Compare the2024 Subaru LegacyVS 2024 Toyota Crown

Both the Legacy and the Crown 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, all wheel drive, 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.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Legacy its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 131 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Crown has not been fully tested, yet.

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.

As tested in Car and Driver the Legacy Sport/XT 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder is faster than the Toyota Crown 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 Crown doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

On the EPA test cycle the Legacy 2.5i gets better fuel mileage than the Crown Platinum 2.4 turbo 4-cylinder Hybrid 6-speed Auto (27 city/35 hwy vs. 29 city/32 hwy).

Both the Legacy and Crown have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. The Legacy has a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

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

The Legacy has 4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Crown (18.5 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Legacy stops much shorter than the Crown:

The Legacy Limited handles at .85 G’s, while the Crown Platinum pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Legacy Limited executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Crown Platinum (27.1 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 27.5 seconds @ .61 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Legacy’s turning circle is 1.2 feet tighter than the Crown’s (36.8 feet vs. 38 feet).

The Subaru Legacy may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 550 pounds less than the Toyota Crown.

The Legacy is 5 inches shorter than the Crown, making the Legacy easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

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 Crown doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

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

The Legacy has 7.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Crown (105.5 vs. 98).

The Legacy has 1.2 inches more front headroom, .7 inches more front legroom, .3 inches more front hip room, 1 inch more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear legroom, 1.7 inches more rear hip room and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Crown.

The front step up height for the Legacy is 3.2 inches lower than the Crown (13.5” vs. 16.7”). The Legacy’s rear step up height is 2.3 inches lower than the Crown’s (14” vs. 16.3”).

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Legacy easier. The Legacy’s trunk lift-over height is 26.8 inches, while the Crown’s liftover is 30.3 inches.

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 Crown’s useful trunk space.

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

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 Crown 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 Crown 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 Crown has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Insurance will cost less for the Legacy owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Legacy will cost $1750 to $6885 less than the Crown over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Legacy will be $11588 to $15171 less than for the Toyota Crown.

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

The Subaru Legacy outsold the Toyota Crown by 34% during 2023.