury Risk	34%	34%
Leg Forces (l/r)	76/57 lbs.	445/224 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 flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Subaru Impreza is safer than the Honda Civic:

	Impreza	Civic
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	165	204
Chest Movement	1 inches	1 inches
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	363	404
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	201	260

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

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Impreza has a standard 530-amp battery. The Civic’s 500-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Impreza’s reliability 22 points higher than the Civic.

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 Impreza’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 7 lbs.-ft. more torque (145 vs. 138) than the Civic Sedan’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

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 Civic doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Impreza uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Civic Hatchback Sport/Sport Touring 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 Civic (3 to 7). This means the Impreza produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Civic every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Impreza Sport	Civic
Front Rotors	11.6 inches	11.1 inches
Rear Rotors	10.8 inches	10.2 inches

The Impreza stops shorter than the Civic:

	Impreza	Civic
60 to 0 MPH	123 feet	127 feet	Motor Trend

Chassis

The front grille of the Impreza Sport/Limited uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Civic doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Impreza Sedan has 2 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Civic Sedan (99.8 vs. 97.8).

The Impreza Sedan has .5 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front legroom, 1.4 inches more front hip room, .1 inches more rear headroom, 7.9 inches more rear hip room and .6 inches more rear shoulder room than the Civic Sedan.

The front step up height for the Impreza Sedan is 4.8 inches lower than the Civic Hatchback (12.7” vs. 17.5”). The Impreza Sedan’s rear step up height is 1 inches lower than the Civic Hatchback’s (14” vs. 15”).

Cargo Capacity

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Impreza’s trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the trunk. The Civic’s useful trunk space is reduced by its intrusive beam hinge.

The Impreza’s standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The Civic LX Sedan’s standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can’t share the rear seat.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Impreza. The Civic doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

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

Ergonomics

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 Civic 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 Civic LX/Sport’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 Civic 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 Civic offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

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 Civic 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 Civic because typical repairs cost much less on the Impreza than the Civic, including $74 less for a starter, $98 less for a fuel pump, $2 less for a timing belt/chain and $233 less for a power steering pump.

Recommendations

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