Compare the2025 Subaru LegacyVS 2025 Toyota Camry

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 Camry 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 Camry.

Both the Legacy and the Camry 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, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

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 Legacy Sport/XT’s standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 28 more horsepower (260 vs. 232) than the Camry’s optional 2.5 DOHC 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 Camry doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

The Legacy has 5.5 gallons more fuel capacity than the Camry (18.5 vs. 13 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better stopping power the Legacy’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Camry:

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

For better traction, the Legacy has larger tires than the Camry (225/55R17 vs. 205/65R16).

The Legacy Base/Premium’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Camry LE’s standard 65 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Legacy Base/Premium has standard 17-inch wheels. Smaller 16-inch wheels are standard on the Camry LE.

For better maneuverability, the Legacy’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the Camry’s (36.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

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 Camry doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

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

The Legacy has 5.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Camry (105.5 vs. 99.9).

The Legacy has 1.1 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom, .1 inches more front hip room, .4 inches more front shoulder room, 1.5 inches more rear legroom, .2 inches more rear hip room and 1.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the Camry.

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

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

The Legacy 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 Camry doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

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 Camry doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

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

The Legacy’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 Camry offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Legacy and the Camry 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 Camry.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Subaru Legacy, based on reliability, safety and performance.