Compare the2024 Subaru LegacyVS 2024 Mercedes C-Class Sedan

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 Legacy are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The C-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Legacy 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 C-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

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

The Legacy’s 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. The C-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a lane departure warning system.

Both the Legacy and the C-Class Sedan 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, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

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 C-Class Sedan has not been fully tested, yet.

Subaru’s powertrain warranty covers the Legacy 1 year and 10,000 miles longer than Mercedes covers the C-Class 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 C-Class Sedan ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 66 percent more Subaru dealers than there are Mercedes dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Legacy’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the Legacy’s reliability 28 points higher than the C-Class Sedan.

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 Mercedes vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Subaru above average in initial quality. With 16 more problems per 100 vehicles, Mercedes is rated below average.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Mercedes vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 23 places higher in reliability than Mercedes.

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

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 C-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

On the EPA test cycle the Legacy 2.5i gets better fuel mileage than the C 300 Sedan 4MATIC (27 city/35 hwy vs. 23 city/33 hwy).

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

The Legacy has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the C-Class Sedan (18.5 vs. 17.4 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

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 C-Class Sedan doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Legacy stops much shorter than the C-Class Sedan:

The Legacy 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 C-Class Sedan; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed. Some tire options on the C-Class Sedan don’t have a run-flat feature, either.

For better maneuverability, the Legacy’s turning circle is .8 feet tighter than the C-Class Sedan’s (36.8 feet vs. 37.6 feet).

The Subaru Legacy may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 150 to 350 pounds less than the Mercedes C-Class Sedan.

The front grille of the Legacy 2.5i uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The C-Class Sedan doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Legacy a Large car, while the C-Class Sedan is rated a Compact.

The Legacy has 12.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the C-Class Sedan (105.5 vs. 93).

The Legacy has 1.1 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, 3.5 inches more rear legroom and 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the C-Class Sedan.

The Legacy has a much larger trunk than the C-Class Sedan (15.1 vs. 12.6 cubic feet).

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 C-Class Sedan doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system, and its Mercedes-Benz Emergency Call can’t unlock the doors if the vehicle doesn’t have cell phone reception or the driver can’t contact the service.

Both the Legacy and the C-Class Sedan offer available heated front seats. The Legacy Limited/Touring also has standard heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the C-Class Sedan.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Subaru Legacy, based on reliability, safety and performance. The Mercedes C-Class Sedan isn't recommended.