Compare the2024 Subaru ImprezaVS 2024 Honda Civic

The Impreza 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 Civic doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

With its standard EyeSight, the Subaru Impreza is better at preventing collisions with pedestrians than the Honda Civic, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

The Impreza has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Civic doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

The Impreza Sport/RS has standard STARLINK Connected Services, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Civic doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Impreza and the Civic 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.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Subaru Impreza is safer than the Civic Sedan:

The Subaru Impreza achieved a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) for the 2024 model year. This recognition was based on its impressive performance in the small overlap frontal crash test, updated side impact crash test, headlight evaluations, and pedestrian crash prevention testing. The Civic last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Impreza has a standard 530-amp battery. The Civic’s 500-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

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 Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated lower.

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 Honda With 4 fewer problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, J.D. Power ranks Subaru higher than Honda.

The Impreza’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 7 lbs.-ft. more torque (145 vs. 138) than the Civic LX/Sport’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Consumer Reports the Subaru Impreza 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder is faster than the Civic LX/Sport 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder:

As tested in Motor Trend the Impreza RS 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder is faster than the Civic EX/EX-L/Touring 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder:

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

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Impreza uses regular unleaded gasoline. The Civic EX/EX-L/Touring requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Impreza has 4.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Civic (16.6 vs. 12.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Subaru Impreza higher (7 out of 10) than the Honda Civic (6 to 7). This means the Impreza produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Civic every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the Impreza’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Civic:

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

For better maneuverability, the Impreza’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Civic LX/EX/EX-L’s (34.8 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The Impreza’s turning circle is 3.3 feet tighter than the Civic Sport/Touring’s (34.8 feet vs. 38.1 feet).

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

The Impreza has .5 inches more front headroom, .6 inches more front legroom, .8 inches more front hip room, .9 inches more rear headroom and 4.3 inches more rear hip room than the Civic.

The Impreza has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the Civic Sedan (20.4 vs. 14.8 cubic feet).

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Impreza’s hatch uses concealed beam hinges that don’t intrude into the cargo area. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the Civic’s useful trunk space.

The Impreza’s standard folding rear seats are split to accommodate bulky cargo. The Civic LX Sedan/Sport Sedan’s standard single piece folding rear seat is not as flexible; long cargo and a passenger can’t share the rear seat.

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

The Impreza’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The Civic LX/Sport’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

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

The Impreza’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Civic offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Impreza 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 Civic EX/EX-L/Touring/Sport Touring.

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