Compare the2024 Subaru LegacyVS 2024 BMW 3 Series Sedan

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For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Legacy 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 BMW 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Subaru Legacy are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Legacy. But it costs extra on the 3 Series Sedan.

The Legacy’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the 3 Series Sedan.

Both the Legacy and the 3 Series Sedan have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Legacy is safer than the BMW 3 Series Sedan:

	Legacy	3 Series Sedan
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars

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 Subaru Legacy is safer than the BMW 3 Series Sedan:

	Legacy	3 Series Sedan
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	50	107
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.8 inches
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	220	305
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	104	270
Spine Acceleration	38 G’s	39 G’s

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

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 98 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The 3 Series Sedan has not been fully tested, yet.

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Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Legacy 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than BMW covers the 3 Series Sedan. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Coverage on the 3 Series Sedan ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 83 percent more Subaru dealers than there are BMW dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Legacy’s warranty.

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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 BMW vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 7 more problems per 100 vehicles, BMW is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than BMW vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 3 places higher in reliability than BMW.

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The Legacy Sport/XT’s standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 5 more horsepower (260 vs. 255) than the 330i’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder.

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 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

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On the EPA test cycle the Legacy gets better mileage than the 3 Series Sedan:

			MPG
Legacy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC flat-4	27 city/35 hwy
3 Series Sedan
	RWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	25 city/34 hwy
		3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Hybrid	23 city/31 hwy
	AWD	2.0 turbo 4-cyl.	24 city/33 hwy
		3.0 turbo 6-cyl. Hybrid	23 city/31 hwy

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Subaru Legacy uses regular unleaded gasoline. The 3 Series Sedan requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Legacy has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the 3 Series Sedan (18.5 vs. 15.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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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 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer a CVT.

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For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Legacy is 1.7 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the 3 Series Sedan.

For better maneuverability, the Legacy’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the 3 Series Sedan’s (36.8 feet vs. 39.4 feet).

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As tested by Car and Driver while under full throttle, the interior of the Legacy Sport is quieter than the 330i (73 vs. 74 dB).

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The Legacy has .7 inches more front headroom, .8 inches more front legroom, 2.1 inches more front shoulder room, 4.3 inches more rear legroom and 2.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the 3 Series Sedan.

The front step up height for the Legacy is 3 inches lower than the 3 Series Sedan (13.5” vs. 16.5”). The Legacy’s rear step up height is 2.3 inches lower than the 3 Series Sedan’s (14” vs. 16.3”).

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The Legacy has a much larger trunk than the 3 Series Sedan (15.1 vs. 13 cubic feet).

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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 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its BMW Assist can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

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 3 Series Sedan doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats.

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Insurance will cost less for the Legacy owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Legacy will cost $1795 to $9250 less than the 3 Series Sedan over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Legacy is less expensive to operate than the 3 Series Sedan because typical repairs cost much less on the Legacy than the 3 Series Sedan, including $400 less for a water pump, $659 less for a muffler, $89 less for front brake pads, $187 less for a starter, $283 less for fuel injection, $258 less for front struts, $596 less for a timing belt/chain and $430 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Legacy will be $18952 to $28577 less than for the BMW 3 Series Sedan.

© 1999 - 2024Advanta-STAR Automotive Research, all rights reserved. This vehicle comparison and all of the content in it are provided only by license from Advanta-STAR Automotive Research Corporation of America (“Advanta-STAR”). If you are not a legally licensed user of this vehicle comparison, it is against federal law to access it, copy it, forward it, or use it in any manner whatsoever. Any unauthorized use of this vehicle comparison is a violation of U.S. and international law and is punishable criminally and civilly. Removal of this watermark/notification without prior written license and approval received from Advanta-STAR is an agreement, understanding, and/or stipulation by the person(s), entities, agents, attorneys, and any other persons involved in the removal of this watermark/notification (including but not limited to Search Optics, LLC and any and all parent entities, sister entities, and subsidiary entities of Search Optics, LLC and/or any other entity, agent, attorney, and persons related in any manner to Search Optics, LLC) to: 1) an agreed upon amount of liquidated monetary damages of a minimum of $1,250,000.00 US Dollars in favor of Advanta-STAR; 2) the jurisdiction and enforcement of any legal claims associated with this matter asserted by Advanta-STAR in the United States Federal District Court in Portand, Oregon; and 3) service of process of any legal claims asserted by Advanta-STAR associated with this matter may be accomplished by First-Class Postage by the United States Postal Service or comparable service. XPYNN-M34HG 2a06:98c0:3600::103 2024/12/04

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Legacy and the BMW 3 Series Sedan, based on reliability, safety and performance.