Compare the2023 Subaru LegacyVS 2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Legacy 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 Alfa Romeo Giulia doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Legacy are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The Alfa Romeo Giulia doesn’t offer height-adjustable 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 Legacy are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Giulia doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Legacy 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 Giulia doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Legacy Sport/Limited/Touring has standard Reverse Automatic Braking that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Giulia doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

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

Both the Legacy and the Giulia have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, and daytime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Legacy the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 53 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Giulia last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2017.

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Legacy 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Alfa Romeo covers the Giulia. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the Giulia ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are almost 5 times as many Subaru dealers as there are Alfa Romeo dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Legacy’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Legacy has a standard 620-amp battery. The Giulia’s 525-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 Legacy’s reliability 20 points higher than the Giulia.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Alfa Romeo vehicles. With 20 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Subaru higher than Alfa Romeo.

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 Alfa Romeo With 19 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Alfa Romeo.

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

On the EPA test cycle the Legacy gets better mileage than the Giulia:

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

The Legacy has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Giulia (18.5 vs. 15.3 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Legacy has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Giulia doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Legacy’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Giulia are solid, not vented.

The Legacy stops much shorter than the Giulia:

The Legacy has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the Giulia; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

The Legacy Sport handles at .84 G’s, while the Giulia Ti Q4 pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The front grille of the Legacy 2.5i uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Giulia doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

As tested by Car and Driver while at idle, the interior of the Legacy Sport is quieter than the Giulia Ti (40 vs. 41 dB).

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Legacy a Large car, while the Giulia is rated a Mid-size.

The Legacy has 10.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Giulia (105.5 vs. 95.4).

The Legacy has .8 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room, 2 inches more front shoulder room, 4.4 inches more rear legroom, 1.1 inches more rear hip room and 3.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Giulia.

The Legacy has a much larger trunk than the Giulia (15.1 vs. 12 cubic feet).

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

The Legacy’s LED headlights produce a white, bright light using less electricity than the Giulia’s xenon high intensity discharge (HID) headlights. HID headlights can be slow to reach full brightness or power cycle, causing issues when flashing them to signal other vehicles; LED headlights light instantly. LED lights also last about three to four times as long.

When the Legacy Limited/Touring is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Giulia’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Legacy Touring XT keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The Giulia doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

Insurance will cost less for the Legacy owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Legacy will cost $5720 to $10070 less than the Giulia over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Legacy will be $17352 to $21620 less than for the Alfa Romeo Giulia.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Subaru Legacy, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Alfa Romeo Giulia isn't recommended.

The Subaru Legacy outsold the Alfa Romeo Giulia by over four to one during 2022.