Compare the2024 Audi A4VS 2024 Subaru Legacy

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
Towing
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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The A4’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Legacy doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A4 and Legacy have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A4 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Legacy’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi A4 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.

The A4 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Legacy doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the A4’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Legacy doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

The A4 Premium Plus/Prestige has a standard Top and Corner View Cameras to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Legacy only offers a rear monitor and rear parking sensors that beep or flash a light. That doesn’t help with obstacles to the front or sides.

Both the A4 and Legacy offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the A4 with Rear Cross-Traffic Assist also has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Legacy’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Compared to metal, the A4’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 A4 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, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available blind spot warning systems.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi A4 is safer than the Subaru Legacy:

	A4	Legacy
	Passenger
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	236	241
Neck Injury Risk	25%	43%
Neck Stress	119 lbs.	147 lbs.
Neck Compression	47 lbs.	51 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 Audi A4 is safer than the Subaru Legacy:

	A4	Legacy
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	308 lbs.	335 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	56 G’s	62 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	12 inches	14 inches
Hip Force	666 lbs.	681 lbs.

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

Warranty

The A4 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Legacy’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The A4’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Legacy’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

The Audi A4’s engines use a cast iron block for durability, while the Legacy’s engines use an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Subaru vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 1 place higher in reliability than Subaru.

Engine

The A4 40 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder hybrid produces 19 more horsepower (201 vs. 182) and 60 lbs.-ft. more torque (236 vs. 176) than the Legacy 2.5i’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the A4 45 TFSI is faster than the Legacy 2.5i 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder:

	A4	Legacy
Zero to 60 MPH	4.8 sec	8 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	12.9 sec	22 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	5.6 sec	8.6 sec
Quarter Mile	13.5 sec	16.2 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	102 MPH	88 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the A4 gets better mileage than the Legacy:

			MPG
A4
	AWD	40 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	26 city/35 hwy
		45 TFSI 2.0 turbo 4-cyl. Hybrid	24 city/32 hwy
Legacy
	AWD	2.4 turbo flat-4	23 city/31 hwy

Transmission

The A4’s launch control uses engine electronics to hold engine RPM’s precisely in order to provide the most stable and rapid acceleration possible, using all of the available traction. The Legacy doesn’t offer launch control.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the A4 45 TFSI’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Legacy:

	A4 45 TFSI	Legacy
Front Rotors	13.3 inches	12.4 inches
Rear Rotors	13 inches	11.8 inches

The A4 stops much shorter than the Legacy:

	A4	Legacy
70 to 0 MPH	149 feet	174 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	105 feet	128 feet	Motor Trend

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the A4’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Legacy (245/40R18 vs. 225/55R17).

The A4’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 A4’s optional tires have a lower 35 series profile than the Legacy Sport/Limited/Touring’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the A4 offers optional 19-inch wheels. The Legacy’s largest wheels are only 18-inches.

Suspension and Handling

The A4 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.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the A4’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Legacy (111 inches vs. 108.3 inches).

The A4’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (56% to 44%) than the Legacy’s (58% to 42%). This gives the A4 more stable handling and braking.

The A4 Premium Plus handles at .92 G’s, while the Legacy Touring XT pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The A4 Premium Plus executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 3 seconds quicker than the Legacy Sport (25.3 seconds @ .74 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

Chassis

The A4 is 3.6 inches shorter than the Legacy, making the A4 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

With its sedan body style, valet key, locking rear seatbacks and remote trunk release lockout, the A4 offers cargo security. The Legacy’s non-lockable folding seat and non-lockable remote release defeat cargo security.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the A4’s available trunk can be opened just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Legacy doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its trunk, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Towing

The A4 has a 3968 lbs. towing capacity. The Legacy has no towing capacity.

Servicing Ease

The A4 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Legacy uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Subaru. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 13% lower rating, Subaru is ranked 16th.

Ergonomics

The A4 Prestige has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Legacy doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the A4 and the Legacy have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the A4 is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The Legacy prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The A4’s front and rear power windows all open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Legacy’s standard rear power window switches have to be held the entire time to open or close them fully.

If the windows are left open on the A4 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Legacy can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The A4’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Legacy’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the A4 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Legacy doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The A4 Prestige has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Legacy doesn’t offer headlight washers.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the A4 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Legacy doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

The A4’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Subaru only offers heated mirrors on the Legacy Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring.

The A4 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Legacy Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring.

Both the A4 and the Legacy offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the A4 has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Legacy doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The A4 Prestige’s Park Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, with the driver only controlling speed with the brake pedal. The Legacy doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi A4 and the Subaru Legacy, based on reliability, safety and performance.