Compare the2024 Honda CivicVS 2024 Subaru Impreza

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

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Civic Touring/Sport Touring CVT has a standard Low Speed Braking Control that uses rear sensors to monitor for objects to the rear and automatically applies the brakes to prevent a collision. The Impreza doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.

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 Impreza doesn’t offer a front parking aid.

Both the Civic and the Impreza 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.

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 Civic the rating of “Top Safety Pick” for 2023, a rating granted to only 54 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Impreza has not been tested, yet.

Honda pays for scheduled maintenance on the Civic for 2 years or 24,000 miles. Honda will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, cabin filter replacement, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Subaru doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Impreza.

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.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Civic second among compact cars in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Impreza isn’t in the top three in its category.

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.

The Civic LX/Sport’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 6 more horsepower (158 vs. 152) than the Impreza’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

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

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

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 Impreza doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

For better traction, the Civic has larger standard tires than the Impreza (215/50R17 vs. 205/55R16). The Civic Sport/Touring’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Impreza (235/40R18 vs. 225/40R18).

The Civic 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 Impreza; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

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 Impreza doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Civic’s wheelbase is 2.6 inches longer than on the Impreza (107.7 inches vs. 105.1 inches).

The Honda Civic may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 to 300 pounds less than the Subaru Impreza.

The Civic has .2 inches more front shoulder room, .9 inches more rear legroom and .7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Impreza.

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 Impreza can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

The Civic’s driver power window, power lock and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Impreza’s power window switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

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 Impreza’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Civic Touring/Sport Touring’s standard GPS navigation system has a real-time traffic update feature that plots alternative routes to automatically bypass traffic problems. (Service not available in all areas.) The Impreza’s available navigation system doesn’t offer real-time traffic updates.

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

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

The Civic was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023 and 8 more times in the last 39 years. The Impreza has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

The Honda Civic outsold the Subaru Impreza by over four to one during 2022.