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 Nissan Maxima doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.
The Legacy has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Maxima doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
Both the Legacy and the Maxima 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, 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.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Legacy is safer than the Nissan Maxima:
|
Legacy |
Maxima |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
158 |
252 |
Neck Stress |
281 lbs. |
289 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
230/249 lbs. |
359/238 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 Legacy is safer than the Nissan Maxima:
|
Legacy |
Maxima |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
50 |
119 |
Chest Movement |
.7 inches |
.9 inches |
Abdominal Force |
216 lbs. |
225 lbs. |
Hip Force |
335 lbs. |
337 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
220 |
242 |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Max Damage Depth |
14 inches |
15 inches |
HIC |
104 |
275 |
Spine Acceleration |
38 G’s |
41 G’s |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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 Maxima has not been fully tested, yet.