Compare the2025 Subaru LegacyVS 2025 Kia K5

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 Kia K5 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

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 K5 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 K5.

The Legacy Premium/Sport/Limited/Touring 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 K5 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 Legacy and the K5 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, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Legacy’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the K5 runs out after 100,000 miles.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 4 places higher in reliability than Kia.

The Legacy Sport/XT’s standard 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder produces 69 more horsepower (260 vs. 191) and 96 lbs.-ft. more torque (277 vs. 181) than the K5’s standard 2.5 DOHC 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 K5 doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

On the EPA test cycle the Legacy gets better mileage than the K5:

Regardless of its engine, the Legacy’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. Kia only offers an automatic engine start/stop system on the K5 LX, and doesn’t offer a disable button.

The Legacy has 2.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the K5 (18.5 vs. 15.8 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 K5 doesn’t offer a CVT.

For better stopping power the Legacy’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the K5:

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 K5 are solid, not vented.

The Legacy stops shorter than the K5:

For better traction, the Legacy has larger tires than the K5 (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 K5 LXS’ 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 K5 LXS.

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 K5 doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Legacy has .1 inches more front shoulder room, 4.3 inches more rear legroom and 1.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the K5.

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 K5’s useful trunk space.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Legacy. The K5 doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The engine in the Legacy is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the K5. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Subaru service is better than Kia. J.D. Power ranks Subaru 7th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 39% lower rating, Kia is ranked 24th.

The Legacy’s standard front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The K5’s standard passenger windows don’t open or close automatically. The Legacy Limited/Sport/Touring’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches.

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 K5 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 K5 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 K5 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Legacy and the K5 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 K5.

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