Two significantly similar cars, no doubt about that. Still, each one has something different to offer. Having both cars powered by petrol engines and utilizing the 5-door wagon body style within the same 'Large family car' segment, the only major difference here really is their wheel drive configuration (4 x 4 for the Subaru and rear in the case of the Lexus). The first one has a Subaru-engineered powertrain under the hood, a 4-cylinder, 16-valves 156hp unit, while the other one gets its power and torque from a 6-cylinder, 24-valves 158hp engine designed by Toyota.

The fact that the Subaru got tested by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP), while the other contender didn't, offers a slight advantage, as the 4-star rating is better than none. Moving further on, let's take a closer look at some additional safety-related facts. Both vehicles belong to the large family car segment, which is generally a good thing safety-wise, but that fact doesn't break the tie between the two cars. Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Legacy offers a marginal difference of 2% more metal.

Reliability is not the best thing to consider on the make level, but it is worth mentioning that Lexus does have a slight advantage, when all the models are taken into account. These are the official statistics, while our visitors describe reliability of Subaru with an average rating of 4.2, and models under the Lexus badge with 4.9 out of 5. Some independent research have also placed Legacy as average reliability-wise, and IS is more or less at the same level.That apart, owners of different cars powered by the same engine as Legacy rank it on average as 5.0, while the one under the competitor's bonnet gets 4.8 out of 5.

Subaru is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.2 seconds less than its competitor. Still, it lacks the power to win the top speed competition, topping at 203 kilometers per hour, 12km/h less than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 9.8 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (29 mpg), in combined cycle.

Lexus appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Legacy beats the other contender by far, making it the best choice without even considering other things. From there things take a different direction, with Lexus offering somewhat better performance, just enough to call it quicker. It does come at a cost though, and that's the fuel consumption... All together, there's not much more to say, in this case I wouldn't even consider anything but Subaru. In any case that's my personal view, built upon all the data available to me. What should decide here though is the way you feel about the two vehicles, and I hope you'll find my guidelines useful in the process. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.