Compare the2023 Honda CivicVS 2023 Subaru Legacy

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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

The Civic Touring/Sport Touring has standard parking sensors to help warn the driver about vehicles, pedestrians or other obstacles behind or in front of their vehicle. The Legacy doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

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 and rear cross-path warning.

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

	Civic	Legacy
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Stress	241 lbs.	281 lbs.
Neck Compression	23 lbs.	57 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.4 inches	.6 inches
Neck Injury Risk	25%	43%

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 Honda Civic is safer than the Subaru Legacy:

	Civic	Legacy
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.7 inches
Hip Force	286 lbs.	335 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	516 lbs.	581 lbs.
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	14 inches

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

Warranty

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Civic for 2 years and 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, lubrication and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Legacy.

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.

Reliability

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 Civic’s reliability 18 points higher than the Legacy.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Honda vehicles are better in initial quality than Subaru vehicles. With 8 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Honda higher than Subaru.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Honda vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Honda 2 places higher in reliability than Subaru.

Engine

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:

	Civic	Legacy
Zero to 60 MPH	7.4 sec	8.3 sec
Quarter Mile	15.7 sec	16.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.4 MPH	86.7 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

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

			MPG
Civic Sedan
FWD	Auto	EX 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	33 city/42 hwy
		Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	31 city/38 hwy
		2.0 4-cyl.	30 city/37 hwy
Legacy
AWD	Auto	2.5 DOHC flat-4	27 city/35 hwy
		2.4 turbo flat-4	23 city/31 hwy

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

			MPG
Civic Hatchback
FWD	Manual	1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	28 city/37 hwy
		2.0 4-cyl.	26 city/36 hwy
	Auto	EX-L 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	31 city/39 hwy
		Sport Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cyl.	30 city/37 hwy
		2.0 4-cyl.	29 city/37 hwy
Legacy
AWD	Auto	2.5 DOHC flat-4	27 city/35 hwy
		2.4 turbo flat-4	23 city/31 hwy

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.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Honda Civic higher (6 to 7 out of 10) than the Subaru Legacy (3 to 7). This means the Civic produces up to 24.5 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Legacy every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Civic stops much shorter than the Legacy:

	Civic	Legacy
70 to 0 MPH	170 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	137 feet	141 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

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 EX/EX-L’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Legacy Base/Premium’s standard 55 series tires. The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Legacy Sport/Limited/Touring’s 50 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

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 EX/EX-L’s turning circle is .7 feet tighter than the Legacy’s (36.1 feet vs. 36.8 feet).

Chassis

The Honda Civic may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 550 to 700 pounds less than the Subaru Legacy.

The Civic Sedan is 1 foot 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:

	Civic	Legacy
At idle	36 dB	40 dB
Full-Throttle	75 dB	76 dB

Ergonomics

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.

Consumer Reports rated the Civic’s headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the Legacy’s headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

Model Availability

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

Economic Advantages

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Honda Civic will be $1012 to $4596 less than for the Subaru Legacy.

Recommendations

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

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Civic as the 2022 North American Car of the Year. The Legacy has never been chosen.

The Honda Civic outsold the Subaru Legacy by almost six to one during 2022.