Compare the2024 Subaru LegacyVS 2023 Audi A3

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 A3 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 A3 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 A3 doesn’t offer automatic braking for stationary objects directly to the rear.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Legacy. But it costs extra on the A3.

The Legacy’s optional 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 A3 doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Legacy and the A3 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front 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, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

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 55 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The A3 has not been fully tested, yet.

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Legacy 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Audi covers the A3. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the A3 ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 2 times as many Subaru dealers as there are Audi dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Legacy’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Subaru vehicles are better in initial quality than Audi vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 36 more problems per 100 vehicles, Audi is rated below average.

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 Audi With 6 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Audi.

The Legacy Sport/XT’s standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 59 more horsepower (260 vs. 201) and 56 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 221) than the A3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Legacy Sport/XT 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Audi A3:

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 A3 doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Legacy uses regular unleaded gasoline. The A3 requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Legacy has 5.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the A3 FWD’s standard fuel tank (18.5 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Legacy has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the A3 Quattro’s standard fuel tank (18.5 vs. 14.5 gallons).

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 A3 doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better stopping power the Legacy’s brake rotors are larger than those on the A3:

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 A3 are solid, not vented.

The Legacy stops shorter than the A3:

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Legacy’s wheelbase is 4.8 inches longer than on the A3 (108.3 inches vs. 103.5 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Legacy is 1.5 inches wider in the front and 3.8 inches wider in the rear than on the A3.

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 A3 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Legacy a Large car, while the A3 is rated a Subcompact.

The Legacy has 18.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the A3 (105.5 vs. 87).

The Legacy has 2.6 inches more front headroom, 1.6 inches more front legroom, 3.3 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear headroom, 4.3 inches more rear legroom and 4.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the A3.

The Legacy has a much larger trunk than the A3 (15.1 vs. 10.9 cubic feet).

The engine in the Legacy is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the A3. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

The Legacy Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring offers a remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The A3 doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 A3 doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Audi Connect CARE can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

To help drivers see further while navigating curves, the Legacy has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle. The A3 doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Legacy’s sun-visors swivel front-to-side to block glare from the side windows. The A3’s visors are fixed into the windshield header.

Both the Legacy and the A3 offer available heated front seats. The Legacy Limited/Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the A3.

Standard air-conditioned seats in the Legacy Touring keep the driver and front passenger comfortable and take the sting out of hot seats in Summer. The A3 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

On extremely cold winter days, the Legacy’s optional (except Base/Premium) heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the car heater warms up. The A3 doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Legacy and the Audi A3, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Subaru Legacy outsold the Audi A3/S3/RS 3 by over two to one during 2022.