Compare the2024 Subaru ImprezaVS 2024 Toyota Corolla Hatchback

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Impreza 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 Toyota Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 Impreza are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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

Both the Impreza and the Corolla Hatchback 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 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 Corolla Hatchback:

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 Corolla Hatchback last would have qualified as a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023.

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 Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 9 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

The Impreza RS’ standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 13 more horsepower (182 vs. 169) and 27 lbs.-ft. more torque (178 vs. 151) than the Corolla Hatchback’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Impreza RS 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder is faster than the Toyota Corolla Hatchback:

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 Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Impreza’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Impreza has 3.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Corolla Hatchback (16.6 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Impreza Sport/RS’ brake rotors are larger than those on the Corolla Hatchback:

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 Corolla Hatchback are solid, not vented.

The Impreza stops shorter than the Corolla Hatchback:

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Impreza’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the Corolla Hatchback (105.1 inches vs. 103.9 inches).

The Impreza RS handles at .83 G’s, while the Corolla Hatchback XSE pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Impreza RS executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Corolla Hatchback XSE (27.7 seconds @ .6 average G’s vs. 28.1 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Impreza’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Corolla Hatchback’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Impreza a Large car, while the Corolla Hatchback is rated a Compact.

The Impreza has 15.9 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Corolla Hatchback (100.5 vs. 84.6).

The Impreza has 1.4 inches more front headroom, .9 inches more front legroom, 1.2 inches more front hip room, 2.9 inches more front shoulder room, .4 inches more rear headroom, 6.6 inches more rear legroom, 7.7 inches more rear hip room and .8 inches more rear shoulder room than the Corolla Hatchback.

The Impreza has a much larger trunk with its rear seat up than the Corolla Hatchback (20.4 vs. 17.8 cubic feet).

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

The Impreza 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 Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 Corolla Hatchback 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 Corolla Hatchback doesn’t offer the luxury of automatic dimming mirrors.

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 Corolla Hatchback XSE.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Impreza and the Toyota Corolla Hatchback, based on reliability, safety and performance.